Ahead of the school year starting for Boston's students, a new poll has been released that says parents are less satisfied with Boston Public Schools.
The poll was released Monday by MassINC Polling Group, and is the fourth measure the group has done of parents' satisfaction of Boston's public schools since July 2021. This latest wave included 845 public school parents in the City of Boston, a fairly small sample in a district that typically serves more than 50,000 children.
In the latest data set, 29% of parents reported that they're "very satisfied" with the Boston Public Schools, which is a decline from 41% at the same time last year. Meanwhile, less parents in this most recent survey felt that the district is focusing on students. A higher number of parents than previous surveys reported that they believed the district was focused more on district leaders and politicians.
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A high majority of parents told the polling group they want to be "very engaged" with their child's education. Just under half, though, said that Boston Public Schools enables them to do so.
The school year begins for grades 1-12 on Sept. 8.
The city and school district reached an agreement with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on a plan back in June to avoid a state of receivership. Changes to special education services, student transportation and school safety are in the works for Boston schools.
A couple weeks back, Boston Public Schools completed some of the first steps toward completing its state supervised improvement plan. A report released at that time showed a number of initiatives still in the works, and others that are already done. That includes a new system to address families' complaints, according to The Boston Globe.
This is all happening under changing leadership at the district. Incoming superintendent Mary Skipper has fulltime start date at Boston Public Schools on Sept. 26. Right now, she's still involved in Somerville.
"I am committed to rebuilding confidence and trust among our students and families, and this data provides a helpful baseline for the years ahead," Incoming Superintendent Mary Skipper told NBC10 Boston in a statement Tuesday. "We cannot do this work alone, and I'm grateful that the overwhelming majority of BPS families are raising their hands, asking to be more engaged in our schools."
