The education culture war is raging.

But for most parents, it's background noise. This week, we explored the finding of a new NPR/Ipsos poll.

View this email online May 1, 2022 This week, we looked at how parents feel about their child’s school, free tuition for Native American students in California and a look at how the pandemic has affected preschool. Plus, a lifetime achievement for one of the biggest proponents of reading. LA Johnson/NPR Hey, Anya here. We on the NPR Ed team have been working with Ipsos on our parent polls for years. One thing that Ipsos Vice President Mallory Newall is used to, is big partisan divides on almost every issue. “As a researcher, that’s pretty much all I see,” she says.  So we were both really surprised at the results of our latest poll. NPR and Ipsos have done a new national poll of parents of school-aged children. We found that by wide margins, they – both Democrats and Republicans – are happy with their children’s teachers, their public schools and what is being taught there.  88% say “my child’s teacher(s) have done the best they could, given the circumstances around the pandemic” 82% say “My child’s school has handled the pandemic well” 76% say “My child’s school does a good job keeping me informed about the curriculum, including potentially controversial topics”  Following up from a poll conducted last spring, we found lots of positive shifts. More parents now say their children are on track or ahead of where they should be on reading and writing, math and science, socialization and communication, and mental health and well-being. Fewer say they are behind. In fact, nearly half – 47% – now say “the pandemic has not disrupted my child’s education.” That’s up from 38% last year. Notably, parents’ rosy views on this clash with what test scores and other indicators suggest.   We also focused on some topics that have been in the news, like racism, slavery, U.S. history, and gender and sexuality. Lately it seems there’s a new controversy erupting every day over these issues and how they’re taught in public school classrooms.  Yet, despite the hype, a lot of the parents in our poll don’t seem to have strongly held views.    For example, we asked, “Do you believe your child’s school teaches about race and racism in a way that is consistent with your values?”    38% said YES, twice as many as 19% who said NO. But, another big chunk, 32%, said DON’T KNOW. And 10% said “Their school does not teach about this.” As always, there is more to unpack. Click here to read and listen to more of the poll’s findings. — Anya Kamenetz, Correspondent, NPR Ed Now, let’s get into some news…  University of California will waive tuition and fees for many Native American students. The initiative is part of the UC Native American Opportunity Plan, which is designed to bolster student diversity and to make the university "more affordable and accessible" for Native American students. The program will cover tuition and student service fees for undergraduate and graduate students who are members of federally recognized Native American, American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. Read more here. — Rina Torchinsky, NPR Newsdesk Newsletter continues after sponsor message The pandemic erased a decade of public preschool gains. According to the report, nearly 300,000 fewer children were enrolled in preschool during the 2020-2021 school year compared to 2019-2020 – an 18% drop. Given the timeframe, researchers attribute the drop largely to pandemic-driven school closures and the challenges of providing preschool remotely. States also spent roughly $9 billion on pre-K during the 2020-2021 school year – an inflation-adjusted decrease of $254 million compared to the previous year. Perhaps the most worrying data in the report come from parent surveys that capture the pandemic's impact on preschool enrollment based on family income. Read more here.   — Cory Turner, Correspondent, NPR Ed And before you go, a lifetime achievement for one of the biggest proponents of reading... LeVar Burton will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the new children's Emmys. Burton took on executive producer and hosting duties for the PBS kids' program in 1983. On the show, Burton read books, conducted interviews and explained current events to children. The show aired for 23 years, and has won 12 Daytime Emmys and a Peabody Award. The Children's and Family Emmys is the first standalone Emmy awards show since the Sports Emmy Awards and the News & Documentary Emmy Awards were founded in 1979, the NATAS said. Until now, children's programs were typically nominated for Daytime Emmys. Read more here. See you next week. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: npred@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Education emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy