Survey: Most Connecticut teachers oppose Lamont’s school reopening plans

A new survey released by the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) has determined most of the state”™s unionized teachers disapproved of Gov. Ned Lamont”™s plan for reopening the schools.

The survey, which polled nearly 16,000 CEA members between July 13-20, found 74% of respondents opposing the governor”™s plans for public schools to be open five days a week unless Covid-19 infection rates spike. Of that number, 43% were strongly opposed to the governor”™s strategy. Furthermore, 77% of respondents said they were uncomfortable returning to the physical school environment for the fall, with 46% of that number stating they were strongly uncomfortable over that development.

Based on the current state of public health, 46% of respondents supported the continuation of distance learning for the fall semester, while 39% backed a hybrid of distance and in-person learning and only 16% advocated the full resumption of in-person education.

Ninety percent of the respondents predicted it would be difficult to ensure students wear face masks during the school day, and 96% predicted it would be difficult to guarantee students adhere to social distancing protocols. The majority of respondents supported the use of tracking technology in the schools, with 78% of respondents approving the use of this technology to track students and educators who have come into contact with someone with Covid-19.

The one area where there was no debate focused on educator involvement in developing school reopening plans: 100% of respondents supported the input of educators in the decision making and development of these plans.

And as for whether the Covid-19 crisis is forcing teachers to reconsider the continuation of their careers, 18% of respondents stated they were leaving the education profession and 10% said they were retiring, while 69% said the pandemic had no impact on their career plans and 1% had already planned to retire before the pandemic took root.