Area schools begin planning for 2020-21 school year

With Governor Burgum and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler’s announcement Tuesday that schools will be allowed to resume in-person instruction this fall, local schools have now released data on a survey conducted of district patrons in regard to the issue.

On the Minnesota side of the river, Governor Tim Walz has indicated he will provide guidance for K-12 schools at the end of July, according to Barnesville Public Schools Superintendent Jon Ellerbusch.

At AM 1100 The Flag WZFG, we requested information from schools in our listening area with regards to the parents’ thoughts as the back-to-school issue begins to ramp up.

Fargo Public Schools

At Fargo Public Schools, more than 7,600 parents and 1,900 staff filled out the school’s survey.

Two major issues were discussed in Fargo Public Schools’ survey—transportation and educational learning.

When asked if parents would be able to provide transportation for their children, recognizing social distancing will be difficult on school buses, 49 percent of parents responded they would be able to provide transportation themselves. 17 percent responded they couldn’t, while 32 percent stated the issue is not applicable to them, as their child does not ride the school bus.

With regards to education, 49 percent of parents said that if today was their first day of school, they would want their child to participate in full-time in-person learning at school. 32 percent were in favor of a hybrid learning model, mixing online and in-person learning, while 18 percent would want full-time online distance learning.

Educators were asked the same question regarding education, with vastly different answers. 44 percent of staff would want to participate in a hybrid learning model, while 28 percent would want to be in full-time in-person learning. 26 percent responded that they would want full-time online distance learning.

West Fargo Public Schools

Nearly 3,500 parents and guardians responded to West Fargo Public School’s survey regarding back-to-school learning this fall.

“Using all of that information, we are planning to bring a steering committee together and going to be giving marching orders to teams who will put these plans together,” West Fargo Public Schools Superintendent Beth Slette told WZFG News on Wednesday morning. “Our plan is to bring students back.”

The first major question for families was: “If today was the first day of school, it would be my wish that…” Of those that responded, 63 percent indicated their desire for the state to allow schools to fully reopen, 28 percent were in favor of a partial reopening, and the remaining nine percent would prefer schools to remain closed.

The second major question was: “Based on what is currently known, please indicate your preference for your child(ren)’s educational experience in 2020-21.” That data set saw 80 percent indicating an intention to participate in the yet-to-be-determined district plan, 16 percent preferring a virtual school for distance learning model, and the final four percent expressing a desire to homeschool their child(ren).

Barnesville Public School, Minnesota

Dr. Jon Ellerbusch, Superintendent at Barnesville Public Schools, tells WZFG News that his district has been working on the three different scenarios since the early stages of the end of the school year.

In a survey given to families, assuming appropriate safety measures are in place, 65 percent of respondents say they prefer all in-person education come this fall, while 18 percent prefer a hybrid (combined) model and 16 percent prefer a complete distance learning model.

Ellerbusch says the district also polled families regarding mask wearing.

For staff, 32 percent of respondents strongly support a requirement for teachers and staff to wear masks or face shields in classrooms, while 27 percent somewhat support it. 32 percent would strongly oppose elementary students wearing them, while 25 percent strongly support high school students wearing face masks.

Thirty-nine percent of parents say their students would be somewhat likely to wear a face mask and practice social distancing, while 19 percent would be either not very likely or not likely at all to do so.