Over one third of BPS parents polled said they are not satisfied with the BPS high school options, according to a MassINC poll released Tuesday, and over another third said they’ve considered finding a new school for their child.
“It definitely highlights the challenge for city leaders and BPS leaders specifically, that these are the things that are on parents’ minds,” said Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group.
The poll, conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Shah Family Foundation, surveyed 841 BPS parents from mid-July to early August, including oversamples of Black, Latino, and AAPI parents of K-12 students. The poll has been conducted three times a year over the last two years.
The poll showed 55% of parents with high school age kids responded that they are satisfied with the options available to them in Boston Public Schools and 37% are not.
Along different demographic groups, 46% of Black parents and 45% white parents polled said they are satisfied with BPS’s offerings, while 67% of Latino and Asian parents were satisfied.
The top concerns parents listed were quality education and safety and security. of those ho considered a new school, 31% listed safety as a main reason and 28% cited the quality of education and extracurriculars at their current school.
“Safety is one of the things that parents say a lot,” said Koczela. “This is something that parents are bringing up spontaneously, just in general and then when we’re asking about what parents want for their child and a high school in Boston.”
This comes after the last MassINC poll of BPS parents in April showed wide concern for physical and emotional safety and strong interest in measures like metal detectors.
The number of parents concerned with their child’s emotional wellbeing, 69%, and physical safety, 72%, remained generally consistent from last school year.
The poll also showed a slight uptick in parents who were “very satisfied” with BPS overall, 35% very satisfied compared to 29% in April and lower numbers throughout 2022. The number who thought BPS was living up to its commitments continued a slight downward trend.
“We see over and over again in polling around here and across the country really is that parents are often most satisfied with their own child school,” said Koczela. “Even when the the school has a lot of issues to address, and they’re less satisfied with the districts and less satisfied with schools in the state around the country.”