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72% of families want full-time Ripon Uniified school schedule
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Students at Ripon’s Colony Oak School pose for a photo in 2017. The students attended the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C..

The Ripon Unified School District recently sent surveys out to families and staff on the reopening of the school sites.

The target date is Aug. 12 with the new COVID-19 protocols most likely to be in place. Drafting of the plan is still in the works, according to Superintendent Ziggy Robeson at Monday’s school board meeting.

Of the 1,379 families surveyed, 997 or 72.30 percent came out in favor a full-time return to having a regular school day and schedule – 160 (11.60 percent) were neutral, 104 (7.54 percent) were opposed, and 118 (8.56 percent) were strongly opposed.

Some 223 staff members took part in the survey, with 140 (62.78 percent) supporting the full-time return and 25 (11.21 percent) being strongly opposed – 36 (16.14 percent) voted neutral while 22 (9.87 percent) opposed the return to regular school days and schedule.

What did staff think about the full-time return to distance education?

The survey indicated that 106 (47.96 percent) of the 223 were strongly opposed with 41 (18.55 percent) opposed, 39 (17.65 percent) neutral, and 35 (15.84 percent) in support.

Most of the families weren’t too keen on the return to full-time distance education.

Of that, 709 (51.98 percent) of the 1,364 surveyed were strongly opposed while 205 (15.03 percent) came out in support, and 208 (15.25 percent) and 202 (17.74 percent) voted neutral and opposed, respectively.

The other possible plan for the RUSD reopening would be that of blended learning daily sessions.

Students under this scenario would attend school but only on certain days during the week, completing assignments and activities via distance education on those other days.

Staff reaction was mixed with 49 (22.17 percent) of the 221 surveyed being strongly opposed and 74 (33.48 percent) being supportive – 36 (16.29 percent) came out opposed and 62 (28.05 percent) stayed neutral.

The family survey was similar with 454 (33.07 percent) of the 1,373 supporting blended learning with daily sessions plan and 412 (30.01 percent) being strongly opposed – 253 (18.43 percent) were opposed and 254 (18.50 percent) were neutral.

The family survey did offer a full-time Independent Study option.

Of the 1,363 responding, 637 (46.74 percent) voted strongly against the plan while 228 (16.73 percent) were in support, 286 (20.98 percent) were neutral, and 212 (15.55 percent) came out opposed.

The results of both surveys are available at www.riponusd.net.