蜜桃影视

COVID-19 has forced America鈥檚 parents to oversee their children鈥檚 education in ways no parent (or educator) ever imagined.

What do they think about K-12 education now?

A nationally representative survey of 1,000 public and private school parents by . has answers to this question. The opt-in survey was conducted online Sept. 14-16, weighted to account for demographics including age, private/public school enrollment, income, geography and gender. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Dr. Frank Luntz, FIL founder and the survey director, summarizes the main conclusion: 鈥淣ever in my lifetime have so many parents been so eager for so much educational change.鈥�

Let鈥檚 start with two examples of the effects COVID-19 and online learning have had on parents and their conclusions about the state of today鈥檚 education system.

First, when asked to provide the best word or phrase to 鈥渄escribe your child鈥檚 experience with learning online鈥� the word 鈥渇rustrating鈥� was the negative word used most often, by nearly one in four parents.

Second, COVID-19 looms as a significant threat as parents think about the 2021 school year. When asked to assume schools can open normally next fall and to choose where they hope to educate their child, less than one-third (30 percent) responded 鈥渇ully in-person learning on school grounds.鈥�

These and other factors have led three out of four parents (76 percent) to conclude that the education system today is in crisis.

Remarkably, despite the stormy effects, parents are optimistic about the future: Nearly two in three (63 percent) believe that America鈥檚 best days in education are still ahead.

What does that future look like to them?

Parents don鈥檛 want a 鈥渞eturn to normal.鈥� Two of three (66 percent) would rethink 鈥渉ow we educate students, coming up with new ways to teach children,鈥� with the remaining believing schools 鈥渟hould get back to the way things were before 鈥� COVID-19.鈥�

The following changes are supported by large percentages of parents.

More than eight in 10 favor 鈥渨ork-based learning programs or apprenticeships in various career fields鈥� (82 percent) and 鈥渕ore vocational classes in high schools鈥� (80 percent).

More than six in 10 (64 percent) would change 鈥渢he school calendar to provide more time for academic instruction.鈥�

In addition, there is significant parent interest in new ways of financing their children鈥檚 learning. For example, nearly eight in ten (76 percent) want to see 鈥渆ducation funding follow the student to whichever school they or their parents choose.鈥�

Furthermore, 80 percent want the government to provide education savings accounts for families, defined as 鈥渁llowing parents to receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized savings accounts.鈥�

But there is an awareness problem with this approach: Over half of parents (51 percent) are either only a 鈥渓ittle familiar鈥� with education savings accounts or 鈥渒now nothing鈥� about them.

Another new approach parents support is education pods, small groups of children who learn together in settings organized by parents who either hire a teacher or take turns supervising. More than half (53 percent) support these pods, with higher support from Black and Hispanic parents (60 percent) than among white parents (53 percent). Only 14 percent overall are entirely opposed to them.

Both education savings accounts and pods are popular now. But parents are divided as to whether savings accounts should be permanent (42 percent) or temporary (38 percent). And while more than half (52 percent) believe there should be government subsidies for pods, support drops for making them permanent after COVID-19.

Clearly, at present, these are viewed as a supplement to today鈥檚 online education. Implementing these approaches quickly and effectively could help parents see that they may be more than that.

Parents today believe our K-12 system is in crisis. But they are optimistic and poised for what could be a new era in educational excellence, one in which families have more direct control over, and options for, their child鈥檚 education. One in which they are truly trusted and supported in making decisions about their children鈥檚 schooling. One that ensures parents have many options for giving their children an effective education that prepares them for opportunity and success.

Bruno V. Manno is senior adviser for the Walton Family Foundation鈥檚 K-12 Program. This survey was supported by the Walton Family Foundation, though FIL Inc. retained control over survey development, administration and data reporting. Walton Family Foundation provides financial support to 蜜桃影视.

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