Research & Data

Survey: But What About The Kids?

The debate over schools reopening during the pandemic has included a great deal of feedback from educators and parents. We’re not hearing as much from the students themselves. How are they feeling? Are they worried about catching the virus—and what do they think about safety protocol? Do they prefer remote learning or coming back to […]

EdChoice Public Opinion Tracker: Top Takeaways August 2020

In this post we share findings based on our most recent Public Opinion Tracker survey wave (in the field August 12–17). Our monthly tracking poll results are based on a nationally representative sample of adults 18 years and older (N = 2,200), as well as a subsample of parents of school-age children (N = 548). […]

2020 Schooling in America Series: School Choice, Education Spending and More

In preparation for the first full semester of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools of choice stood at policy and parental crossroads. Charter and private schools of various sizes received pandemic-related funding to stay afloat, causing many to reassess the relationship between K–12 and government funding. New private school parents from South Carolina to Arizona are propping […]

What Parents Think About Getting to School During a Pandemic

I started working on a new survey project a little over a year ago—a national, cross-sector survey of parents on K–12 transportation in the United States. I wanted to know the ways transportation influences parents’ decisions regarding where to send their child(ren) to school; what parents’ major preferences, challenges and concerns related to school transportation […]

Unbundling: How K–12 Education Could Do Transportation Differently

As school districts across the country deal with uncertainty about how schools will reopen in the Fall as the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted, many organizations (such as AFT and AEI) have proposed guidelines for education leaders to consider as they pen their plans for reopening. Some of these guidelines include calls for physical distancing, screening […]

Unbundling: Three Ways Public Schools Can Rethink Food Services

School districts spend about $24 billion on food services each year. According to the USDA, approximately 29.8 million students receive school lunch every day through the National School Lunch Program. That’s about 60 percent of public K-12 students in the country. Nationwide, the cost of providing food services on a per-pupil basis, after adjusting for […]

Unbundling: Three Policies That Would Improve Schools’ Core Education Services

Up to this point, we’ve talked about unbundling what we might call “ancillary” school services like transportation, food, professional development, and remedial education. Now, it is fair to note that thinking of these as ancillary is probably insufficient because if kids can’t get to school, they can’t do anything else. Seems pretty essential. But that […]