Recent public opinion polls show high levels of interest and concern in public school education. That probably shouldn't be surprising, after the past few years with COVID-19 and subsequent policies to address the pandemic. But what do people want public schools to focus on, and how should schools respond? The good news is that what those who were surveyed said lines up with the "Kansans Can" school plan set by the State Board of Education.
According to a new poll for the American Federation of Teachers, the highest priority goals for schools to teach are “fundamental skills” in reading, math and science, followed by practical life skills, critical thinking and reasoning, and skills to succeed in college or careers. These results generally reinforce the Grinnell College poll released in March, which found that by far the highest priority is teaching reading, writing and math, followed by home economics and budgeting, then useful job skills.
Another new poll this summer commissioned by Democrats for Education Reform found that 87 percent of respondents believe most students lost ground during the COVID pandemic and only 12 percent believe students have mostly caught up. To help students recover, that poll found the strongest support for expanding one-on-one and small group tutoring, with improving school security and safety close behind. Increasing teacher salaries and increasing student mental health services ranked higher than expanding after school and summer school programs, hiring more teachers and expanding special education.
The public wants progress, not just getting back to the way it was. More respondents favored schools preparing students for future jobs (56 percent) than getting back to teaching the way they were before the pandemic (34 percent).
Those results seem clear. The public feels that teaching “the basics” - reading, writing, math, science – are the highest priority. However, academic basics are not the only priority. There are also concerns about “practical skills” and preparation for employment. There are concerns over safety and mental health. The public realizes that the impact of school closures, learning disruptions and health issues for students and families due to COVID set back learning and wants to see students recover. There are also concerns about the quality of educators in the classroom.
If those issues sound familiar to school leaders, it may be because they are all part of the State Board of Education’s “Kansans Can” vision and outcomes, which are becoming the basis of school accreditation and accountability. (More information on school accountability here.) They are supported by recent legislation and federal assistance to schools.
Kansans Can asks school districts to focus on these areas: kindergarten readiness to help prepare students to learn, academic skills to prepare students for postsecondary training and jobs, addressing social-emotional needs which include mental health, helping students develop individual plans based on their interests, and increasing the percentage of students who graduate high school and transition to postsecondary training, from technical programs to four-year college and beyond.
Kansas has been increasing high school graduation rates and postsecondary completion – until the COVID pandemic. However, academic skills as measured by standardized tests – the only statewide measures we have – began declining a decade ago when school funding was reduced and fell further behind during the COVID pandemic. This school year, districts are receiving the final year of the six-year Gannon school funding plan. They are also receiving hundreds of millions in federal COVID aid and increased state aid for safety, mental health and supplemental math instruction, as well as new requirements for reading instruction.
What this means for school districts:
These poll results suggest a strong focus on all the Kansans Can outcomes – implementation, communications and results – would demonstrate schools are working to address the highest priority public concerns and can help improve public confidence.
Implementation. School boards are adopting budgets this summer under a new state law requiring review of state assessments results, directing resources to improving those results, and estimating the time required to move students to postsecondary readiness. Going forward, school leaders should continue to review how their district is addressing all areas of Kansans Can outcomes, from kindergarten readiness to postsecondary success, especially as the State Board shifts more emphasis to these areas for accreditation.
Communications. Efforts to address public concerns will go unnoticed unless schools talk about what they are doing. Districts need to plan how they will share and explain their school improvement efforts with parents and community members, including elected officials.
Results. With increased school funding, districts have been adding new staff and programs to support student learning, address health and safety concerns, recover from COVID losses, and create more personalized learning to help students prepare for the workforce. They have also been raising teacher salaries. With those funds, schools will be under intense scrutiny over results – and the most important results, these polls say, are academic basics.
School leaders may contact KASB for more information about these polls, the school board’s role in school improvement and other topics.
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