New Poll: Drop in satisfaction with public schools among Boston K-12 parents
Parents following BPS news, say they want to be more engaged but question if their feedback is valued.
As the new school year approaches, public school parents in Boston are taking note of the challenges BPS is facing, with 85% saying they are following school news very or somewhat closely. Just 29% say they are “very satisfied” with the Boston Public Schools, down from 41% at the same time last year, according to a new Boston K-12 parent poll out today. This drop mirrors a decline on a range of satisfaction measures included in this survey series.
Asked which groups BPS is most focused on serving, less than half of parents (43%) put students in the top two, down from 54% who said the same a year ago.
These results are from a series of polls sponsored by The Shah Family Foundation and conducted by The MassINC Polling Group. The latest wave included 845 public school parents in the City of Boston and is the fourth in the series going back to July 2021. Each poll has included oversamples of Black, Latino, and AAPI parents, allowing the views and experiences of each to be examined in greater detail.
The overall satisfaction figures are in the same range as responses to questions about how well BPS is doing living up to their commitments to students. Asked about BPS’s commitment to “transforming the lives of all children through exemplary teaching in a world-class system of innovative, welcoming schools,” 25% say BPS lives up to this very well and 42% say somewhat well. This is down from 35% “very” and 48% “somewhat” at the same time last year.
“Polls like this one that look at trends over time let us see how opinion evolves as situations and policies change,” said Steve Koczela, President of The MassINC Polling Group. “This poll finds parents are keeping a close eye on the difficulties the district is facing as a new year begins and a new superintendent takes over.”
Parents want to be more engaged with their children’s education, with 83% saying they want to be “very engaged. Even so, just 45% feel BPS enables them to be “very engaged.” On a similar note, 37% strongly agree BPS makes it easy for them to share their concerns and 30% strongly agree their feedback is valued. Each of these figures has declined over the last year. Just 40% of public school parents in Boston say they would choose a BPS district school for their child if given alternative options, with the majority saying they would opt for a different school type.
The poll also asked about potential uses for federal COVID-19 relief funds flowing into BPS, which adds up to about $10,000 per student. The most popular potential uses of the funds are support systems for student mental health (89% support), new instructional materials and technology for schools (87%), and improving school buildings (84%). A range of potential uses earned support of two thirds or more of parents. The least popular idea was distributing the funds directly to BPS families.
About the poll: These results are based on 4 waves of a survey of public school parents in Boston. Live telephone and online interviewing were conducted in English and Spanish for Wave 1 July 15 – August 2, Wave 2 November 9 – November 21, 2021, Wave 3 March 22 – April 12, 2022, and Wave 4 July 21 - August 4, 2022. Telephone respondents were reached by both landline and cell phone. Oversamples of Black, Latino, and Asian American respondents were obtained to bring the total interview count up to at least 200 for Black and Latino parents, and at least 100 AAPI parents. Results within race and ethnicity were weighted to age, gender, and education level for each group. Groups were then combined and weighted to the population parameters for public school parents in the city as a whole. The first two waves were sponsored by Populace, and subsequent waves by The Shah Foundation.
About The MassINC Polling Group: About The MassINC Polling Group: The MassINC Polling Group is a nonpartisan public opinion research firm serving public, private, and social-sector clients. MPG elevates the public's voice with cutting edge methods and rigorous analysis. Based in Boston, MPG serves a nationwide client base.