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A majority of Dallas parents are still considering summer camps despite COVID-19, survey finds

A survey from Dallas-area education nonprofit Big Thought found that only 17% of families planned to hold their children out of summer camps and child care this summer.

Despite concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and what it might mean for their family’s health, the majority of Dallas-area parents and guardians are still considering in-person summer camps and child care this summer, according to a survey from education nonprofit Big Thought.

Of the 1,171 respondents to Big Thought’s 2020 Family Summer Needs survey, 57% said they were looking into in-person summer programming, with another 26% undecided. Only 17% of families said they were holding their children out from camps and child care this summer.

While the demand for in-person summer programming is there, that’s especially true for essential workers. Of the respondents who said they were considering in-person camps and child care, nearly ⅔ had at least one essential worker in the home.

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Online substitutes didn’t find much traction, either. Only 35% of participants said they would consider virtual, online and at-home camps this summer.

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“Our overarching goal for this survey was simply to bring parent and caregiver voice into the discussion about how we as a community respond to this summer and provide summer programming,” said Greg MacPherson, the chief officer of the Big Thought Institute. “So much of the discussion thus far has been what will be and won’t be allowed per the restrictions and guidance from our elected officials, as well as how we as organizations — how our resources, capacities and timeline — will allow us to respond.”

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Working with several of their partners around Dallas — including the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, the Dallas Park and Recreation department and Southern Methodist University’s Budd Center — Big Thought surveyed families from May 12-18. Worth noting: 95% of respondents had submitted their answers before May 18, the day Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced summer camps would be reopened.

The survey also indicated that families aren’t looking for something that directly mimics programs from years past. Family health far and away ranked as the most important issue heading into summer camps for respondents, over other concerns like balancing work responsibilities, the child’s academics and the ability to cover monthly bills.

Among the top safety measures parents wanted addressed were: access to, and emphasis on, handwashing; increased access to hand sanitizer; and reduced class and group sizes.

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During a online town hall for child care and camp providers discussing the results of the survey, Big Thought’s director of program design Allison Lee said the juxtaposition between the demand for in-person programming and health concerns should emphasize to providers “the importance of clarifying safety measures and new procedures to support overall student health.”

In a Q&A session with Big Thought president and CEO Byron Sanders, Parkland’s chief medical officer Joseph Chang said during the town hall that he believed that Dallas County cases were past their peak and that it was promising that the state didn’t see a bump in COVID-19 cases when Texas started opening up three to four weeks ago.

When asked what parents should consider when deciding whether or not to reenter child care or use summer camps, Chang prefaced his answer by pointing out that children more likely to be carriers of COVID-19 rather than victims.

“And so from a child’s standpoint, I’d be less worried about the child themselves, and more concerned about the environment that the child lives in,” he said.

If the family unit includes aunts, uncles and grandparents, people who might have much higher risk of the disease, “that’s where some of the real thought needs to go,” Chang said.

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