As the numbers of coronavirus cases in Idaho started to surge in June, a survey of parents in urban areas suggests they started to feel slightly more concerned about sending kids back to school.

The New-York based FDR Group surveyed 600 Idaho parents from June 17 to July 14, asking about their thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic. The survey was sponsored by Idaho Education News and funded by the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation.

Over time, that survey found a modest drop in parent’s willingness to send kids back to school, and increased support for some school safety measures.

Researchers compared parent responses from three time-periods: June 17 to June 29, June 30 to July 6, and July 7 to July 14. They focused specifically on parents in urban areas, which saw spikes in coronavirus cases during that monthlong period.

The results were mixed, researchers found. But they suggest a modest increase in parents’ concerns:

• The percent of parents who wanted to send kids back to school dropped slightly from 85 percent in mid-June to 77 percent by mid-July.
• The number of parents who would want to “immediately” close schools if there is a coronavirus spike in the community increased very slightly, from 27 percent to 31 percent.

Over that same time period, parent support climbed for three school safety measures:

• Checking students’ temperatures in school: Climbed from 37 percent of parents to 51 percent who “support strongly.”
• Testing school staff for the virus: Climbed from 35 percent support to 54 percent who “support strongly.”
• Staggering student schedules to every-other-day or half-days: Doubled from 17 percent support to 34 percent who “support strongly.”

Click here to read the survey results.