New Survey: America's Families are Rethinking K-12 Education as 53.7% of Parents Search for New Schools

Black, Hispanic, and young millennial parents are leading a post-COVID realignment of K–12 education

MIAMI, Jan. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- America's K­–12 education system is experiencing a once-in-a-generation realignment that is powered by increased demand for school choice among Black, Hispanic, and young millennial parents, according to survey results released today by the nonprofit National School Choice Awareness Foundation (NSCAF).

According to the survey, 53.7 percent of parents considered new schools for their children over the past year, or are currently considering making a change­­. Black parents (64.5 percent), Hispanic parents (64.6 percent), and parents aged 18-29 (63.3 percent) were most likely to consider new schools for their children.

Parents who explored new education options were primarily motivated by a desire to find a better educational fit for their child and not out of widespread dissatisfaction with their children's schools, the survey indicated. In fact, 67.9 percent of all parents expressed satisfaction with their children's schools.

Post-COVID, however, parents are increasingly worried about their children's academic progress, and 86.1 percent of parents said they were at least slightly concerned about their children's learning. More than one third of parents (37.9 percent) said they accessed in-person or online tutoring for their children last year, as well.

Parent demand for school choice options is unlikely to decline in the coming years. Nearly two thirds of parents surveyed (64.7 percent) said they wish they had more information about the schooling options available for their children––with demand for information strongest among Black (71.2 percent), Hispanic (75.7 percent) and young millennial parents.

"Every child deserves a quality, effective education, and school choice empowers parents to find learning environments where their daughters and sons are most likely to succeed," said Shelby Doyle, NSCAF's vice president of public awareness. "As we prepare to celebrate National School Choice Week with tens of thousands of awareness-raising events across the country, it is essential to remember for families, school choice is not about policy or politics. It is about making intensely personal decisions about what works best for their individual children."

To learn more about school choice, or to access comprehensive and unbiased information designed to help parents navigate the K–12 school choice options available for their children, visit schoolchoiceweek.com.

For more information on NSCAF's parent survey program, or to download the survey's findings, toplines, or cross-tabs, click here.

National School Choice Week (NSCW) informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children. The Week is a charitable program of the nonpartisan, nonpolitical National School Choice Awareness Foundation (NSCAF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. NSCAF's mission is to raise broad and equal parent awareness of K–12 education options, including traditional public, public charter, public magnet, private, online, and home education.

SOURCE National School Choice Week