A few weeks ago, many were pointing out the four-year anniversary of the last “normal” week of our lives. Some pandemic-era reflections acknowledged the “silver linings” like more time with family, flexible work arrangements, gratitude for one’s health. With respect to education, however, it’s harder to find such perspectives, as stunted K-12 academic achievement poses serious long-term implications for a generation of learners.

This is unquestionable and absolutely cause for concern. But long before that seismic shift in March 2020, a similar story held true: Schools largely helped some — but not all — students thrive. For many years, parents accepted this status quo, even as they desired otherwise in the form of emotionally supportive environments, rigorous college preparation and the opportunity for their children to explore diverse career pathways, to name a few.

These priorities aren’t new, but in the wake of the pandemic, parents are now more openly exploring other ways to meet them — fueling increased absenteeism, a decline in public school enrollment and a substantial rise in homeschooling, microschools and families exercising various forms of school choice.

Ironically, at this moment when parents are expressing frustration with the status quo, more and more schools and districts are indeed embracing new models and ways of measuring success, prioritizing student-centered pedagogy, inclusive pathway programs and interdisciplinary learning. Yet, despite these positive changes, schools often lack the means to communicate their efforts effectively to parents, leaving them disconnected from the very information they seek.

GreatSchools wanted to dig deeper to understand how districts were communicating with parents postpandemic and how parents were looking for schools in an era of exploration and increasing disengagement.

For the past year, we have undertaken a variety of research, including conducting in-depth interviews with district leaders from across the country, surveying and interviewing parents to understand their mindsets and priorities, and examining more than 75 districts nationwide to find out what kinds of data they are collecting and sharing with their communities.

Some of our findings substantiate what we’ve suspected to be true: Information overload is real, pockets of innovation exist, parents value information that pertains to their own child. Others underscore the need to strengthen feedback loops between parents and districts to elevate families’ shifting desires and, in turn, deliver the information they value most.

A few key themes that emerged in our research among parents and district leaders include:

The data that exists doesn’t always match what parents are prioritizing, and many still find the school search process chaotic. 

• Parents expressed challenges in finding schools aligned with specific values or characteristics they prioritize, such as specialized programs, safety or a friendly atmosphere.
  
• Parents still believe that the only way to assess a school culture is by visiting in person.
  
• Mental health programs and services for students are significant concerns for parents, but they say they don’t know how to find this information.
  
• Not all parents approach searching for a suitable school with the same time and energy: Some conduct only superficial research, leading to frustration or resignation.
  
• Parents lack guidance on when and how to prepare their child for enrollment in a new school, including navigating lottery programs, understanding application procedures and participating in events like open houses or tours.

Parents’ relationship with their children’s school varies widely, but trends show a growing desire for a more personalized experience.

• A majority of parents are satisfied with their school but still worry about their child’s happiness and emotional well-being.
  
• Dissatisfied parents, while fewer in number, prioritize academic quality over emotional well-being.
  
• Middle school parents are more likely to feel stuck, possibly due to limited school choice options. High school parents seeking change emphasize academic preparation for college and tailored educational experiences for their children.
  
• Parents feel there is both too much information coming from districts and not enough relevant information as it pertains to their individual child.
  
• Parents prefer personalized information about their child rather than broad, aggregated data about the entire school or district. 

District leaders are feeling caught between a rock and a fiscal cliff, but many acknowledge they should do more to engage parents in their communities. 

• District leaders acknowledge that many parents and caregivers are unaware of programs that could benefit their child, such as help with clothes or food, extracurricular activities or scholarship opportunities.
  
• While many districts and states collect data from parents through surveys, there’s often a lack of follow-through in terms of analysis, sharing and action based on the results.
  
• Some district leaders feel politicized culture wars are making their jobs more difficult, worrying that parents on one side of the aisle will be unhappy with any decision they make.
  
• District leaders believe that improving the quality of education matters more than collecting and distributing data. Some struggle with enough resources to do both.

These findings paint a picture of educational priorities among America’s parents that reflect an emphasis on both academic rigor and mental health and well-being. Although a majority report being happy with their school, responses suggest that even these parents harbor concerns about their children’s short and long-term happiness. District leaders want parents to not only have a better understanding of the innovative ways they are working to meet their needs, but to see the precarious position their schools are in — as emergency relief funding dwindles, fiscal cliffs loom and parents continue to seek alternatives.

The National Coalition for Public School Options recently commissioned a to gauge exactly what parents of school-age children think about this issue and its potential impact on how young students learn. Conducted in August, the survey contacted 1,000 parents of children in grades K-12.

The results revealed a mixed bag, underscoring the potential value of AI in K-12 education, but parents clearly worry that AI may threaten teacher jobs, as well as job prospects for their children one day. For this reason, they see the need for strong government regulation over AI in education and the workplace.

Parents certainly understand the technological implications, with nearly 72% saying artificial intelligence will usher in a new revolution of technology. But an almost equal number (71.5%) are concerned. Interestingly, parents largely support teachers using AI to write lessons and develop class materials (53.4%), but less than half want the technology directly evaluating their child’s work (45.1%). 

Parents split on whether students should be allowed to use AI to help with their schoolwork, with 43.2% opposed and 42.9% in favor. But in broader terms, it’s clear that many simply aren’t familiar with it. Roughly 41% had a “favorable” reaction to Chat GPT-4 overall, but 43% had never heard of it or had no opinion. Half had never even tried the AI platform. 

With so much uncertainty, 58% of parents believe strong government regulation must be in

place to keep AI from doing the work for students, replacing real teachers and potentially

costing their children jobs in the future. Only 19% opposed regulation, while 15% had no opinion and 7% were unsure. About 68% said they are concerned that AI will eventually interfere with their child’s career opportunities after school with companies phasing out the

need for human work.

There were similar responses when it comes to teacher jobs. When asked to respond to the statement that, “Although AI is generally new, it is already impacting jobs from a variety of industries. K-12 education is no different — without regulations, AI could transform the K-12 education system overnight and thousands of teachers could be replaced by AI instruction,” over 70% of parents found such a scenario more likely or much more likely.

Over 80% believed that providing access to AI platforms would hurt students’ learning potential because the technology would do their work for them, such as writing essays. Smaller classes would also be threatened: 76% said they thought it would be more likely or much more likely that AI’s ability to reach hundreds of students at once will take away one-on-one teaching that is available only with a human educator. Parents don’t want students to lose the opportunity to interact with their teachers — 69% believe this could lead to their children struggling.

Respondents also showed concern for special needs students. In all, 71% believe it is more likely or much more likely that special needs students would suffer with AI because their unique learning needs require “extremely personalized educational options. Without oversight, AI could replace special needs teachers without parents knowing the future consequences and potential for learning loss.”

While parents recognize the potential benefits of artificial intelligence, it’s evident that concerns about job opportunities, student learning and one-on-one instruction time with teachers persist. AI continues to move forward at a rapid pace in all areas, including K-12 education. This survey provides a unique window into how parents â€” and taxpayers — are feeling about it. 

We urge lawmakers and policymakers to provide parents with a seat at the table as discussions continue regarding AI’s use in K-12 education. The AI issue should undergo robust debate, and parents are ready to provide their feedback about one of the great education issues of our time.

Following Governor Murphy’s announcement that all New Jersey schools will return to full-time, in-person learning in the fall, Newark-based non-profit Project Ready conducted a statewide poll of 1,215 New Jerseyans to find out what parents think of the decision.

The poll found support for returning to full-time, in-person learning overall, with 86 percent of New Jerseyans and 88 percent of parents supporting the idea. However, the survey also found significant disparities between what Black and white residents think about the decision. Black residents were 5 times as likely as white respondents (20% to 4%) to say they are opposed to a full reopening in the fall.While 90% of white parents support the move, only 66% of Black parents do.

“While New Jersey has announced that schools will return to in-person learning full time in the fall, not all parents are comfortable with the idea yet,” said Project Ready Executive Director Shennell McCloud.

“There is a significant gap between Black and white residents’ support for this decision, which is no surprise given how hard the pandemic has hit Black communities. Some parents remain understandably concerned about the safety of their children, and it is incumbent upon schools to go the extra mile to address their concerns and build trust with parents as they plan for reopening in the fall.”

Concerns cited by parents included general ongoing concerns about safety, children not being vaccinated, not trusting children to wear masks and maintain distance, and the experience last year when cases dramatically increased during the fall.

Other key findings from the poll include (you can ):

Most parents think schools have reopened too slowly, but a racial and partisan gap exists:

• Overall, by 52% to 13%, parents think schools in NJ have reopened too slowly rather than too fast.
• Black parents are more evenly split (28% too slowly, 25% too fast) whereas white (57%-8%) and Hispanic parents (46%-23%) are much more likely to say schools have reopened too slowly.
• There is a very large partisan gap: 89% of Republicans say schools have reopened too slowly compared to 15% of Democrats, most of whom (52%) think reopening has gone at the right pace.

Parents mostly say in-person learning is going well

• Among parents whose children are back in school, 88% say it’s going well versus 11% who say it’s not going well.

More than 1 in 4 parents are choosing remote learning even with the option of in-person school

• Overall, 45% of parents say their child is learning in-person, 11% say they are remote because they don’t have the option for in-person, and 28% are choosing remote learning even though in-person school is available
• Among the 28% of parents choosing remote learning even though in-person learning is an option, the things that would make them more comfortable with returning their child to school in person are if all school staff are vaccinated (46%), if overall COVID cases go down further (41%), if their child is vaccinated (38%), and improved ventilation (34%).

Most parents are concerned about the impact on their child’s mental health

• Parents’ biggest concerns from the disruption to learning during the pandemic are their child’s mental health/emotional well-being (56%) and their child’s long-term success in school (44%). One in four (24%) are concerned about not completing the curriculum
• One in 6 parents (16%) are concerned about not being able to provide financially because of needing to be home during the school day, but Black parents (25%) are three times as likely as white parents (8%) to report this concern, along with 14% of Hispanic parents.

This article originally appeared at .