A Spatial Examination of COVID-19 Policies among Missouri School Districts

Autor/inn/en	Shacham, Enbal; Scroggins, Stephen; Little, Germysha; Fredman, Avery; Ritter, Gary
Titel	A Spatial Examination of COVID-19 Policies among Missouri School Districts
Quelle	In: Journal of School Health, 93 (2023) 3, S.169-175 (7 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Shacham, Enbal) ORCID (Little, Germysha)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-4391
DOI	10.1111/josh.13260
Schlagwörter	COVID-19; Pandemics; Elementary Secondary Education; School Districts; Board of Education Policy; Distance Education; In Person Learning; Blended Learning; Socioeconomic Status; Geographic Location; School Policy; Community Characteristics; Missouri + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? School district; Schulbezirk; Distance study; Distance learning; Fernunterricht; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Schulpolitik
Abstract	Background: As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, school district administrators in the United States were faced with difficult decisions regarding the implementation of virtual or in-person learning to reduce risk of infection throughout student and staff populations. While a coordinated effort with surrounding districts would be most beneficial when encountering a highly infectious respiratory-based infectious disease, the determinants of type of education delivery is unclear. Methods: Data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education assessing education delivery method at each school district across the state of Missouri (n = 514) from August 2020 were used. This cross-sectional study, using results from a school district-level survey, local COVID-19 rates, and community-level sociodemographic characteristics, conducted a spatially adjusted analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine associations between education delivery type and geographic-level sociogeographic characteristics. Results: Among Missouri school districts, 172 (33.4%) reported starting the 2020-2021 academic year with an in-person policy, 52 (10.1%) with a distant/virtual policy, 242 (47.1%) in-person with a distance option, and 48 (9.3%) with a blended policy. This study found districts with lower household income levels were less likely to offer students any virtual learning options. Additionally, community COVID-19 infection rates were not associated with the selection of virtual or in-person education delivery. Conclusions: These findings suggest the presence of a specific school policy was spatially random in regard to neighboring community policies, even when accounting for community characteristics. The efficacy of policy is likely to benefit upon application of a spatial framework when addressing a crisis fundamentally tied to location. Future planning that highlights and focuses on regional coordination for community resilience in the face of a pandemic should incorporate data sources that inform decisions made for families, students, and communities. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01