PowerSchool Surveys

With the help of the website “Survey Monkey,” it is now easier than ever to conduct surveys and distribute the results. A recent Snapshot in USA Today noted that 89% of teacher and administrators, who responded to a survey, said that individual student learning models need improvement. But PowerSchool is not just for teachers. There are separate surveys for parents used to obtain their interest in AP and honors courses as well as special education courses.  Software programs are also available for parents to access their children’s’ grades and allow them to be proactive in monitoring their children’s’ progress.

It is critical for community leaders to know what the parents as well as the community at large want in their schools. I recently received my property tax bill for next year and observed that over 50% of the taxes will go to funding the public schools. This is a multicultural community who wants the best possible education for their children. They want the best teachers, the widest variety of courses, the newest technology and they are willing to pay it. In other districts around the country there are other lines of thought. In communities dominated by senior citizens, there is an aversion to higher taxes and the belief that “we already paid for our children and the burden should not be on us.” There are inner city school districts with crumbling ratables where parents can’t afford the higher taxes needed to fund the schools. What should become of them?

There needs to be a paradigm shift in paying for public education. Charter schools are not the answer. The State of New Jersey tried to level the playing field years ago as a result of a court case, Abbott v. Burke, which mandated additional funding to specific districts for whom it was felt that additional funds would help improve the schools. That was not necessarily the case.

Few people out there believe that a federal takeover of all public schools would remedy the situation. But until public opinion changes and values the importance of public education, the issues of equality and success in schools with be a mirage.

C.2016 J. Margolis