Continuing coverage from our online survey for PAVE, let’s dig into how parents with students in D.C. schools felt COVID-19 protocols were handled. As a reminder, the entirety of the study results can be found here as can customizable dashboard which is free to use.

Overall, three in five (61%) parents are satisfied with how schools have handled COVID-19 health and safety – an impressive statistic given one-quarter of D.C. students (25%) have quarantined because of confirmed or suspected exposure to COVID-19 which is much more prevalent in DC charter schools (31%) than in DCPS (20%). Nearly one-half of parents (46%) felt the instructions received by their child’s school about the quarantine process were very clear, though, that means the remaining portion of parents were less enthused.

During this quarantine, one-half of students (48%) continued their education through teacher-led virtual learning, though this was much more prevalent at charter schools than DCPS (55%, compared to 36%). At DCPS, two in five students (42%) were unable to continue their education in any capacity, either through teacher-led or independent learning – double that of DC students at charter schools (19%). Interestingly, there were no significant differences across wards in how schools handled post-exposure education.