PARENT SURVEY RESULTS

Parent Survey Results and Comments

(172 responses)

Parent Survey Questions: Percentage for each answer (Parents could select more than one opinion, out of 172 people responding 268 selections were made)

Response	Percentage
I will send my child(ren) to school on campus	50.6%
I will keep my child(ren) at home and request online access to classes.	33.5%
I support a staggered at school/online schedule to lessen the number of students on campus. (Example: different grades attending on alternate days and having online classes on the other days)	28.8%
I support a return to school for half-days only so that students come home to eat lunch.	15.3%
I support a one-week on campus, next week at home schedule to allow for the appearance of symptoms and contract tracing notifications.	14.7%
I support a return to on-campus classes only for the Lower School grades. Middle and Upper School students should remain online.	14.7%

Survey Comments

Do you have any other ideas for us to consider?
I support my child to school on campus only if the virus under good control.
Whether it be in person or online, the instruction should be developed so that there is little disruption if a child has to stay home due to exposure. The class can be so that students at home can follow along during a normal class but still have an hour every day to ask questions.
Specials have to be better organized. There should be no reason why teachers are unprepared or cancel classes.
My thought, it’s not for right now. When some conditions be better than now.
As long as kids and school follow the guidelines it should be fine.
Prior safeguards were good, including the one way walking paths.
I would like sports to start as soon as GovGuam allows it. I recently had a talk with my child and I believe she is depressed. Loneliness, lack of sports for 8 months now, inability to see her friends and classmates, etc. I would support sports operating even if schools were not open. Colorado and other states had sports before schools were in building and I support that option.
I like the idea of alternating one week on campus and one week online with two separate student elements. So the same element of students will interact with each other during their on campus week and a different element the following week.
Perhaps high school students could return for semester exams, on a staggered schedule, in December.
Allow access to facilities such as playground.
School needs to consider reduction of tuition fee if it continues to remain online.
My son is not getting enough exercise now. He gained weight, so I want him to go to school. I'm concerned about the possibility that my child will get heat stroke by wearing a mask during hot outdoor activities. I would like the school to think about the time to take off students' mask and change to a new one.
Ensure that automatic hand sanitizers are provided in each room and automatic free-standing temperature scanners.
No, please don't allow too many options for parents. That could be an issue. Please please please keep in mind the working parents, especially when both parents are working. All the other options after the first one are suited for stay-at-home parents. This is not realistic for working families.
Just don't open until COVID-19 is gone or vaccines is come out. No need to hurry to open.
If open now it will more problem to kids and teachers
I think you should open school as soon as you can. I am open to all alternatives as long as the school opens for at least some of the time. Please consider that dodea is opening their schools. Daycares are also open. We can go to water parks, but not school. That does not seem like a right priority. Also, regrading face masks, maybe an option would be for students that want, to be able to take off the mask while they sit at their desk? They should be at least 6 feet away from their classmates then. This is a practice on mainland US (I would prefer no mask, but I guess that is not an option on Guam?). Please consider the psychological and mental stress closing the school has on children. The governor’s physicians advisory group has recommended that schools open up again. Also, in fact, they are only recommending face coverings for older students. Not younger students. I sincerely hope that St. John’s will be able to set a good example and lead the kids with education and science not fear.
Separate from returning to school suggestions, I recommend that the school facebook account feature seniors, however many per week, to go through all of the seniors through the end of the school year, to honor them, to recognize them and to feature them the best way possible. Dig up their portfolio and do phone interviews and write a nice piece about them with a nice photo they will submit to you and feature them one at a time so that you get through all of them by end by April. Or you can even ask them to write a biographical sketch with word limits and use it in it's entirety. This would save you time and a lot of work, but still provide them with attention and recognition. You can also include a link in the weekly newsletters and it would provide more punch, draw interest and attention, and add additional value to the newsletters.
Luckily my daughter is still a Junior, but I really feel for the Seniors. Many months of students not being in class, it's worthwhile to make the time to make this or something similar happen and try to honor the seniors best way possible. Use social media to it's maximum potential, especially during lockdowns when there's nothing else you can do. It will also allow St Johns continued communication and "interaction" with parents. Absolutely step it up and offer more than what other public and private schools are doing.
I have no complaints at all with the online curriculum and execution, but it is a lot of homework that must be done on our own because no matter how well it is done, online will not be as constructive as in person learning.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that there are a lot of things St Johns can do, through social media and other communication methods to keep parents and students engaged, motivated and informed during these difficult times. With everything being virtual these days, make St John's FB page all students and parents go to for information and inspiration:)
Thank you for all you do and kindest regards,
Fear or science? What do we teach our children?
If half day and student comes home for lunch, must still have online classes in the afternoon. The half day should be for classes such as sciences for lab work, art and band. Also, students should be required to wear masks AND clear face shields (students just don’t social distance and mainly for walking in hallways). School should get plexiglass desk dividers. I will send a photo via email.
My child thrives better at school with his peers in a social atmosphere.
We need to get back to full 'everything', with basic sanitary precautions, as soon as possible. The virus is not going away and we must learn to 'live' with it and not huddle in caves. The emotional health and social skill building of our children is not being considered properly.
A modification could be two weeks on/off campus (vs. one week) to enable for a full 14 day 'quarantine' for any students that may be asymptomatic. In every case, more staggered drop/pick times will be helpful to avoid congestion and crowding at the front of the school. The backpack and book issue is really concerning for us. That is, because lockers are not available, our children are carrying *many* heavy books in their backpacks all day, from class to class. Is there any way to reduce what they have to carry? Can lockers be made available?
Get school open for face-to-face ASAP. The current political solution is worse than the "virus".
I am undecided on this issue. It will depend on the status of the positivity rate and cases on island at the time.
For me, it depends on the timing. If it is before xmas break, I will probably keep my child home and request online access to classes. If after xmas break, then I am hoping there will be some return to class on campus.
There should be some adjustment to the tuition. The class time has been reduced, students were not able to actively participate in school activities/events as well as using any of school faculties. The reduction in tuition should be considered.
While in-house school is best for students and faculty, this is a tough call during this unprecedented time. If MS and US are required to return to school physically, how about twice a week online students only, twice a week in-house students only, then everybody online? (i.e., MW online students only, TTh in-house students only, Fri. online everybody and on days students don't have online or in-house school, they work on assignments independently.). Just a thought, so teachers don't have some students in house and some online simultaneously plus follow COVID rules like disinfecting after each period. It was difficult to meet everybody's needs the first week of school, and it really wasn't a matter of attaching a webcam to teach online students on the side while we had students in the classroom too. Thank you for asking and for all you do for our children.
I think the current isolated learning environment is devastating for (my child’s) spirit and development. I hope a safe method can be deployed for St. John’s to provide as much in person educating as is safely possible.
Thank you for all your efforts in these difficult times.
Allowing my child to go back to school on campus depends on number of COVID cases. DOD schools going back now is a disaster and I bet they will end up having to close down again.
Online is much better as kids are likely to be germy so I don’t feel safe when they come home from school
I think combination of home and school is difficult to organize for teachers and parents. Just one or the other. There is no interaction between classes so makes no difference to have staggered or lower school only.
Have the kids eat meals outside and at staggered times so they can be separated. Perhaps set up designated picnic areas on the grass if the picnic tables are insufficient to accommodate the kids (my child is in lower school). Eating indoors is my greatest concern about my child returning to campus.
With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and about 1 death per day including a child as young as 10, I don't think any ideas should be up for consideration except keeping our children home and continuing with distance learning. It is inevitable that someone in the sjs community will test positive and the stress that comes with tracing and wondering if your child has been exposed is not worth it. The school would inevitably have to continue to close and re-open causing more disruption with learning and routines. I hope the school will make the responsible choice and stay closed for in-person school.
Continue to implement the same measures that are used in the community to mitigate transmission - increased physical distancing, improved ventilation (including holding classes outdoors when possible, opening windows to increase outdoor air intake and volume exchanges of air in the classroom), regular hand-washing, plexiglass screens, and the use of masks.
Morning classes (830-noon) for lower school, Afternoon classes (after LS departs) for middle school, Upper School to remain online.
If you have to extend online classes, I want high school students to normalize their classes. (Until 3:30)
Students need time to ask questions
Thank you for considering opening for the kids /parents who are ready / need face to face learning. Please emphasize frequent ventilation in classrooms, in addition to measures in place for washing hands, keeping distance, and wearing masks. Interestingly, DoDEA will provide plexiglass desk dividers for each student. Also, please consider after school activities that can follow these precautions.
The kids should be back in school. If parents do not want their children at school, allow them to continue online at home. Have teachers broadcast lessons from the classroom for those who wish to stay home.
shade/rain covered outdoor learning areas