KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Parents of school-aged children in the Kansas City, Missouri, area now have a chance to give their feedback on distance learning.
A new online survey asks parents what worked and what didn’t work once schools closed their buildings this spring to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Gwen Grant of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, one of two groups involved in the survey, said she’s heard a lot of stories from parents about issues with user-friendliness of assignments, internet connectivity and the extra burden distance learning placed on parents. She hopes the survey puts data behind the anecdotal information.
“We want to hear from parents. We don’t want to assume we know what their challenges are," Grant said. "We want them to tell us so that we can then respond in a way that meets their needs, that best meets their needs."
The Urban League partnered with LEANLAB Education to launch the survey this week. The organizations will do two things with survey results. First, they plan to share the results with school districts so they can make adjustments as necessary to distance learning in the future. Adjustments could include workshops and training for parents and/or districts implementing a more consistent platform and expectation.
Secondly, LEANLAB will share survey results with innovators in the education field so they can look at ways to better incorporate emerging technology so curriculums work effectively in the classroom and through distance learning.
“The digital divide, opportunity gaps, inequities in education; these are things that have been around for a long time. I think what’s different this time around is we can have real honest conversations about how can we use 21st century tools and more collaboration to solve some of these problems,” said Katie Boody, CEO of LEANLAB.
Boody said a previous survey showed about 12,000 of the roughly 60,000 students in the Kansas City area do not have access to a reliable, high-speed internet connection.
Click here to take the survey. It is open to parents in Missouri and Kansas in public and private schools. The first 500 parents to complete the survey will receive a $10 gift card.
