The understatement of the century is to acknowledge COVID-19 ravished our educational system, leaving no child, parent, or teacher unaffected. PAVE – Parents Amplifying Voices in Education is a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit which connects, informs, and empowers parent leaders to give families in D.C. a voice and choice in the vision for education in the city. To explore and understand Washington D.C. parents’ experience with their child(ren)s’ education, an online survey explored different topics from challenges faced with returning to in-person learning to support for their children’s mental health to satisfaction with schools to sentiments and behaviors around COVID-19 vaccinations. The entirety of the study results can be found here as can customizable dashboard which is free to use.
In Washington D.C., parents report three-quarters (75%) of eligible students are vaccinated against COVID-19 leaving one out of six (16%) who are eligible unvaccinated, although at the time of this survey fielding (Oct 14-Nov 3, 2021), only children aged 12 and older were eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Those in the Black/African American community (24%) and families receiving support services (23%), like TANF, Medicaid, and SNAP, are among those most likely to have unvaccinated children. As a point of reference nearly all parents report their children being fully up to date with all other required vaccines, such as MMR and Tuberculosis (98%, compared to 93% from the Spring 2021 survey).
Parents who chose to have their children vaccinated most often relied on their own reading and research (62%) before getting the shot for their kids, though one-third (35%) did consult with a doctor or medical professional. One-quarter (24%) of kids asked their parents for the vaccine which seemed to tip the scales in a meaningful way for some families weighing this decision.
When asked to look ahead to when children ages 2-11 may be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, seven in ten (71%) parents said they plan to get all of their children vaccinated, including a majority of White/Caucasian (99%), Hispanic/Latinx (72%), and Black/African American (56%) parents. Though, one in five (19%) are still unsure if they will allow their children to get the vaccine, especially one-quarter of Black/African American parents (27%). Overall, those who receive support services differ from parents overall in each way as they are less likely to get their children vaccinated (61%, compared to 80% of families not receiving support services), more confident they will not vaccinate any of their children (15%, compared to 4%), and more likely to be unsure of what to do (25%, compared to 15%).