We Need Better Data on COVID-19 in Schools
NAESP is asking principals to contribute to a nationwide effort to get a better understanding of the extent and spread of coronavirus in schools.
As you kick off the 2020-21 school year and navigate the return to school in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are writing to invite you to participate in a first-of-its-kind nationwide effort called the National COVID-19 School Response Dashboard. This initiative is motivated by the need for better data on COVID-19 in schools during this uncertain period, which is key to keeping students and staff safe. The data will be kept anonymous, but summary information will be available in a public dashboard, to allow for wide and fast dissemination of the findings.
The effort will collect baseline information on schools as the year starts, and then follow them over time to record enrollments, staffing and COVID-19 cases. We know principals are busy, so the data entry process will be straightforward and quick. The baseline survey should take no more than 10 to 20 minutes, and the bi-weekly surveys will take only a few minutes to complete.
Click Here To Take Survey
We are also committed to making data immediately useful. Anonymized data will be available publicly in a navigable dashboard within a week of data entry. To protect privacy, any publicly posted data will be identified only at the county-level. In addition, once the effort kicks off, participating schools will be provided with feedback illustrating the situation in their school along with the ability to see comparisons to other schools. You can see more details about the project here.
Next steps:
- Enroll by completing the baseline survey here!
- If you would like to encourage your district to enroll in this effort, please forward them this email. They can enroll their overall district at this link.
Organizing Groups:
This effort is a collaboration between the National Association of Elementary School Principals; AASA, The School Superintendents Association; the National Association of Secondary School Principals; Brown University Professor of Economics Emily Oster; and Qualtrics, the experience management company.
