A majority of California adults, including public school parents, believe the COVID-19 pandemic has caused children to fall behind academically, according to an annual survey that looks at the state's perspective on education.
Key findings from a survey by the Public Policy Institute of California show 6 in 10 Californians are concerned that schools won’t reopen for full time, in-person learning this fall.
“Eighty-three percent of public school parents think kids are falling behind, and the bulk of that sentiment is people saying they are falling behind a lot, not a little,” said PPIC Survey Analyst Rachel Lawler.
She told KCBS Radio that while there is fear that low-income students of color are falling behind, many adults still approve of the way Governor Gavin Newsom has handled the reopening of K-12 public schools.
“Despite a year of distance learning, we find that 54% of adults and 61% of public school parents say California’s K-12 public education system is generally going in the right direction,” Lawler said.
A majority of parents said their local public schools do an excellent or good job of preparing students for college and for the workforce, but 4 in 10 parents would opt for private school if cost and location were not an issue.
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