Urban Parents Are Exercising Choice, But Want More Options
A new survey from the Center on Reinventing Public Education found that some cities are making progress in expanding educational choices for families, but more guidance is needed for parents to navigate through what options are available for their children.
Researchers surveyed parents in eight cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia and the District of Columbia. Indianapolis was the only city where less than half of parents reported sending their children to a non-neighborhood school.
However, 25 percent of all parents reported struggling to get the necessary information to choose a school that best fits the learning needs of their child.
Education Week’s Arianna Prothero noted some significant differences between cities, including DC parents being six times more likely than parents in Philly to claim their schools were improving.
Eight cities no doubt covers a large population, but there are 50 states with communities both urban and rural that do not enjoy a diverse portfolio of learning options that parents can choose from.
With less than half of states performing well on The Parent Power Index there is still a lot of work to do in states so parents have the best possible access to making sure their child is in the learning environment that’s right for them.
