School Experiences with COVID-19: August 2022

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) releases the latest round of findings from the School Pulse Panel (SPP) today. These SPP data examine community partnerships, technology/digital literacy, and hiring processes, as reported by school leaders in U.S. public schools. Key Findings Staffing for 2022–23 School Year Fifty-three percent of public schools report feeling understaffed entering the 2022–23 school year. For public schools that report feeling understaffed, 65 percent of schools that offer special education positions report feeling understaffed in special education, and 43 percent of schools that offer general elementary positions feel understaffed in this area. For non-teaching staff areas, 59 percent report feeling understaffed for transportation, 50 percent for custodial staff, and 49 percent for mental health professionals. Schools that feel understaffed report an inability to fill vacant teaching positions (48 percent) and non-teaching staff positions (60 percent) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as the most prevalent reason for feeling understaffed. One in five schools (20 percent) reported being understaffed before the pandemic. For public schools, the most difficult teaching positions to fill for the 2022–23 school year were special education and mathematics, with 78 and 75 percent of schools offering these positions reporting it was either “very” or “somewhat difficult” to hire fully certified teachers in these areas, respectively. For public schools, the most difficult non-teaching staff positions to fill were transportation staff and custodial staff, with 94 and 84 percent of schools offering these positions reporting it was either “very” or “somewhat difficult” to hire staff in these areas, respectively. Technology and Digital Literacy Entering the 2022–23 school year, nearly half of public schools report providing internet access to the students who need it at their homes (45 percent). Fifty-six percent of public schools report providing internet access to students who need it at a location other than their homes, such as in a library or parking lot. Ninety-four percent of public schools report providing digital devices, such as laptops or tablets, to students who need them for the 2022–23 school year. Community Partnerships Forty-five percent of public schools utilize a “community school” or “wraparound services” model, in which a school partners with other government agencies and/or local nonprofits to support and engage with the local community (for example, providing mental and physical health care, nutrition, housing assistance, etc.). For schools that use these models, the most prevalent services offered are mental health care (85 percent), nutrition/food assistance (60 percent), dental care (42 percent), social work (41 percent), and parenting and family support (41 percent). The data released today can be found on the COVID-19 dashboard at https://ies.ed.gov/schoolsurvey/.