Poll: BPS parents feeling strain months into the school year
Seven in ten parents report concern about their children’s physical, emotional well-being while at school. Teacher absences, on-time buses are also areas of concern.
A new survey of parents of children in the Boston Public Schools finds about a third (32%) say they are very satisfied with BPS, while 47% say they are “somewhat satisfied.” This is similar to the last wave of the survey in August 2022, but down from earlier waves. Black parents report the lowest level of satisfaction, with 19% calling themselves “very satisfied.” Many parents also described issues ranging from concerns about physical safety, to late buses, to frequent substitute teachers.
Majorities of parents express concern about their children’s physical safety and emotional well being while at school. In all, 44% say they are “very concerned” about their child’s physical safety, while another 25% are “somewhat concerned,” similar to levels of concern about emotional well-being (42% very concerned, 29% somewhat). Black and AAPI parents express the highest level of concern on both fronts.
These results are from a new survey of BPS parents conducted November 16-28, 2022. The survey is the latest in a series going back to July 2021 sponsored by The Shah Family Foundation and conducted by The MassINC Polling Group. This latest wave included 850 parents with at least one child in BPS district schools.
Most parents (58%) say their children are on track academically, but a quarter (24%) say they have fallen behind. About half (51%) think the schools are doing enough for students who have fallen behind, but more than a third (38%) think they need to do more. Among parents who think their kids are behind, 57% think the schools should be doing more to help students catch up.
Some of the challenges parents report are more operational in nature. Looking just over the last week, only 31% of parents whose children ride the bus to school say the buses have been “always on time,” while 24% report half or less were on time. Hiring enough teachers and keeping them in the classroom has been another major challenge, with 39% of parents reporting their children have been taught by a substitute at least a few times a month (10% said every day).
Following a longstanding trend, parents report little sense of empowerment to share feedback or make changes. Far more parents (82%) say they want to be very engaged in their children’s education than think BPS enables them to be (46%). Just 28% strongly agree their feedback is valued by BPS, and 34% strongly agree BPS makes it easy to share concerns.
About the poll: These results are based on 5 waves of survey data looking at the views and experiences of parents of K-12 Boston Public Schools students. Live telephone and online interviews 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, Wave 4 July 21 - August 4, 2022, and Wave 5 November 16-28, 2022. Telephone respondents were reached by both landline and cell phone. Oversamples of Black, Latino, and AAPI 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 Family 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.