NJ Education Report

A new national poll out from Morning Consult looks at Black, Hispanic, and White parents’ views on returning to school, getting vaccinated, wanting tutoring services, favoring hybrid instruction, and supporting vouchers and public charter schools.

The poll found half of Black parents say they’ll feel comfortable sending their children into schools for in-person instruction in the fall; remember that last week Gov. Murphy announced that all schools must be open for full-time instruction in September, saying “we have every confidence that come September our students will walk into the best schools in the nation.”

Also worthy of note: Four out of five Black parents support government-funded vouchers, which allow families to pay for private school tuition and fees, online learning programs, and private tutoring if they disenroll their children from traditional schools. Also, seven out of ten Black parents support charter schools. Here’s a rundown of the results.

• Black parents have remained more comfortable with their children returning to in-person learning this month and nearly half believe it will be safe for their children to go back to school in-person by September 2021.
• Black parents remain less likely than both White and Hispanic parents to either vaccinate themselves or their children.

• Black parents are more likely than both Hispanic and White parents to believe that offering additional resources for their children would be beneficial for their development this upcoming school year.
• Interest and participation in tutoring among Black parents increased by eight points this month to just over half (55%), while Black parents’ interest and participation in learning pods decreased this month to just under a third (30%).
• Both Black and Hispanic parents are more likely than White parents to prefer schooling take place at home in some capacity. Just under half of Black parents signaled they would like schooling to occur at home three or more days per week after the pandemic.
• Black parents continue to be much more likely to support education savings accounts (ESAs), public charter schools, and school vouchers than oppose them.