Parents of students enrolled in urban schools believe their children’s schools are safe, according to a poll released last week, even though more than 60 percent think students fight a lot or aren’t sure about the level of fighting.
The survey of more than 10,000 parents of children in 112 urban schools was conducted for the National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education. It follows two previous surveys about school climate by CUBE on the views of students, teachers, and administrators.
“Race is not a factor in the success of children at my child’s school.”
Nearly 30 percent of the parents who responded were male; 40 percent were black, about 30 percent were Hispanic, and about 20 percent were white. They were asked about school safety; parental involvement; parental expectations for success; trust, respect and caring in schools; bullying; their community’s welfare; and racial issues.
Overall, the survey found, parents had a more positive view of school than their children did, with 83 percent saying they felt respected by administrators.
Hispanic parents were significantly more likely than parents in other ethnic or racial groups to report that they didn’t feel welcome in their children’s schools during their visits. And almost 20 percent of all the respondents said they had not attended a parent-teacher conference in the past year.
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