Parent Research: Concerns and the 2021-22 School Year
It would be an understatement to say that the landscape has shifted from what was once the familiar process of back to school. Heading into November, many districts still face divided communities struggling to find common ground. While we are all weary of talking about the ripple effects of the pandemic, we cannot deny COVID has changed our priorities and our focus in many aspects of life. The priorities and focus of parents sending their children back to school this fall were no exception.
Not long ago (pre-pandemic) we had surveyed parents and found safety and security was the top reason parents chose a school for their child, followed by convenience and academics. In a past blog post, we discussed the importance of communicating safety measures taken by your district and how programming that provided convenience for families was top priority.
Certainly, for the majority of parents who research their choice of schools, these features are still important, but as we mentioned earlier—the landscape has shifted. The pandemic has changed public education and with it our priorities, at least in the short term, and possibly the foreseeable future. Those districts that are quickest to adapt have the greatest chance to thrive.
Over the past summer, with a lack of clear direction from any government bodies, many schools were being put in the difficult position of deciding health matters like masking and quarantining for students, as those topics grew increasingly contentious among community members. At the same time, we set out to learn more about the shifting landscape of education, school choice, and what parents’ main concerns were—if they had also shifted. We surveyed parents of K-12 students across 54 counties in Michigan to get a clear picture of those concerns, and thus insight into what parents valued most from their schools, going into the 2021-22 school year.
Shift in Concern
When we asked parents to list all the concerns they had heading back to school in 2021-22, not surprisingly, many pointed to COVID related issues. The top three concerns of parents cited were: a learning gap (due to COVID interruptions), not enough COVID protocols in place, and the mental health of students. These were followed closely by meeting social needs and bullying.
We then asked parents to further evaluate those top three concerns and place them in order of importance from the most to least concerning. Interestingly, the number one concern cited by parents was the lack of COVID protocols in place, heading into the school year. 24% of parents said there were not enough COVID protocols in place at their child’s school. The number two concern was mental health at 16%, followed closely by the COVID learning gap at 14%.
The Detroit News published an article that supports our findings, citing that 49% of parents supported a mask mandate in schools, compared to 45% that opposed the idea. The article goes on to further illuminate the controversial divide between parents that schools are facing. When the question was posed differently, specifically asking about parent choice regarding masks, 54% said parents should choose whether a student wears a mask, compared to 42% who said it should be required.
Furthermore, an important finding from our survey suggests that parents’ confidence in their schools overall may be waning. We found that while 70% of parents would have rated their child’s school’s performance good or very good prior to the pandemic, only 51% would say the same now. That’s a 19% negative shift in 18 months and could signal a worrisome trend.
Stay the Course, Broaden the Message
On a more positive note, 80% of parents still believe that their child’s school has their child’s best interest in mind. Your district has always had students’ best interest in mind and though the landscape may have shifted, the purpose has not. Don’t become distracted by the political noise and community divisiveness, and most importantly make sure you are consistently balancing any COVID-related messages with those that get back to the heart of your work as educators.
Determine what your communication objectives are and build a plan to remain clear and concise throughout the year. If your community values COVID safety protocols, remind them of your efforts that are working, but don’t forget to show them the real work that is done inside the classroom. No matter what political issues are a hot topic, everyone can come together around the teaching and learning that is happening within your buildings or through remote learning.
Galapagos has helped districts refocus their messaging and connect with their community throughout the pandemic. Let us know if you’d like to talk about what we can do for your district.