Durham Public Schools surveyed parents about remote learning. They missed some people.

A new survey that shows strong support for virtual learning in Durham Public Schools failed to get the the opinions of many families with the least access to technology and other resources.

The school board plans to discuss at a Thursday meeting whether to extend remote learning from October to January.

To see what Durham families think, the district asked parents and guardians to fill out an online survey at the beginning of the month on whether they favored full-time virtual learning for four more months.

On Sept. 17, Gov. Cooper announced K-5 schools could re-open for daily, in-person instruction. In Wake County, many parents are pushing for an end to full-time remote instruction.

The DPS survey showed most respondents — students, parents and teachers — support continuing virtual learning.

But responses from white families far outnumbered those from families of color, despite the district having mostly Black and Latino students.

The discrepancy shows how DPS struggles to reach some of its most underprivileged students’ families, school officials and faculty said in interviews with The News & Observer this week.

“Our school district is majority Black and Latinx, and we recognize that people with greater access to resources and technology and time will take the greater initiative to be heard,” DPS spokesperson Chip Sudderth said. “It’s our job as school system administrators to be aware of that when we are listening for the needs of the entire community.”

Families enrolled in schools with more students on free and reduced lunch also responded to the survey at a lower rate than other schools, Sudderth said.

About 62% of Durham Public School students use lunch vouchers. Out of the district’s 12 public schools with over 98% of students using vouchers, only 9% of the students’ families responded to the survey.

What did the DPS survey show?

The district sent a “robocall,” or automated phone call, to every parent and guardian in English and Spanish at the beginning of the month. The robocall asked them to go online to answer questions about their preferences on remote learning, which family members had until Sept. 10 to complete.

About 1 in 4 of households responded to the survey, according to the board’s agenda documents.

Over two-thirds of respondents said they favor extending virtual learning until January. High school and middle school families responded in favor at a higher rate, at about three-fourths.

But the data showed those responding to the survey did not reflect the makeup of the student body.

About 42% of DPS’ 33,000 students are Black, 33% are Hispanic or Latino, and 19% are white, according to the district’s 2019-20 racial composition data.

But only about 13% of Black families and 6% of Hispanic or Latino families completed the survey. That compared to nearly 45% of white families.

Julie Spencer, assistant superintendent for research and accountability, said the survey is just “one data source” and the district would not make a decision solely based on it.

“For this particular survey, it’s really less about the response rate than the representativeness of the sample,” she said. “And I’d say that, for the most part, on a large scale, the survey is representative of our student population.”

The data is representative because it’s broken down by grade level and includes English language learners, students in the Exceptional Children program, and academically gifted students, she said.

However, the demographic breakdown does not fully reflect the district, and academically gifted students are also over-represented, she said.

Over half of the 4,183 families with students in the Academically or Intellectually Gifted program responded to the survey.

Over three-fourths of teachers across grade levels who responded also support extending remote learning, either full-time or with a mix of in-person instruction, the survey also found.

What do Durham school board members think?

Alexandra Valladares, a DPS parent who joined the school board in July, thinks the survey was a “great attempt” but that it was impersonal for some community members.

“It’s the case, I think with any survey, that we have yet to develop culturally innovative methods of collecting data,” said Valladares, the first Latina elected to the board.

“I think that amplifying the voices of marginalized community members means building relationships,” she said. “So, there’s a relational capital that goes into what parents will or will not provide.”

Valladares speaks to DPS families through ISLA NC, a Spanish-immersion program, and through bilingual live streams and parent group chats on social media, she said.

“I am listening. I am still gathering data even beyond the survey,” she said.

School board member Natalie Beyer said the district needs to be cognizant of those it doesn’t always hear from.

“I think it’s always a luxury of privilege to have time to even deal with surveys and emails about your child’s school,” she said.

Beyer said the board will consider the survey in its decision making, but said it doesn’t represent a comprehensive check on the families of students in the district.

“The survey is one small piece of how we weigh things,” Beyer said. “And we look for better ways to survey and engage families and every family in the future.”

The N&O called and left messages for the chair and vice-chair of the school board but had not heard back by noon Wednesday.

Some families left out, despite district’s efforts

The data shows how some families of color get left out of DPS decision-making, despite efforts to reach them, said Ryanne Logan, a middle school counselor.

“Maybe they didn’t know that there was actually going to be a board meeting to follow up and actually discuss the results of the survey. Maybe they filled out a survey two years ago and nothing changed,” Logan said.

The district has tried to be inclusive, especially through programs like the Barbershop Talks, a series of panels for young men of color, and the work of the school’s equity affairs office, she said.

“I’m not sure we have put the same energy towards actually making successful contact with the parents of our Black and brown students,” she said.

Logan thinks the district’s use of mass emails and robocalls can fall short. “Not all families have access to their email all the time,” she said.

Beyer said the district is struggling to engage every parent in a meaningful way while still keeping people safe during the pandemic.

“We’re listening and looking for ways to outreach. We would typically be in schools. We would typically be at PTA meetings,” she said. “We would typically, you know, be everywhere that we can’t physically be right now.”

Beyer suggests community members submit public comments to the school board through an online form, available on the DPS website.

The comment period ends at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 12:19 PM.