Most educators believe their school is prepared to handle a possible future wave of COVID-19 infections, but they are less likely to agree that their responses would include a return to the most restrictive pandemic precautions, like remote learning and universal mask requirements.
Those are the findings of a poll of 1,063 teachers, principals, and district administrators conducted by the EdWeek Research Center between March 30 and April 8.
The findings come as more schools relax COVID-19 mitigation strategies and comply with recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that says universal school masking is only required in communities with high hospitalization and case rates.
In interviews, school and district leaders told Education Week they are generally hopeful about a gradual return to normal school operations. But after two years of twists and turns, they are still unsure of what to expect in the coming months as the CDC monitors a slight uptick in cases caused by the contagious BA.2 variant and warns about the potential for future virus mutations.
鈥淭he news is a constant reminder that we are not out of this,鈥� said Janine Dillabaugh, an elementary school principal in Denver.
This week, she could feel that sense of uncertainty as she stood in her school鈥檚 office with fellow educators, discussing the return of mask requirements in Philadelphia and isolation protocols in China.
Like other respondents to EdWeek鈥檚 survey, Dillabaugh is confident her school鈥檚 employees could respond to another virus surge, but she鈥檚 hopeful they won鈥檛 have to.
鈥淟ogistically, we are prepared,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have check-in meetings with our district, they continue to keep a pulse on cases, we have the systems and structures set up from the highest moments of cases鈥攄uring Delta鈥� that worked and got us through that.鈥�
鈥淥n the flip side, are we prepared socially and emotionally? No. I would say it would be a huge jolt to the system again.鈥�
Among respondents to the EdWeek Research Center survey, 89 percent said their school or district would be 鈥渟omewhat prepared鈥� or 鈥渧ery prepared鈥� for 鈥渁ny new COVID variant or surge of the magnitude that hit the nation and schools in 2020 to 2021.鈥� Seven percent said their school or district would be 鈥渟omewhat unprepared鈥� and 4 percent said they would be 鈥渧ery unprepared.鈥�
Even as they eased recommendations and introduced new, less stringent metrics to measure community risk, federal health officials have also stressed that schools have the tools they need to operate safely in person amid any future upticks in cases.
鈥淲e need to be able to relax our layered prevention measures when we have fewer cases and hospitalizations, but then we need to be able to dial them up again should there be a new variant or a new surge,鈥� CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in February as she announced new mask recommendations.
Educators divided on the return of masks, precautions
But educators who responded to EdWeek鈥檚 survey were divided about which COVID-19 protocols their schools would adopt.
For example, 50 percent of respondents said their school or district previously required masks and would likely reimpose those rules if there is another surge. Thirty-nine percent said their school previously had a mask requirement but would not likely reimpose one if there is another surge.
There was more agreement about in-person learning: Fifty-eight percent of respondents said their school previously had a full or partial shutdown, but it would not likely be reimposed if there is another surge.
Asked about quarantine protocols for students exposed to COVID-19, 34 percent said their school or district had such requirements in place currently, and 35 percent said previous quarantine protocols would likely be reinstated in case of a surge. Thirty percent of respondents said their school or district had quarantine requirements previously but would not likely reinstate them, and 2 percent said they have never had such rules.
69传媒鈥� COVID-19 responses have been divisive in many communities, and it would be even more challenging to put restrictions in place after they have been lifted, said Brian Stacy, superintendent of the 300-student Melrose, N.M., district.
鈥淚 got it on both ends,鈥� he said. 鈥溾�楢re you going to make our kids wear masks?鈥� 鈥楢re you not going to make our kids wear masks?鈥� I had to straddle that fence.鈥�
The Melrose community, which Stacy described as 鈥渧ery conservative,鈥� was generally less cautious than the state鈥檚 leadership, he said. The district required masks when the state called for them, but dropped the requirement as soon as it could.
Stacy said it would be 鈥減olitical suicide鈥� for state leaders to reimpose face-covering requirements in schools.
But other educational administrators said they believed their students and their families would be more receptive to the return of heightened precautions if they are deemed necessary.
鈥淚鈥檓 a hopeful person,鈥� said Lou Maynus, who is superintendent of both the Ohio State School for the Blind and the Ohio School for the Deaf. 鈥淪ometimes I think I have a Pollyanna attitude, but we have to be prepared. Living through what we鈥檝e lived through the last couple of years, we are prepared.鈥�
Throughout the pandemic, the school has regularly disinfected surfaces so that blind students could safely navigate buildings and learn through touch. And teachers and students wore masks with clear windows so that deaf students could more easily see mouth movements and facial expressions.
Because some students have co-occurring conditions that make them more vulnerable to severe illness, Maynus believes her community would be cooperative with any stepped-up precautions.
Dillabaugh, the Denver principal, said she expected the same cooperation from her community.
鈥� I鈥檓 optimistic that we are heading in the right direction and heading toward normalcy,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 also realistic that if cases surge again and we have to look at [adopting precautions] again, that we would be able to do it.鈥�
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.
