Choice With(out) Equity? Family Decisions of Child Return to Urban Schools in Pandemic

Abstract

In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, most schools across the country closed in-person instruction for a period of time and many shifted to online schooling. Beginning in fall 2020, schools around the United States began reopening and many districts offered families a decision or “choice” to return their children to an in-person or online schooling experience. In many cities, this approach complicated existing school choice and permanent closure policies with already existing equity issues. Building upon previous scholarship on school choice and closure, this study draws on the concept of school choice with(out) equity (Frankenberg et al., 2010; Scott & Stuart Wells, 2013; Horsford et al., 2019). Using data from an online survey (n = 155 participants) in August 2020, this study examines why families (50% white, 50% people of color) decided to return their children to in-person schooling in Hartford, Connecticut. This study uses a mixed-method analysis of qualitative responses and quantitative data to understand family decisions to return to in-person schooling (Creswell, 2014). Rather than school choices with full equity considerations during the pandemic, these family responses focused on needs of childcare for full-time work and health safety. These responses suggest a partial equity in the landscape of available choices. The study raises questions about reapplying old forms of school choice to a new form of temporary school closure during pandemic.

Impact of Lifting School Masking Requirements on Incidence of COVID-19 among Staff and Students in Greater-Boston Area School Districts: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis

“…[22][23][24]37,66 Knowledge of these differential conditions may influence support/opposition to COVID-19 mitigation measures and policies in schools, including school masking. 67,68 A growing body of work suggests that knowledge of these inequities may result in increasing support for protective measures among those directly impacted by structural racism and other systems of oppression while simultaneously decreasing support among systematically advantaged groups whose relative position largely insulates them from COVID-19 harms. [67][68][69] In several studies and polls, Black and Latinx parents were less likely to have confidence that schools could reopen safely without additional protections and more likely to support school masking requirements.…”

“…67,68 A growing body of work suggests that knowledge of these inequities may result in increasing support for protective measures among those directly impacted by structural racism and other systems of oppression while simultaneously decreasing support among systematically advantaged groups whose relative position largely insulates them from COVID-19 harms. [67][68][69] In several studies and polls, Black and Latinx parents were less likely to have confidence that schools could reopen safely without additional protections and more likely to support school masking requirements. 67,68,70,71 In contrast, when randomized to receive information about pervasive racial/ethnic COVID-19 inequities, white individuals were less likely to report concern about COVID-19, empathy for those vulnerable to COVID-19, and less likely to support COVID-19 prevention policies.…”

“…[67][68][69] In several studies and polls, Black and Latinx parents were less likely to have confidence that schools could reopen safely without additional protections and more likely to support school masking requirements. 67,68,70,71 In contrast, when randomized to receive information about pervasive racial/ethnic COVID-19 inequities, white individuals were less likely to report concern about COVID-19, empathy for those vulnerable to COVID-19, and less likely to support COVID-19 prevention policies. 69 Given vastly unequal environmental conditions shaping COVID-19 risk, universal school masking policies are an important measure for mitigating the impacts of structural racism and may be especially important in settings where other preventive measures such as upgraded ventilation/filtration may be more resource-and time-intensive to implement.…”

The Politics of School Reopening During COVID-19: A Multiple Case Study of Five Urban Districts in the 2020–21 School Year

“…Those that do typically find greater shares of Black, Hispanic, and low-income families predict a lower likelihood of reopening (Diemer & Park, 2022;Grossmann et al, 2021;Haderlein et al, 2021b;Harris & Oliver, 2021;Hartney & Finger, 2021;Marianno et al, 2022), though at least one study finds that they are not statistically significant (Houston & Steinberg, 2022). A substantial body of research has also assessed whether and why there are racial and socioeconomic gaps in preferences for and participation in in-person instruction (e.g., Calarco et al, 2021;Camp & Zamarro, 2021;Collins, 2021a;Cotto Jr. & Woulfin, 2021;Darling-Aduana et al, 2022;Grossmann et al, 2021;Haderlein et al, 2021aHaderlein et al, , 2021bHarris & Oliver, 2021;Kogan, 2021;Parolin & Lee, 2021).…”

Contested Justice: Rethinking Educational Equity Through New York City’s COVID-19 School Reopening Debates

“…Partisan stances may reflect principled differences in values and experiences of increasingly polarized groups, rather than blind allegiance to a political label. While some qualitative researchers are beginning to investigate further (e.g., see Cotto & Woulfin, 2021; Kretchmar & Brewer, 2022; Singer et al, 2022), the body of research on school reopenings to date is largely quantitative and offers a limited understanding of the complex reasons for stakeholders’ positions; the import of these decisions for district leaders, families, and educators; and the contested notions of what is fair and right in debates over these policies. We are left with an incomplete picture of the contentious politics of school reopening decisions.…”