This decline in overall satisfaction among K-12 parents is largely due to a drop in the percentage saying they are completely satisfied, from 41% one year ago to 32% in the latest Gallup poll, conducted July 30-Aug. 12. This decrease comes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the U.S. and K-12 schools are being forced to adapt to keep students and staff members safe. While many school districts around the country will provide distance learning at the start of the 2020-2021 school year, as they did at the end of the last school year, many others have tried to find a way to offer in-person schooling.
Gallup’s COVID-19 tracking poll in May found that although parents largely gave their child’s school positive ratings for its remote learning, they found aspects of it to be challenging. Meanwhile, more recent data show that parents are torn about what type of schooling they prefer for the new school year and that teachers are “very concerned” about returning to their classroom.
“The Gallup poll finds that public school enrollment will drop from 83% to 76%. That would be about 3.5 million students leaving public schools.” – Corey Deangelis.