2023 Public Perception of Charter Schools in Mississippi

MISSISSIPPI FIRST

public perception OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN MISSISSIPPI

Findings from a Survey of Public School Parents in Mississippi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Mississippi First extends special thanks to the 534 individuals who completed the 2023 Public Perception of Charter Schools survey, as well as the Mississippi Charter Parent Advisory Group for providing feedback on an earlier version of this report. Mississippi First worked with the Survey Research Lab (SRL) at Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center as part of this project. SRL conducted the survey via phone according to our specifications and provided the data to us at the close of the survey. Mississippi First completed all analysis, and SRL does not necessarily agree with the analysis or commentary presented in this report. This report was made possible by the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies. The views expressed in this report are those of Mississippi First alone.

ABOUT

Driven to change the fact that Mississippi has historically been last, our founders set a bold vision: a Mississippi first in education nationally. Mississippi First champions transformative policy solutions ensuring educational excellence for every Mississippi child. We are a leading voice for state-funded pre-K, high-quality public charter schools, access to highly effective teachers, and rigorous state learning standards and materials.

STAFF

GRACE BREAZEALE | K-12 Policy Associate

Author

TOREN BALLARD | Director of K-12 Policy

Co-Author

RACHEL CANTER | Executive Director

Editor

BROOKE WILLIAMS | Director of Communications

Designer

SONJA SEMION

Proofreader

Mississippi PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS

(2022-2023 School Year)1

Note: Instant Impact Global Prep (Natchez) and SR1 College Prep (Canton) opened in the 2023-2024 school year, after our survey administration.

*Categories that had too few students to report are not included in this table.

†Data suppressed to prevent identification of individuals.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Executive summary

Overview of Survey

This report presents survey data regarding the public perception of Mississippi charter schools in the communities where they are located. Survey participants included two groups of randomly selected parents*—non-charter parents, which included parents or guardians of children eligible to attend, but not enrolled in, Mississippi charter schools; and charter parents, which included parents or guardians of children enrolled in Mississippi charter schools. The survey was carried out in the spring and summer of 2023 and asked respondents about the schools that their children attended during the 2022-2023 school year. Survey questions also examined participants’ familiarity and satisfaction with and support for charter schools.

Mississippi First conducted similar surveys in 2019 and 2020 as a contractor of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, which was required to conduct a public perception and parent satisfaction survey as a result of its 2017 federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant. In 2022, Mississippi First was directly awarded a new CSP grant and committed to continuing a similar survey about charter schools in Mississippi.† Throughout this report, we compare the 2023 data to data we collected in 2019 and 2020 to evaluate how responses have changed over time. Note that the most recent survey results must be interpreted in the context of two events that have had a deep impact on the state’s charter school sector. The first is growth in the number of schools and students in the charter sector, most notably growth in communities outside of Jackson. The second is the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. More information about these events and other aspects of the survey are explored in the “Technical Information” section of this report.

High-Level Findings

All findings reported here are statistically significant at the p<0.05 level. For more discussion of these findings as well as other findings, please see the body of the report.

FAMILIARITY

Familiarity with charter schools appears to have decreased among Mississippi’s charter and non-charter parents. However, this could be a result of the sector’s growth outside of Jackson in communities where parents have had less opportunity to learn about these schools. Relative to prior years, non-Jackson residents now make up a larger portion of respondents.

Between 2020 and 2023, the percentage of non-charter parents reporting they were “not at all familiar” with charter schools increased from 27% to 46%.

Between 2020 and 2023, the percentage of charter parents reporting they were “very familiar” with charter schools decreased from 81.8% to 73.3%.

* We use the term “parents” to denote the surveyed caregivers of children enrolled in school. We recognize that not all caregivers are the legal parents of students, but we use the term expansively in this report for ease of reference. †Please note that this report was paid for through philanthropic funds, although its findings will inform our CSP activities.

Among 2023 respondents who reported that they have at least some familiarity with charter schools, the percentage of non-charter parents correctly identifying charter schools as public has increased since 2020. There has been no change in the percentage of charter parents who identify charter schools as public.

Between 2020 and 2023, the percentage of non-charter parents with at least some familiarity with charter schools identifying these schools as public increased from 47.0% to 58.4%.

The 2023 percentage of charter parents with at least some familiarity with charter schools identifying these schools as public was 63.3%, which was statistically the same as the percentage in 2020.

Between 2019 and 2023, every source of information on charter schools included in the survey increased in popularity among charter and noncharter parents who reported at least some familiarity with charter schools. Among these 2023 respondents, some of the most common sources of information were social media, friends, family, and students.

Non-charter parents were most likely to report receiving information about charter schools from friends (61.9%), social media (61.3%), and family (54.2%).

Charter parents were most likely to report receiving information about charter schools from social media (73.5%), friends (73.1%), and students (70.6%).

Compared to 2019, the percentages of charter and non-charter parents who reported receiving information about charter schools from places of worship, the radio, the newspaper, television, community meetings, students, family, the school district, social media, other internet sources, and friends have increased.

POSITIVE PUBLIC PERCEPTION

Charter schools are quite popular within their respective communities among all parents, though disparities in support between charter parents and non-charter parents persist, mirroring our findings from 2020.

The percentage of 2023 parents reporting they support charter schools in their communities was 93% among charter parents and 70.3% among non-charter parents. There was no statistical change in support between 2020 and 2023 for either group.

ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY SCHOOLS

The majority of charter parents (92.6%) and non-charter parents (66.3%) reported that charter schools have had a positive impact on their community. There was no statistical change for either group between 2020 and 2023 on this measure.

Relatively low proportions of 2023 charter parents and non-charter parents felt that all children in their community have access to high-quality schools, with non-charter parents being less likely than charter parents to report access.

Only 17.1% of charter parents and 9.8% of non-charter parents felt that all children in their communities have access to high-quality schools, while 21.2% of charter parents and 13.6% of non-charter parents felt that most children in their communities have access to high-quality schools.

Between 2020 and 2023, there was no statistical change in the percentage of parents (charter or non-charter) who believed that all or most children had access to high-quality schools.

CHARTER SCHOOL PARENT SATISFACTION

Overall, 2023 charter parents expressed very high levels of satisfaction with their children’s schools, though there has been a slight decline in satisfaction levels compared to results from 2020, which could be due to growth in the sector.

Over 90% of charter parents agreed or strongly agreed with eight of the ten 2023 indicators of school environment quality.

Over 85% of charter parents agreed or strongly agreed with ten of the eleven indicators of educational program quality.

When asked to grade their child’s charter school, 87.7% of 2023 charter parents gave their child’s school a grade of “A” or “B,” a strong endorsement though a statistical decline from 94.4% in 2020. Interestingly, there was no statistical difference between the percentage of charter parents rating their school an “A” or “B” when comparing 2023 respondents and 2019 respondents.

Technical information

SURVEY ITEMS

The parent survey assessed parents’ knowledge of and satisfaction with the eight charter schools operating in Mississippi during the 2022-2023 school year. Mississippi First created this survey based on the previous iterations that we used in 2019 and 2020. We also conducted a similar statewide survey in 2017.

The first part of the survey asked all respondents 10 questions about their knowledge of charter schools, their sources of information about charter schools, and their opinions about the value of charter schools in the state and their communities. Eight of these items mirrored questions in Mississippi First’s 2017 Mississippi Voices survey, which allowed us to compare 2023 responses to previous responses from a statewide sample of adults. One of the survey items mirrored questions in a nationally representative poll from Education Next (EdNext), an education policy journal. Three items mirrored questions in a nationally representative poll from the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, a charter school advocacy organization. These items allowed us to examine how Mississippi responses compare to national responses.

The second part of the survey included 26 questions about parents’ opinions about their child’s school along a number of dimensions, including school environment, educational programming, and overall satisfaction. In previous years, we only asked these questions to charter school parents. In this iteration, we asked these questions to both sets of parents—charter and non-charter. However, we only include responses from charter school parents in this report. We chose not to include responses from non-charter parents due to the large number of schools they represented—84 in total—which resulted in wide variation in their responses and too few respondents from each school. Three items in section two of the survey mirrored questions asked of parents in the EdNext poll described above.

The final part of the survey included 11 demographic items, including questions about each respondent’s race, age, household income, education level, and household size. Responses were used to ensure respondents were representative of the target populations and enable analysis based on demographic factors.

The survey instrument can be found in Appendix A.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

The Survey Research Lab (SRL) at Mississippi State University, on behalf of Mississippi First, administered the telephone-based survey to two groups of adult respondents (18 years or older): non-charter parents and charter parents.

By Mississippi law, children are eligible to attend charter schools if they (1) live in a district where a charter school is located or live in a district rated C, D, or F at the time of a charter school’s approval or at the time of their enrollment, and (2) are in a grade offered by a charter school. To construct the pool of “non-charter parents,” Mississippi First procured contact information for parents of grade-eligible children living in a district where a charter school is located but who chose not to enroll their children in a charter school. This included students in grades K-8 in eligible districts around the 2023 charter communities of Clarksdale, Greenwood, and Jackson. The pool of “charter parents” included the phone numbers of parents who had at least one child enrolled in a charter school when the survey was conducted (2022-2023 school year).

The total universe of parents meeting our criteria yielded 10,706 phone numbers, including 2,417 for charter school parents and 8,289 for noncharter school parents (see call log below). Due to small target populations, SRL called each number in the pool in a random order (known as a census-based survey design since poll workers attempt to survey the entire known population). Each telephone number was called at least 10 times before it was retired unless a final disposition had been attained prior to the tenth call attempt. The survey secured 534 interviews (247 from charter parents and 287 from non-charter parents) before concluding.

Of those completing interviews, 87 respondents had at least one child in a charter school and one child in a traditional public school. For the purposes of our analysis, we classified these respondents as charter parents. Additionally, 10 parents had children in two different charter schools. These parents answered all school-specific questions separately for each school. We chose to only include the first set of responses in this analysis to maintain independence between observations, which was a condition of the statistical tests we performed. Even so, excluding the second set of responses for these 10 children had no substantive impact on the results of the survey.

CALL LOG

A NOTE ON STATISTICS

For any survey, researchers attempt to minimize bias by ensuring every person in the sample has an equal chance of being selected for the survey, achieving an adequate response rate and sample size, and evaluating whether respondents are representative of the target population in terms of relevant observable characteristics.

The lists of contact information used to reach parents of charter-eligible and current charter school students were obtained directly from charter schools in compliance with Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guidelines. Enrollment figures from traditional public school districts in charter communities indicate that our lists of non-charter parents likely undercounted the true number of non-charter parents, though it is difficult to determine by how much. Per FERPA regulations, any parent who opted out of having their directory information shared with a third party would have been excluded from the telephone list of either charter or non-charter parents. Though our lists included the most accurate information available, some parents may have exercised their opt-out rights, creating a risk of sampling bias. However, we have no reason to believe that parents opting out were uniformly pro- or anti-charter, which abates the concern that their absence in our sampling frame biased the survey results.

As we do not have access to specific demographic information of the charter and non-charter parent populations, it is difficult to verify whether our sample was representative across most characteristics. However, using the racial makeup of student populations as a proxy for the racial makeup of their parents, we can report that the races of survey respondents were reflective of the parent populations.

With these limitations in mind, we determined statistically significant differences in responses from non-charter and charter parents, as well as in responses from different years. All differences were tested for statistical significance at a 95% confidence level. Numbers that are statistically different from each other are bolded throughout the report. Statistical significance indicates there is a true difference between groups that is unlikely due to chance.

CHARTER SCHOOL PARENT ADVISORY GROUP

To ensure that our interpretations of the survey results were accurate, we convened an advisory group consisting of parents who currently have children in charter schools. We presented the advisory group with a draft of this report prior to its final publication. The participants provided insight into the results and feedback on our analyses, which we have incorporated into the report. We thank each member of the advisory group for their contributions.

DEMOGRAPHICS OF 2023 SAMPLE

Table 1. Age Response rate: 97.0%

Table 2. Race Response rate:

Table 3. Gender Response

Table 4. Education Response rate:

Table 5. Annual Household Income Response rate: 88.0%

Table 6. Number of Adults in Household Response

Table 7. Has Attended a Mississippi Public School Response rate: 99.6%

Table 8. Child’s School Type Response rate:

Table 9. Location of Charter Community Response

DEMOGRAPHICS OF 2023 SAMPLE

Table 10. Charter School

Response rate: 100% of asked; 46.3% of all

ANALYSIS

There were 534 participants in our survey, 287 non-charter parents and 247 charter parents. The tables above present each group’s reported demographic information. In general, the group of charter parents was demographically very similar to the group of non-charter parents: there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in gender, race, education level, income, number of adults in the household, or percentage of each group that attended a Mississippi public school. A large majority of respondents in both the charter parent and non-charter parent groups were women. The majority of charter and non-charter respondents had at least some college or an associate’s degree, an annual household income under $50,000, and more than one adult in their households. The majority of respondents in both groups attended a Mississippi public school.

The only statistically significant differences between the two groups were in their age distributions (Table 1). While the majority of both groups were under the age of 45, charter parents were statistically more likely to be in the 18-34 age group than non-charter parents, and non-charter parents were more likely to be in the 35-44 age group than charter parents.

In terms of location, the majority of charter respondents were from Jackson, followed by Clarksdale, then Greenwood. Smilow Prep had the largest number of charter parent respondents, followed by Reimagine Prep, Smilow Collegiate, Clarksdale Collegiate, Ambition Prep, Leflore Legacy, Midtown, and Revive Collegiate. This ordering is roughly consistent with the relative student populations of each school.

The majority of non-charter respondents were from Jackson, followed by Greenwood, then Clarksdale. Even though Jackson parents made up the majority of each group, they made up a higher percentage of the non-charter group (90.4%) compared to the charter group (76.1%).

CHANGES IN THE CHARTER SCHOOL SECTOR SINCE 2020

Numerous events have had an impact on Mississippi’s charter sector since the previous iteration of the survey following the 2019-2020 school year. We explain two of the most notable events below.

GROWTH IN THE SECTOR

Since 2020, Mississippi’s charter sector has grown in both the number of students and communities served. Two charter schools opened between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school years: Leflore Legacy, serving grades 6-8, opened in Greenwood in fall of 2020; and Revive Collegiate, serving grades K-1, opened in Jackson in fall of 2022. The latter contributed to the expansion of the charter sector within Jackson, while the former spread charter schools’ reach into an entirely new community.

In addition to these two new charter schools opening, many existing charter schools increased the number of students they serve between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school years. These existing schools include Midtown, which grew from 262 to 284 students; Clarksdale Collegiate, which grew from 247 to 511 students; Smilow Collegiate, which grew from 357 to 569 students; and Ambition Prep, which grew from 135 to 395 students. The two remaining charter schools, Reimagine Prep and Smilow Prep, experienced slight enrollment declines between 2019-2020 and 2022-2023, but these declines were outweighed by growth in the other schools. In all, the sector expanded by 51% in terms of students served.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the charter sector and traditional public schools alike. When the pandemic emerged in spring of 2020, schools across the state were forced to close their doors and implement a virtual format for the rest of the school year. Teachers, school leaders, and students had to pivot to a completely new form of learning and teaching with little guidance. The following school year, Mississippi schools were given the option of implementing a virtual, in-person, or hybrid format. Schools that chose an in-person or hybrid format implemented new safety protocols, such as social distancing and mask requirements. They often faced high rates of absenteeism as students had to quarantine due to illness or exposure to illness. COVID-19 outbreaks also occasionally forced these schools to pivot to a virtual format. Schools that chose a virtual format struggled with providing students access to technology at home, including online connectivity, as well as promoting students’ engagement with lessons and assignments.

Nearly all of Mississippi’s charter schools opted for virtual instruction for the entire semester in fall 2020, with Ambition Prep being the only charter school to offer an in-person option.2 In the spring, five of the seven operating charter schools offered hybrid or in-person learning, while two remained fully virtual. The impact of these disruptions included widespread learning loss and widening achievement gaps among students that are still reflected in test scores and other academic outcomes.

Amid these events, all but three of the state’s charter schools were in their infancy. Ambition Prep was in its first year of operation, and Clarksdale Collegiate and Smilow Collegiate were in their second year of operation during the 2019-2020 school year. Leflore Legacy opened its doors in the fall of 2020. As they were still finding their footing, these schools had to adjust to a wholly new way of operating. Even among more established schools (Reimagine Prep, Smilow Prep, and Midtown), the pandemic posed major, unprecedented challenges as they made decisions about how to proceed.

Survey Results

SURVEY RESULTS

Charter School Knowledge and Opinion Questions

The first ten items in the survey assessed parents’ knowledge of charter schools, their sources of information on charter schools, and their opinions about the value of charter schools in the state and their communities. Respondents who indicated that they were “not at all familiar” with charter schools in Question 1 only answered six of these ten questions (Questions 1, 6-10). In total, 393 out of 534 respondents were asked Questions 2-5. In the graphs, underlined numbers represent statistically different responses between charter parents and non-charter parents. In the tables, bolded numbers in the “2019” and “2020” columns are statistically different from their counterparts in the “2023” column; asterisks denote differences between numbers in the “2019” and “2020” columns. Statistical differences between numbers from 2017 and other years were not determined due to their different sampling frames (the 2017 survey was administered statewide, while the other surveys were only administered in charter communities).

Question One

ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5, WITH 1 MEANING “NOT AT ALL FAMILIAR” AND 5 MEANING “VERY FAMILIAR,” HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR FAMILIARITY WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS?

(Not at all

Note: In the graph, underlined numbers represent statistically different responses between charter parents and non-charter parents. In the table, bolded numbers in the “2019” and “2020” columns are statistically different than their counterparts in the “2023” column, and asterisks denote differences between numbers in the “2019” and “2020” columns. Statistical differences between numbers from 2017 and other years were not determined due to their different sampling frames.

Response Rates: 99.2% for 2019 | 100% for 2020 | 98.2% for 2023

ANALYSIS

As in previous years, charter parents were more likely than non-charter parents to indicate familiarity with charter schools in the 2023 iteration of the survey.

However, comparing results across time indicates that the proportion of charter parents indicating they were “very familiar” decreased from 2020 to 2023 (81.8% to 73.3%, respectively), and the proportion of non-charter parents indicating that they were “not at all familiar” increased between these years (27% to 46%, respectively). These results indicate that familiarity with charter schools decreased among both charter parents and noncharter parents.

One possible explanation is a change in the composition of parents included in the survey: recall that Greenwood parents were not included in the 2020 iteration, as Leflore Legacy Academy had not yet opened, and Clarksdale parents made up a smaller proportion of survey respondents in 2020 compared to 2023. Since Jackson has had charter schools for the longest amount of time, and news media tends to focus on Jackson, it would stand to reason that Jackson parents would be most familiar, and the larger proportion of Jackson respondents in past samples would drive up the familiarity numbers.

We cannot confirm that this is the reason for the decreased knowledge of charter schools, as sample sizes in Clarksdale and Greenwood are too small to make definitive conclusions about differences in knowledge between regions. However, the 2023 sample from Jackson has the lowest proportion of non-charter parents who were “not at all familiar” and the highest proportion of charter parents who were “very familiar” with charter schools, indicating that this change in the composition of respondents could plausibly be a driving factor.

The survey included a question about how long each child had been enrolled in their current charter school, allowing us to approximate the amount of time the parent has had direct experience with a charter school. It appears that the amount of time a student had been enrolled in a school was related to their parent’s response. Parents whose student had been enrolled for one year or less were statistically less likely than parents whose student had been enrolled for longer to indicate they were “somewhat” or “very” familiar with charter schools (79.1% vs. 91.3%). We do not have information about length of enrollment in survey data from previous years, so we cannot say if the percentage of new charter parents has increased or decreased over time. If it has increased, this could also play a role in the decreased familiarity with charter schools among charter parents.

Another possible explanation for decreased familiarity with charter schools could be a decrease in advertising for charter schools through traditional avenues in Jackson. In the past, for example, the Jackson area had billboards that advertised local charter schools, but these advertisements have since concluded. Conversations with charter parents indicate that parents have noticed a decrease in the amount of advertising for charter schools. They noted that they have had to actively seek out most of the knowledge they have about charter schools.

Question Two

WOULD YOU SAY CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SCHOOLS?

STATEWIDE SAMPLE

ANALYSIS

This question was only asked of the 393 respondents who indicated in the previous question that they had at least some knowledge of charter schools (i.e., an answer of 2-5 on Question 1). There was no significant difference between the percentages of charter parents and non-charter parents who correctly responded that charter schools are public (63.3% and 58.4%, respectively). Responses indicate that the charter sector still must work to spread awareness about charter schools, as over one-third of respondents who had a child in a charter school incorrectly believed that charter schools are private. We have heard anecdotal evidence from members of charter school communities about multiple factors that could be contributing to this perception. One such factor is the administrative structure of charter schools: while traditional public school districts have a superintendent, charter schools instead have a dean or an executive director, which is more similar to private schools.

Comparing responses across time shows that there was no significant change between 2020 and 2023 in the proportion of charter parents who indicated that charter schools are public. There was, however, a statistically significant increase in the number of non-charter parents who correctly indicated that charter schools are public. This is a positive development, as charter schools being private is a major misconception that can negatively impact public opinion.

We should note, though, that the increase in non-charter parents identifying charter schools as public is likely impacted by the smaller proportion who were asked this question, as fewer non-charter parents indicated familiarity with charter schools in 2023 than in 2020 (and were thus excluded from the sample for this question).

Question Three

FROM WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SOURCES DO YOU GET INFORMATION ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS?

CHARTER PARENTS

NON-CHARTER PARENTS

*”Websites” in 2019 iteration Response Rates: 99.3% of asked; 73.2% of sample for 2019 | 100% of asked; 72.2% of sample for 2023

ANALYSIS

This question was restricted to those participants who expressed some familiarity with charter schools (i.e., an answer of 2-5 on Question 1). The most popular sources of information from which charter parents received their information, in order of popularity, were social media, friends, students, and family. For non-charter parents, the most popular sources were friends, social media, family, and the school district. The two parent groups overlapped in selecting “friends,” “family,” and “social media” as some of the most common sources from which they received information.

Comparing responses between the two groups indicates that charter parents were more likely to get information from students, family, school districts, social media, and friends than non-charter parents. Non-charter parents were more likely to get information from television than charter parents—the only source more common among non-charter parents than charter parents. There were no significant differences between the proportions of charter and non-charter parents who get their information from other sources.

Since the answer choice of “students” was unspecific, it could indicate several different groups. Parents could be getting information from their own children, from their children’s friends, from their friends’ children, or from other students in their lives. Similarly, the answer choice of “school district” does not clarify the avenues through which parents are receiving information from these districts. As of January 2024, none of the school districts in charter communities appear to offer information for parents on their websites about charter schools, despite the law requiring them to publicize such information “to the same extent” as they publicize information about traditional public schools.3

This question was previously asked in the 2019 iteration of the survey. It appears that almost every source of information has increased in popularity between 2019 and 2023, among both charter parents and non-charter parents who were asked this question. The cause of these increases in sources of information about charter schools could be driven by the increased number of families who interact with the sector. As more schools open and more students are served, information about charter schools likely spreads by word of mouth more quickly, and there are more charter schools advertising to enroll students. Additionally, a larger charter sector has likely led to increased media attention on charter schools.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF YOUR INFORMATION ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS? Question Four

*”Websites” in 2017 and 2019 iterations Response

ANALYSIS

This is another question that was only asked of respondents with at least some familiarity with charter schools (i.e., an answer of 2-5 on Question 1). Respondents were only able to select one answer to this question, as it asked about their most important source of charter school information. The largest percentage of charter parents reported that social media was their most important source of information, followed by family, school districts, and students. Among non-charter parents, the largest percentage selected family, followed by the school district, other internet sources, and friends. The groups overlapped in choosing “family” and “school district” as some of their most important sources of information.

Charter parents were more likely than non-charter parents to respond that social media was their most important source, while non-charter parents were more likely than charter parents to respond that the newspaper and other internet sources were their most important sources of information. There were no significant differences between the proportions of charter and non-charter parents who reported the remaining sources as most important.

Question Five

Between 2019 and 2023, “social media” has statistically increased and “other internet sources” has statistically decreased as the most important source of information among charter parents. Among non-charter parents, “television” has statistically decreased, while “students” has increased. These changes could be due to the increasing number of students attending charter schools and, relatedly, the increasing number of families that have connections to charter schools. This phenomenon could be causing word of mouth (including via social media) to play a larger role in the spread of information than traditional media sources, such as television. ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5, WITH 1 BEING “VERY DISSATISFIED” AND 5 BEING “VERY SATISFIED,” HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE INFORMATION YOU RECEIVE ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS?

STATEWIDE

Response Rates: 98.7% of asked; 72.7% of sample for 2020 | 98.2% of asked; 71.0% of sample for 2023

ANALYSIS

This question was only asked of respondents who had some familiarity with charter schools (i.e., an answer of 2-5 on Question 1). Results indicate that charter parents tend to be significantly more satisfied than non-charter parents with the information they receive about charter schools. As reported in Question 3, charter parents are more likely than non-charter parents to receive information from friends, social media, the school district, family, and students. It could be that these direct sources of information and stories of personal experiences are most important to parents, leading charter parents, who have more access to these sources of information, to be more satisfied with the information they receive. It is also important to consider that a large percentage of non-charter parents were not given this question because they had no familiarity with charter schools, which means the true percentage of parents who do not receive satisfactory information about charter schools is even higher than presented. Overall, results indicate that the sector could focus on finding ways to reach non-charter parents through these more personalized avenues that are more accessible to charter parents.

There were no significant differences in responses between the 2019 and 2023 surveys, indicating that parents’ satisfaction of information about charter schools has remained consistent over time.

HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR HAVING CHARTER SCHOOLS IN MISSISSIPPI? WOULD YOU SAY YOU…

STATEWIDE

HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR HAVING CHARTER SCHOOLS IN YOUR COMMUNITY? WOULD YOU SAY YOU…

ANALYSIS

Questions 6 and 7 asked all respondents about their level of support for charter schools in Mississippi as well as in their individual communities. For both questions, charter parents were more likely than non-charter parents to express support for charter schools. Even among non-charter parents, though, support for charter schools was relatively high and opposition was relatively low. Though charter schools are often framed as controversial, these results indicate that charter schools maintain strong support among parents who actually live in communities with charter schools—even those who choose to send their children to traditional public schools.

There were few significant differences in responses between the 2020 and 2023 surveys. The only significant changes were small increases in the proportion of charter parents responding “neither support nor oppose” to both questions. It appears that support for charter schools has remained consistent over time among both charter and non-charter parents, even as the sector has grown and expanded into a new community (Greenwood).

EdNext Survey Comparison (2022)

Questions 6 and 7 were similar to a question in a national survey given by Education Next, an education policy journal, in 2022.4 The question in the EdNext survey read, “As you may know, many states permit the formation of charter schools, which are publicly funded but are not managed by the local school board. These schools are expected to meet promised objectives, but are exempt from many state regulations. Do you support or oppose the formation of charter schools?” As in our survey, possible responses ranged from “completely oppose” to “completely support.” The EdNext survey had a sample size of 365 respondents. It employed survey weights designed to represent the population of adults in the United States. The margin of error for the survey is not publicly available.

EdNext Survey Responses from Parents

2022

Strongly oppose 15%

Somewhat oppose 21%

Neither support nor oppose 19%

Somewhat support 29%

Strongly support 16%

Analysis of EdNext Survey Responses

In 2023, charter and non-charter parents in Mississippi charter communities were significantly more likely to support charter schools in the state and in their communities compared to 2022 respondents to the EdNext survey. The difference in support could be due to the differing compositions of the samples. Our survey was only given to parents of students in Mississippi charter school communities, but the EdNext survey was nationally representative and included parents who did not live in charter communities and likely have less experience with charter schools.

Additionally, the demographic makeup of our survey respondents was different than that of the EdNext survey respondents, since our population of interest (parents in Mississippi charter communities) is not reflective of the EdNext population of interest (parents in the United States). The vast majority of parents in Mississippi charter communities are Black, while the country’s population is more racially diverse.5 Additionally, the areas from which our sample were drawn tend to lean heavily Democratic,6 in contrast to the country as a whole, which is more evenly balanced between Democrats and Republicans.7 As race and political outlooks can be connected to opinions on charter schools, the demographic differences could have contributed to differences in responses between the surveys.

HOW DO YOU THINK A CHARTER SCHOOL OPENING IN YOUR AREA HAS AFFECTED EDUCATION IN YOUR COMMUNITY? WOULD YOU SAY THE EFFECT HAS BEEN…

ANALYSIS

Similar to responses from Questions 6 and 7, large majorities of 2023 charter and non-charter parents reported that charter schools have had a somewhat or very positive impact on their communities. Charter parents were more likely to report a positive impact (92.6%) than non-charter parents (66.3%), indicating that people who have direct experience with charter schools see them in a more positive light than people who do not have direct experience. Respondents in Clarksdale and Greenwood—the youngest charter communities—were more likely than respondents in Jackson to respond that charter schools have had a positive impact, though differences were not statistically significant (likely due to small sample sizes).

There were no statistical changes from 2020 to 2023 in the responses to this question. As in the previous two questions, feelings towards charter schools in charter communities remain overwhelmingly positive even as the sector has significantly grown.

A similar question to this one was asked in our 2017 statewide survey. In that iteration, respondents were asked about the hypothetical impact of a charter school on their community. Only 53.6% of respondents responded that the effect would be “somewhat” or “very” positive, compared to the 92.6% of charter parents and 66.3% of non-charter parents in the 2023 iteration. Though the sampling frames were different, this trend implies that feelings towards charter schools may have improved as the sector has grown.

Question Nine

WOULD YOU SAY THAT NO CHILDREN, SOME CHILDREN, MOST CHILDREN, OR ALL CHILDREN HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY SCHOOLS IN YOUR COMMUNITY?

CHARTER PARENTS NON-CHARTER PARENTS

ANALYSIS

The majority of 2023 charter and non-charter parents reported that “only some” or “no” children have access to high-quality schools, indicating a generally negative view of public education among both groups. However, charter parents were more likely than non-charter parents to report that “most” or “all” children have access to quality schools in their communities, so having a direct connection with a charter school may increase parents’ perception of access to quality schools. Increasing access to information about charter schools among non-charter parents could possibly increase their perception that students in their communities have access to quality schools.

Parents in Clarksdale were most likely to report that “most” or “all” students have access to high-quality schools, followed by parents in Jackson, then parents in Greenwood. Differences were not statistically significant, likely due to small sample sizes.

There were no statistical changes from 2020 to 2023 in the responses to this question among charter parents or non-charter parents. Response

Question Ten

RATE YOUR LEVEL OF AGREEMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS.

Parents should have a choice in where their child goes to school.

I think having more than one type of public school option is a good thing.

I want options for my child other than the school or district we are zoned for.

ANALYSIS

These questions were new to the 2023 survey and were asked of all survey respondents. We included them to mirror survey questions from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ 2022 poll (described in greater detail below).

Both charter and non-charter parents overwhelmingly agreed with each of these statements, though charter parents were more likely to indicate that they “strongly agree” with the statements than non-charter parents, who were more likely to indicate that they “agree.” These results indicate that—at least in theory—there is an appetite for choice among parents in charter school communities.

National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Survey Comparison (2022)

The three statements in Question 10 appeared in a 2022 national survey of parents commissioned by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), a nonprofit advocacy organization for charter schools.8 The statements in that survey were identical to the ones in our survey. The available results are presented below (note that the NAPCS only released the percentages who responded “Agree” or “Strongly Agree,” which is why the full results are not included). The survey had a sample size of 5,002 parents and was weighted to match population demographics. It had a margin of error of +/- 1.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

NAPCS Survey Responses from Parents in the United States

Parents should have a choice in where their child goes to school. 32%

I think having more than one type of public school option is a good thing.

I want options for my child other than the school or district we are zoned for.

Analysis of NAPCS Survey Responses

The percentages of charter parents and non-charter parents in our sample who indicated that they “agree” or “strongly agree” with each statement were higher than the percentages of respondents who selected these options in the NAPCS survey (note that we did not calculate statistical significance due to the differing sampling frames):

• 92% of NAPCS respondents agreed that “Parents should have a choice in where their child goes to school,” compared to 93.6% of Mississippi charter parents and 93.7% of non-charter parents

• 90% of NAPCS respondents agreed that “Having more than one type of public school option is a good thing,” compared to 95.9% of Mississippi charter parents and 94% of non-charter parents

• 79% of NAPCS respondents agreed that they “want options for my child other than the school or district we are zoned for,” compared to 95.1% of Mississippi charter parents and 91.6% of non-charter parents

The results indicate that the positive opinion of school choice in Mississippi charter communities outweighs overall opinion throughout the country. This is unsurprising, as the NAPCS survey included parents in communities that may not offer any school choice options, so they may not be as familiar with these options. In contrast, all of the parents in our survey live in charter communities and thus have the ability to send their child to a charter school or traditional public school.

Additionally, Mississippi law only allows charter schools to open in “D” or “F” rated school districts without the permission of the local school board. While school districts may improve after a charter school opens, this is not always the case. At the time our survey was given, the primary school districts in the state’s three charter communities, Jackson Public Schools, Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District, and Clarksdale Municipal School District, were rated “C,” “D,” and “F,” respectively. Since the NAPCS survey is nationally representative, there is likely greater variation in performance of the schools attended by children of parents who responded to the survey, which could be the reason why a significantly smaller percentage of respondents agreed that they “want options for [their] child other than the school or district [they] are zoned for.” STATEMENT

Questions to Verify Charter Parent Status

The following questions were included to verify which parents had a student enrolled in a charter school, the specific charter school the student attended, the student’s grade level, and the number of years the student had been enrolled in their current charter school. Note that the report skips from Question 10 to Question 13. Questions 11 and 12 asked parents whether they had a child in a traditional public school, and if so, which school they attended. We chose not to include this information due to the large number of schools that were reported and the small number of respondents affiliated with each of these schools.

Questions 14-16 were only asked of parents who responded that they have a child currently enrolled in a Mississippi charter school.

Question Thirteen

DO YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE CHILD ENROLLED AT ANY MISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOLS FOR THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR?

RESPONSE

Question Fourteen

WHICH CHARTER SCHOOL IS YOUR CHILD ENROLLED AT?

RESPONSE

Response Rates: 100% of asked; 34.4% of all for 2019 | 100% of asked; 34.6% of all for 2020 | 100% of asked; 46.3% of all for 2023

ANALYSIS:

Questions 13 and 14 confirm the breakdown of charter vs. non-charter respondents, as well as the breakdown of schools attended by the students of charter parents. It also allows us to compare the sample compositions to those of previous years. The percentage of charter parents in this survey is greater than in previous years, and there is a more even balance between charter and non-charter parents. In terms of charter parent composition, parents from Leflore Legacy and Revive Collegiate, which were not yet open in previous iterations of the survey, were new to the charter parent pool. Furthermore, the percentage of charter parents with students at Ambition Prep and Clarksdale Collegiate increased as the schools matured and added more grades. Because of these new and growing schools, the percentage of charter parents at the fully or nearly fully matured schools in 2020—Midtown, Reimagine Prep, Smilow Collegiate, and Smilow Prep—naturally decreased.

Question Fifteen

RATE YOUR LEVEL OF AGREEMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS.

WHAT GRADE DOES YOUR CHILD ATTEND AT THEIR CURRENT CHARTER SCHOOL?

Question Sixteen

RATE YOUR LEVEL OF AGREEMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS.

HOW HAS YOUR CHILD BEEN ENROLLED IN THIS CHARTER SCHOOL?

ANALYSIS

Questions 15 and 16 asked about the grades of charter parents’ students and how long their students had been enrolled in their current charter schools. The relative percentages of responses from each grade level are roughly consistent with that of the state’s charter population, in which fourth graders are the smallest group and sixth graders are the largest group. Even so, the fourth grade group is underrepresented in our survey, as it makes up 1.7% of survey respondents but 8.4% of charter students. Similarly, the sixth grade group is overrepresented, as it makes up 22.6% of charter respondents but 17.6% of charter students.

The children of most respondents appear to have been enrolled in their current charter school for two years or less at the time of the survey (72%). The high percentage of respondents with a child who are relatively new to their school is unsurprising, given the growth that has occurred in the charter sector in recent years.

Charter School Parent Satisfaction

Questions 17 and 18 were intended to gauge the satisfaction of parents with the environment and academics of their child’s school in the 2022-2023 school year. The numbers in the graphs and tables are the percentages of parents who responded “agree” or “strongly agree” to each statement. Questions 19 through 22 further explored overall satisfaction by asking about parents’ overall rating of their child’s school, whether or not they would recommend the school to others, and whether or not they will reenroll their child in the school.* Though the questions in this section were asked of charter and non-charter parents, we only include the responses of charter parents in this report.

Unfortunately, we could not reliably assess how satisfaction differed between schools due to small sample sizes at the individual schools.

Approval of School Environment Among Charter Parents

17.8—The

STATEMENT

17.9—Overall, the school is a good place to learn.

17.10—The school provides resources to support students’ mental health and emotional well-being.

ANALYSIS

Charter parents appear to be very satisfied with the environments at their students’ schools. Out of the ten indicators of school environment in the 2023 survey, over 90% of parents agreed or strongly agreed with eight statements:

• School has high academic standards.

• School is safe.

• School is caring and nurturing.

• Parents feel welcome.

• Parents have opportunities for involvement.

• School feels like a place where learning occurs.

• School facilities are clean.

• School is a good place to learn.

As in previous years, the school office was one of the areas in which most parents saw the most need for improvement, though satisfaction remained high at 88.5%. Recent conversations with charter parents have shed light on the perceived need for improvement in this area. Parents have indicated that the offices of their child’s charter schools are run differently than traditional public school offices, as there are multiple people who each have specific duties in a charter school office, rather than one person who is in charge of most of the office’s functions.

Given reports of declining mental health among students in the wake of the pandemic, we added a question to the survey about whether schools provided resources to support students’ mental health (17.10).10 Overall, 84.7% of parents agreed that schools do offer these resources. Though the large majority of parents agreed, this question had the lowest agreement rate in this section, indicating that schools should consider taking proactive steps to address students’ mental health.

Compared to the previous iteration of the survey in 2020, satisfaction did decline to a statistically significant degree across two measures, though it remained above 90% for both of these:

• Parents feel welcome. (97.2% to 93.0%)

• School is a good place to learn. (99.1% to 91.4%)

The declines could be due to an expanding charter sector. As the sector serves an increasing number of families, it can become more difficult to maintain the high satisfaction levels from earlier years when the sector was extremely small.

Examining responses by school-level and student-level characteristics sheds further light on our results. Factors that appear to be related to approval of school environment are the maturity of the school, the amount of time a child had been enrolled in their school, and the grade levels offered by the school.

Parents associated with a school that was at least four years old were less likely to “agree” or “strongly agree” that the school is a caring and nurturing place (87.6% vs. 97.1%), and that the school is overall a good place to learn (88.7% vs. 98.5%). As described previously, the rapid growth of these schools could play a role in these differences, as it can be challenging to maintain the same level of quality in a large school compared to a smaller school.

Charter parents with children enrolled in a school for at least four years were statistically less likely than people with children at the school for fewer than four years to “agree” or “strongly agree” that the school office is well run (74.2% vs. 90.5%). One explanation for this could be that parents who have stayed with a school for longer have reestablished their baseline for what they expect from the school and may be comparing their current year’s experience at the school to previous years’ experiences at the same school, while newer parents may be comparing the school to their student’s previous district school.

Charter parents with younger children (kindergarten to fourth grade) were more likely than parents with older children (fifth to eighth grade) to “agree” or “strongly agree” that the school is safe (99.0% vs. 88.9%), the school looks and feels like a place where learning occurs (99.0% vs. 93.8%), and the school is overall a good place to learn (96.0% vs. 88.2%). The differences in these measures could be related to the fact that bullying and violent incidents tend to increase around early adolescence (i.e., middle school grades).11

Approval of Educational Programs Among Charter Parents

Response rate for each category in brackets in table.

18.3—The

18.4—The

18.5—The school tests are accurate measures of my child’s academic performance.

18.6—The school provides individualized instruction for my child.

STATEMENT

18.7—My child’s schoolwork and homework assignments are meaningful.

18.8—School discipline is fair.

18.9—My child has a close relationship with at least one adult at the school.

18.10—Overall, I’m satisfied with my child’s academic progress.

18.11—The school meets the needs of students with disabilities or other special needs.

ANALYSIS

As with school environment, satisfaction remains remarkably high with educational programming at charter schools. Of the eleven indicators in the 2023 survey, over 85% of respondents agreed with ten statements:

• School prepares child for college.

• School prepares child for next grade level.

• School teaches child basic academic skills.

• School teaches child life skills.

• Tests are accurate measures of ability.

• Assignments are meaningful.

• Discipline is fair.

• Child has close relationship with at least one adult at school.

• I am satisfied with my child’s academic progress.

• The school meets the needs of students with disabilities or other special needs.

Of the ten statements, charter parents were least likely to agree that “the school provides individualized instruction” though a high percentage of respondents (83.7%) still agreed with this statement.

Two new statements appeared in this section, 18.2 and 18.11. The first, “The school does a good job preparing my child for the next grade level,” was included as a more immediately relevant version of the previous question (18.1—The school does a good job preparing my child for college). Since many charter students are still in elementary school, we felt it may be easier for parents to gauge the school’s ability to prepare the child for the next grade level than to gauge their college readiness. Indeed, agreement within the sample was slightly higher about the schools’ ability to prepare students for the next grade level.

The second new statement, “The school meets the needs of students with disabilities or other special needs,” found 85.9% of respondents in agreement. This indicates that schools are doing well at meeting all students’ needs but still have room for improvement.

Between 2020 and 2023, agreement declined to a statistically significant degree on four statements, though it remained above 85% for all of these:

• School prepares child for college. (96.7% to 89.6%)

• School teaches child basic academic skills. (98.1% to 94.3%)

• Assignments are meaningful. (94.8% to 86.9%)

• I am satisfied with my child’s academic progress. (96.7% to 90.2%)

As with the above, the decreases could be a result of the overall expansion in the charter sector and at individual schools. Lingering impacts of the pandemic may also have contributed to these decreases in satisfaction with educational programming. For instance, many students are still making up ground that was lost during the pandemic, which could lead parents to feel that their child is not performing at a sufficient level. Conversations with charter parents indicate that charter schools could be placing more emphasis on ensuring their students are “test ready” than ensuring the students’ assignments are aligned with real-world problems. This increased emphasis could be the result of increased pressure on schools as they near the end of their charter contract (charter contracts are typically granted for a period of five years) and must demonstrate high performance in order to be renewed. Alternatively, as charter elementary schools grow, they add more grades. A school may start off only offering kindergarten and first grade, which are not subject to high-stakes tests. As the school grows and begins offering third grade and higher, students in these grades are required to complete high-stakes tests, which could contribute to the perception that the schools place a large emphasis on testing.

Similar to the previous section, factors that appear to be related to approval of school environment are the maturity of the school, the amount of time a child had been enrolled in their school, and the grade levels offered by the school.

Parents with a child at a school that had been in operation for at least four years at the time of the survey were less likely to “agree” or “strongly agree” that the school does a good job preparing their child for college (86.1% vs. 98.5%), that the school does a good job preparing their child for the next grade level (89.3% vs. 98.5%), that the school does a good job teaching their child “life skills” (89.0% vs. 97.1%), that the school tests are a good measure of the child’s academic performance (85.8% vs. 95.6%), that the school provides individualized instruction (80.8% vs. 91.2%), and that they are overall satisfied with their child’s academic progress (87.6% vs. 97.1%). As in the previous section, the lower satisfaction with older schools could indicate that these schools expanded more quickly than they could handle and were unable to maintain a consistent level of quality as they matured.

Parents with a child who had been enrolled in their current charter school for at least four years were less likely to “agree” or “strongly agree” that the school does a good job of preparing their child for college (77.4% vs. 91.3%), that the school tests are an accurate measure of their child’s academic performance (77.4% vs. 90.1%), and that they are satisfied with their child’s academic progress (77.4% vs. 92.0%). This is puzzling, as we would expect that parents who have chosen to keep their child in a particular school for four or more years would be more satisfied with that school than newer parents, not less. As above, one explanation could be that parents who have stayed with a school for longer may be comparing their current year’s experience at the school to previous years’ experiences at the same school, while newer parents may be comparing the school to their student’s previous district school. As we described above, as a school grows, it can be difficult to maintain the same level of quality, so this could explain why parents with more experience at a school are less satisfied across some measures.

Parents with younger children (kindergarten to fourth grade) were more likely than parents with older children (fifth to eighth grade) to “agree” or “strongly agree” that the school does a good job preparing their child for the next grade level (96.0% vs. 88.9%). This could be due to older students inherently having had more time to fall behind in previous grade levels, which could make it more difficult for the charter school to catch them up and prepare them for the next grade. In addition, it could be the result of variation in quality between schools that serve different grade levels.

EdNext Survey Comparison (2022)

The charter survey from EdNext included one question similar to our questions regarding educational programming.12 The comparable question read, “How satisfied are you with the instruction and activities provided by this child’s school?” This question was presented to charter parents, private school parents, and traditional public school parents. Results from charter school parents are presented below.

EdNext Survey Responses from Charter Parents in United States

How satisfied are you with the instruction and activities provided by this child’s school? RESPONSE

Analysis of EdNext Survey Responses

The question captured information similar to the questions in our survey around schools’ educational programming:

• 18.1—The school does a good job preparing my child for college.

• 18.2—The school does a good job preparing my child for the next grade level.

• 18.3—The school does a good job of teaching my child basic academic skills such as reading.

• 18.6—The school provides individualized instruction for my child.

• 18.7—My child’s schoolwork and homework assignments are meaningful.

• 18.10—Overall, I’m satisfied with my child’s academic progress.

The EdNext survey had a sample size of 439 charter parents, and its margin of error was not provided. Overall, 88% of charter parents in the survey indicated satisfaction with the instruction and activities provided by their child’s school. While we cannot directly compare this question to any one question in the Mississippi survey, agreement with our similar questions ranged from 83.7% to 94.3%.

Question Nineteen

OVERALL, WHAT GRADE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR CHILD’S CHARTER SCHOOL?

ANALYSIS

Parents appear to be satisfied with charter schools, with the vast majority giving their child’s school a grade of “A” or “B.” Only 5.3% gave a grade of “D,” and no parents gave a grade of “F.” These results indicate widespread satisfaction with the state’s charter sector. A higher percentage of parents of students in schools that had been in operation for at least four years at the time of the survey gave their school a “C” or “D” rating than parents with students in newer schools, though this difference was not statistically significant.

Though the percentage of parents giving a grade of “A” increased and the percentage giving a grade of “D” increased since the 2020 iteration of the survey, neither of these changes were statistically significant, indicating that overall satisfaction has remained relatively constant since 2020, even as the sector has greatly expanded. It is also notable that, despite the pandemic in the intervening years when confidence in public schools generally declined, charter satisfaction remains higher than it was in 2019.13

Question Twenty

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND YOUR CHILD’S CHARTER SCHOOL TO OTHER FAMILIES?

ANALYSIS

A very large majority of parents reported that they would recommend their child’s charter school to others (94.1%), again reflecting overwhelming satisfaction with the state’s charter sector. Even so, this percentage declined slightly compared to the 2020 survey, in which 98.1% of respondents would recommend their child’s school.

There are notable differences in responses based on the maturity of the school with which the respondent is associated. Respondents from schools that had been in operation for at least four years at the time of the survey were statistically less likely to respond that they would recommend the school to other families compared to respondents at newer schools (91.8% vs. 100%). This could imply that these schools have expanded too rapidly and not been able to maintain consistent quality as they have grown.

Question Twenty-One

DO YOU PLAN TO RE-ENROLL YOUR CHILD NEXT YEAR FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR IN THEIR CURRENT CHARTER SCHOOL?

ANALYSIS

Three out of four charter school parents planned to re-enroll their child at the same charter school during the 2023-2024 school year. Differences between regions were not statistically significant.

The percentage of parents reporting that they would re-enroll their child declined from 86.5% to 76.8% between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school years. However, when we looked at reasons why parents are making this choice, we found that most of the reasons were not based on school quality. See the next question for more information.

Question Twenty-Two

IF NOT, WHY WILL YOU NOT RE-ENROLL YOUR CHILD IN THAT SCHOOL NEXT YEAR?

CHARTER PARENTS NOT RE-ENROLLING CHILD

ANALYSIS

This question was asked of parents who indicated that they would not re-enroll their child in the same charter school the following year. The most common reason parents reported making this choice is that their child is “advancing past the grade levels offered” by the school, while the least common reason is that the “child does not want to return.”

Between 2020 and 2023, the percentage who are making this choice because they are “not satisfied with the school” experienced the greatest increase (3.7% to 16.4%), while the percentage whose child is “advancing past grade levels offered” experienced the largest decrease (70.4% to 60.0%). However, there is no statistical change in any of the reasons parents gave for not re-enrolling their child, likely driven by small sample sizes.

Of parents not re-enrolling their child, 9.1% selected “Other.” We asked these parents to elaborate, and they gave the following responses:

• Child was accepted into a gifted program in the school district

• Child had a bad incident with a teacher

• Parent work schedule

• No transportation

• Child was switching back to non-charter school

Overall, only 4.5% of charter school parents chose not to re-enroll their children due to dissatisfaction with the school, while all other parents either re-enrolled or had a reason for changing that was not related to the quality of the school. Conversations with charter school parents have indicated that some charter schools require the parents to drop off and pick up their children at a central bus stop location, which can be difficult for working parents. The survey data indicates that this issue could be contributing to parents not re-enrolling their child in their current charter school.

The maturity of the school could be related to parents choosing not to re-enroll their child in a charter school, in keeping up with a trend we have seen in previous questions. Parents with a child at a charter school that had been in operation for at least four years at the time of the survey were more likely than parents from newer schools to report not re-enrolling their child because of dissatisfaction with the school, though this difference was not statistically significant, possibly due to small sample sizes.

EdNext Survey Comparison (2022)

The 2022 school quality survey from EdNext asked respondents whether their child would attend the same school the following year and if not, why not.14 The questions were asked of private, traditional public, and charter school parents. Below we have included responses from the charter school parent sample. The sample included parents of 439 charter school students. EdNext did not include a margin of error in their analysis.

EdNext Survey Responses from Charter Parents in United States

Will this child attend the same school next year?

Analysis of EdNext Survey Responses

The percentage of parents reporting they would not re-enroll their child in the same charter school was smaller in the EdNext survey (20%) compared to our survey (23.2%). It appears that one reason for this could be that Mississippi has a greater number of students aging out of their charter school. In our survey, 60% of parents who will not re-enroll their child in the same school are making this decision because their child is aging out of the school, compared to 30% of parents in the EdNext survey.

It is also notable that 56% of parents in the EdNext survey selected “Other” as a reason for not re-enrolling their child, compared to 9.1% of parents in our survey. We cannot confidently interpret this difference, as EdNext did not include a description of the reasons that fell into this category in their survey.

Conclusion

The results presented in this report provide reasons to be confident in the current state of Mississippi’s charter sector as well as lessons about how to make the sector even stronger. In the communities we surveyed, parents of charter and non-charter students alike appear to be deeply appreciative of the ability to choose where their child goes to school. Parents who have chosen to enroll their students in a charter school reported high satisfaction with both the school environment and educational programming at the school. As they look toward the future, charter schools must work to ensure that they maintain high standards so that they may continue to provide a quality option for parents seeking choices outside of the traditional public school system.

endNotes

1 “Data Explorer,” Mississippi Department of Education, accessed February 1, 2024, https://newreports.mdek12.org/DataExplorer; Peyton Ross (Republic Charter Schools Employee), in correspondence with the authors, September 2023.

2 “Families,” Mississippi First, accessed February 1, 2024, https://www.mississippifirst.org/we-support/future-of-schools/families/

3 Mississippi Charter Schools Act, Mississippi Code § 37-28-14.

4 Paul Peterson, David Houston, and Martin West, “Program on Education Policy and Governance — Survey 2022 Responses,” Education Next, August 16, 2022, https://www.educationnext.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022ednextpoll-1.pdf.

5 “Population Estimates,” US Census Bureau, last modified July 1, 2022, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045222.

6 “Mississippi Governor,” CNN News, accessed February 1, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/election/2023/results/mississippi/governor

7 Lydia Saad, “U.S. Political Ideology Steady; Conservatives, Moderates Tie,” Chalkbeat, last modified January 17, 2022, https://www.chalkbeat. org/2019/5/14/21121062/new-democratic-divide-on-charter-schools-emerges-as-support-plummets-among-white-democrats/

8 Debbie Veney, Never Going Back: An Analysis of Parent Sentiment in Education (Washington, DC: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 2022), https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED625440.pdf

9 “Data Explorer,” Mississippi Department of Education, accessed February 1, 2024, https://newreports.mdek12.org/DataExplorer; Marquez Elem (Clarksdale Collegiate Charter School Employee), in correspondence with the authors, April 2024; Mark Beechem (Leflore Legacy Charter School Employee), in correspondence with the authors, April 2024.

10 Caitlynn Peetz, “Kids’ Declining Mental Health Is the ‘Crisis of Our Time,’ Surgeon General Says,” Education Week, last modified April 25, 2023, https://www.edweek.org/leadership/kids-declining-mental-health-is-the-crisis-of-our-time-surgeon-general-says/2023/04.

11 Sarah Sparks, “A Snapshot of Crime and Safety in Schools,” Education Week, last modified January 17, 2024, https://www.edweek.org/leadership/asnapshot-of-crime-and-safety-in-schools/2024/01#:~:text=NCES%20found%20less%20violent%20and,violent%20incident%20in%202021%2D22.

12 Paul Peterson, David Houston, and Martin West, “Program on Education Policy and Governance — Survey 2022 Parent Responses,” Education Next, August 16, 2022, https://www.educationnext.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022ednextpollparentsurvey.pdf.

13 Linda Jacobson, “Poll: Support for Schools Shook by Pandemic,” The 74 Million, last modified August 16, 2022, https://www.the74million.org/article/pollsupport-for-schools-shook-by-pandemic/.

14 Paul Peterson, David Houston, and Martin West, “Program on Education Policy and Governance — Survey 2022 Parent Responses,” Education Next, August 16, 2022, https://www.educationnext.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022ednextpollparentsurvey.pdf

Survey Items Appendix a

2023 MISSISSIPPI CHARTER SCHOOL PARENT SURVEY

GREEN TEXT: READ OUTLOUD

BLACK TEXT: NOT READ

RED TEXT: PROGRAMMING INSTRUCTIONS

INTRODUCTION

Hello, my name is ____. I am calling from Mississippi State University. We are conducting a research survey of parents with a child enrolled in a Mississippi school to better understand the options available to Mississippi students. Your participation is entirely voluntary. All responses will be confidential. You may discontinue the interview at any time and skip any items you prefer not to answer. The survey should only take about 10 minutes. May I begin?

SECTION 1: SCREENING QUESTIONS FOR ALL

S01

Are you the parent or guardian of at least one child who is currently attending a Mississippi school in the 2022-2023 school year, not including college or university?

1. Yes

2. No [END SURVEY]

3. Refused [END SURVEY]

S02

Are you talking to me on a cellphone or a landline?

1. Cellphone

2. Landline [SKIP TO S4]

3. Refused [END SURVEY]

Are you currently in a safe place where you can talk to me?

1. Yes

2. No [SCHEDULE A CALLBACK]

3. Refused [END SURVEY]

S04

Are you at least 18 years old?

1. Yes

2. No [END SURVEY]

3. Refused [END SURVEY]

SECTION 2: SURVEY QUESTIONS FOR ALL

Q01

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “not at all familiar” and 5 meaning “very familiar,” how would you rate your familiarity with charter schools?

6. Don’t know

7. Refused

[IF Q01 < 2 OR >5 SKIP TO COM01]

Q02

Would you say charter schools are public or private schools? 1. Public 2. Private 3. Don’t know 4. Refused

Q03

From which of the following sources do you get information about charter schools?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[Q03_01] Places of worship

[Q03_02] Radio

[Q03_03] Newspaper

[Q03_04] Television

[Q03_05] Community meetings

[Q03_06] Students

[Q03_07] Family

[Q03_08] School district

[Q03_09] Social media

[Q03_10] Other internet sources

[Q03_11] Friends

Q03_other

Is there any other source from where you get information about charter schools?

Yes

No

Don’t Know

Refused

[IF Q03_other = 1 SHOW Q03_txt]

Q03_txt

What is that source?

Of the sources you mentioned, which is the most important source of your information about charter schools?

[LIST ONLY Q03 CATAGORIES WITH A RESPONSE OF “YES”]

1. Places of worship

Radio

Newspaper

Television

Community meetings

Students

Family

School district 9. Social media 10. Other internet sources

11. Friends

12. [PIPE Q03_txt]

13. Don’t know

14. Refused

Q05

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “very dissatisfied” and 5 being “very satisfied,” how would you rate the information you receive about charter schools from all sources?

5 6. Don’t know 7. Refused

Mississippi permits the formation of charter schools, which are publicly funded but not managed by the local school board. These schools are expected to meet promised objectives but are exempt from many state regulations.

Q06

How would you rate your level of support for having charter schools in Mississippi? Would you say you …

1. Completely support having charter schools in Mississippi

2. Somewhat support

3. Neither support nor oppose

4. Somewhat oppose

5. Completely oppose having charter schools in Mississippi

6. Don’t know

7. Refused

Q07

How would you rate your level of support for having charter schools in your community? Would you say you …

1. Completely support having charter schools in your community

2. Somewhat support

3. Neither support nor oppose

4. Somewhat oppose

5. Completely oppose having charter schools in your community

6. Don’t know

7. Refused

Q08

How do you think a charter school opening in your area has affected education in your community? Would you say the effect has been …

1. Very positive

2. Somewhat positive

3. Neither positive nor negative

4. Somewhat negative

5. Very negative

6. Don’t know

7. Refused

Q09

Thinking about access to high-quality schools in your community, would you say that…

1. All children have access to high-quality schools

2. Most children have access to high-quality schools

3. Only some children have access high-quality schools

4. No children have access to high-quality schools

5. Don’t know

6. Refused

Q10

I am going to read you a list of statements. For each one, please tell me whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.

[Q10_01] Parents should have a choice in where their child goes to school.

[Q10_02] I think having more than one type of public school option is a good thing

[Q10_03] I want options for my child other than the school or district we are zoned for.

Q11

Do you have at least one child enrolled at a traditional, non-charter Mississippi public school for the 2022-2023 school year (not including college or university)?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

4. Refused

[IF Q11 > 1 SKIP TO Q13]

I am going to read you a list of school districts in Mississippi. Please tell me in which school districts you have at least one child enrolled in a Mississippi school for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[Q12a] Jackson Public School District

[Q12b] Clarksdale Municipal School District

[Q12c] Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District

[Q12d] Carroll County School District

[Q12e] Coahoma County School District

[Q12f] Copiah County School District

[Q12g] Hinds County School District

[Q12h] Sunflower County Consolidated School District

[Q12i] West Tallahatchie School District

Q12_other

Is there any other school district in which you have at least one child enrolled in a Mississippi school for the 2022-2023 school year?

Yes

No

Don’t Know

Refused

[IF Q12_other = 1 SHOW Q12_txt]

What is that school district?

[IF Q12a = 1 SHOW Q12a_01-Q12a_52]

In the Jackson Public School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[Q12a_01] Bailey APAC Middle School

[Q12a_02] Baker Elementary School

[Q12a_03] Bates Elementary School

[Q12a_04] Blackburn Laboratory Middle School

[Q12a_05] Boyd Elementary School

[Q12a_06] Brinkley Middle School

[Q12a_07] Callaway High School

[Q12a_08] Capital City Alternative School (CCAS)

[Q12a_09] Cardozo Middle School

[Q12a_10] Career Development Center (CDC)

[Q12a_11] Casey Elementary School

[Q12a_12] Chastain Middle School

[Q12a_13] Clausell Elementary School

[Q12a_14] Dawson Elementary School

[Q12a_15] Early College High School

[Q12a_16] Forest Hill High School

[Q12a_17] Galloway Elementary School

[Q12a_18] Green Elementary School

[Q12a_19] Isable Elementary School

[Q12a_20] Jim Hill High School

[Q12a_21] John Hopkins Elementary School

[Q12a_22] Johnson Elementary School

[Q12a_23] Key Elementary School

[Q12a_24] Kirksey Middle School

[Q12a_25] Lake Elementary School

[Q12a_26] Lanier High School

[Q12a_27] Lester Elementary School

[Q12a_28] Marshall Elementary School

[Q12a_29] McLeod Elementary School

[Q12a_30] McWillie Elementary School

[Q12a_31] Murrah High School

[Q12a_32] North Jackson Elementary School

[Q12a_33] Northwest Jackson Middle School

[Q12a_34] Oak Forest Elementary School

[Q12a_35] Obama Magnet Elementary School

[Q12a_36] Pecan Park Elementary School

[Q12a_37] Peeples Middle School

[Q12a_38] Powell Academy of Military Science Middle School

[Q12a_39] Provine High School

[Q12a_40] Raines Elementary School

[Q12a_41] REAP Special School

[Q12a_42] Shirley Elementary School

[Q12a_43] Smith Elementary School

[Q12a_44] Spann Elementary School

[Q12a_45] Sykes Elementary School

[Q12a_46] Timberlawn Elementary School

[Q12a_47] Van Winkle Elementary School

[Q12a_48] Walton Elementary School

[Q12a_49] Wells APAC Elementary School

[Q12a_50] Whitten Preparatory Middle School

[Q12a_51] Wilkins Elementary School

[Q12a_52] Wingfield High School

[IF Q12b = 1 SHOW Q12b_01-Q12b_10]

In the Clarksdale Municipal School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[12b_01] Alternative School

[12b_02] Booker T. Washington Elementary School

[12b_03] Carl Keen Career and Technical Education Center

[12b_04] Clarksdale High School

[12b_05] George H. Oliver Elementary School

[12b_06] Heidelberg Elementary School

[12b_07] J. W. Stampley Ninth Grade Academy

[12b_08] Kirkpatrick Health and Medical Science Magnet

[12b_09] Oakhurst Intermediate Academy

[12b_10] W. A. Higgins Middle School

[IF Q12c = 1 SHOW Q12c_01-Q12c_15]

In the Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[12c_01] Alternative School

[12c_02] Amanda Elzy Junior High School

[12c_03] Amanda Elzy High School

[12c_04] Bankston Elementary School

[12c_05] Claudine F. Brown Elementary School

[12c_06] Davis Elementary School

[12c_07] East Elementary School

[12c_08] Excel Academy

[12c_09] Greenwood High School

[12c_10] Greenwood Middle School

[12c_11] Greenwood-Leflore Career and Technical Center

[12c_12] Leflore County Elementary School

[12c_13] Leflore County High School

[12c_14] Threadgill Elementary School

[12c_15] Threadgill Primary School

[IF Q12d = 1 SHOW Q12d_01-Q12d_03]

In the Carroll County School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[12d_01] Alternative School

[12d_02] Marshall Elementary School

[12d_03] J Z George High School

[IF Q12e = 1 SHOW Q12e_01-Q12e_06]

In the Coahoma County School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[12e_01] Alternative School

[12e_02] Coahoma County Jr/Sr High School

[12e_03] Friars Point Elementary School

[12e_04] Jonestown Elementary School

[12e_05] Lyon Elementary School

[12e_06] Sherard Elementary School

[IF Q12f = 1 SHOW Q12f_01-Q12f_05]

In the Copiah County School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[12f_01] Alternative School

[12f_02] Crystal Springs Elementary

[12f_03] Crystal Springs Middle School

[12f_04] Crystal Springs High School

[12f_05] Wesson Attendance Center

[IF Q12g = 1 SHOW Q12g_01-Q12g_12]

In the Hinds County School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[12g_01] Bolton-Edwards Elementary/Middle School

[12g_02] Byram Middle School

[12g_03] Carver Middle School

[12g_04] Gary Road Elementary School

[12g_05] Gary Road Intermediate School

[12g_06] Hinds County Career and Technical Center

[12g_07] Life Skills Academy

[12g_08] Raymond Elementary School

[12g_09] Raymond High School

[12g_10] Main Street Restart Center (Alternative School)

[12g_11] Terry High School

[12g_12] Utica Elementary/Middle School

[IF Q12h = 1 SHOW Q12h_01-Q12h_12]

In the Sunflower County Consolidated School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[12h_01] AW James Elementary School

[12h_02] Carver Elementary School

[12h_03] Drew Hunter Middle School

[12h_04] Gentry High School

[12h_05] Indianola Academic Achievement Center (Alternative School)

[12h_06] Indianola Career and Tech Center

[12h_07] Lockard Elementary School

[12h_08] Moorhead Central School

[12h_09] Robert L. Merritt Junior High School

[12h_10] Ruleville Central Elementary School

[12h_11] Ruleville Middle School

[12h_12] Thomas E. Edwards Sr. High School

[IF Q12i = 1 SHOW Q12i_01-Q12i_03]

In the West Tallahatchie School District, what is the name of the school you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[12i_01] North Delta Alternative School

[12i_02] R H Bearden Elementary School

[12i_03] West Tallahatchie High School

Q13

Do you have at least one child enrolled at any Mississippi charter schools for the 2022-2023 school year?

Don’t know 4. Refused

[IF Q13 > 1 AND Q11 > 1 END SURVEY]

[IF Q13 > 1 AND Q11 = 1 SKIP TO COM03]

I am going to read you a list of charter schools in Mississippi. Please tell me in which charter schools you have at least one child enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year?

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

[Q14_01] Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School

[Q14_02] Midtown Public Charter School

[Q14_03] Reimagine Prep

[Q14_04] Smilow Collegiate

[Q14_05] Smilow Prep

[Q14_06] Ambition Preparatory

[Q14_07] LeFlore Legacy Academy

[Q14_08] Revive Prep

SECTION 3: SURVEY QUESTIONS FOR CHARTER PARENTS

[REPEAT QUESTION BLOCK (COM02-Q23) FOR ALL SCHOOLS LISTED IN Q14 WITH A RESPONSE OF “YES”]

COM02

The next set of questions is about your opinions and experiences with [CHARTER SCHOOL NAME]

Q15

What grade did your child attend at [CHARTER SCHOOL NAME] for the 2022-2023 school year?

________ grade

Enter: 88 for Not Sure 99 for Refused

Q16

How long has your child been enrolled in this charter school?

________ months

________ years

Enter: 88 for Not Sure 99 for Refused

Q17

I am going to read you a list of statements about the school environment at [CHARTER SCHOOL NAME] Please tell me whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement:

[Q17_01] The school has high standards for my child’s academic achievement.

[Q17_02] The school is safe.

[Q17_03] The school is a caring and nurturing place.

[Q17_04] As a parent/guardian, I feel welcome at the school.

[Q17_05] I have opportunities for involvement at the school.

[Q17_06] The school looks and feels like a place where learning occurs.

[Q17_07] The school office is well run.

[Q17_08] The school facilities are clean and well maintained.

[Q17_09] Overall, the school is a good place to learn.

[Q17_10] The school provides resources to support students’ mental health and emotional well-being.

Q18

I am going to read you another list of statements, this time about the educational program at [CHARTER SCHOOL NAME] Please tell me whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement:

[Q18_01] The school does a good job preparing my child for college.

[Q18_02] The school does a good job preparing my child for the next grade level.

[Q18_03] The school does a good job of teaching my child basic academic skills such as reading.

[Q18_04] The school does a good job of teaching my child “life skills” such as responsibility.

[Q18_05] The school tests are accurate measures of my child’s academic performance.

[Q18_06] The school provides individualized instruction for my child.

[Q18_07] My child’s schoolwork and homework assignments are meaningful.

[Q18_08] School discipline is fair.

[Q18_09] My child has a close relationship with at least one adult at the school. ¦

[Q18_10] Overall, I’m satisfied with my child’s academic progress.

[Q18_11] The school meets the needs of students with disabilities or other special needs.

Overall, what grade would you give to [CHARTER SCHOOL NAME]? Would you say…

1. “A” for Excellent

2. “B” for Good

3. “C” for Average

4. “D” for Needs Improvement

5. “F” for Bad

6. Don’t know

7. Refused

Q20

Would you recommend [CHARTER SCHOOL NAME] to other families?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

4. Refused

Q21

Do you plan to re-enroll your child next year for the 2023-2024 school year in [CHARTER SCHOOL NAME]?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

4. Refused

[IF Q21 = 2, SHOW Q22]

Why will you not re-enroll your child in that school next year?

1. Child/family is moving away from the area

2. I am not satisfied with the school

3. Child does not want to return

4. Child is advancing past the grade levels offered at this school

5. Other (please specify)_________________

6. Don’t know

7. Refused

Q23

How would you rate the way [CHARTER SCHOOL NAME] met students’ academic needs following the COVID-19 pandemic? Would you say …

1. Excellent

2. Good

3. Not So Good

4. Poor

5. No Opinion

6. Not Sure

7. Refused

SECTION 4: SURVEY QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS WITH CHILDREN IN TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS

[REPEAT QUESTION BLOCK (COM03-Q32) FOR ALL SCHOOLS LISTED IN Q12a_01-Q12a_52; Q12b_01-Q12b_10; Q12c_01-Q12c_15; Q12d_01Q12d_03; Q12e_01-Q12e_06; Q12f_01-Q12f_05; Q12g_01-Q12g_12; Q12h_01-Q12h_12; Q12i_01-Q12i_03 WITH A RESPONSE OF “YES”]

COM03

The next set of questions is about your opinions and experiences with [SCHOOL NAME]

Q24

What grade did your child attend at [SCHOOL NAME] for the 2022-2023 school year? ________ grade

Enter: 88 for Not Sure 99 for Refused

Q25

How long has your child been enrolled in this school?

________ months

________ years

Enter: 88 for Not Sure 99 for Refused

Q26

I am going to read you a list of statements about the school environment at [SCHOOL NAME] Please tell me whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement:

[Q26_01] The school has high standards for my child’s academic achievement.

[Q26_02] The school is safe.

[Q26_03] The school is a caring and nurturing place.

[Q26_04] As a parent/guardian, I feel welcome at the school.

[Q26_05] I have opportunities for involvement at the school.

[Q26_06] The school looks and feels like a place where learning occurs.

[Q26_07] The school office is well run.

[Q26_08] The school facilities are clean and well maintained.

[Q26_09] Overall, the school is a good place to learn.

[Q26_10] The school provides resources to support students’ mental health and emotional well-being.

Q27

I am going to read you another list of statements, this time about the educational program at [SCHOOL NAME]. Please tell me whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement:

[Q27_01] The school does a good job preparing my child for college.

[Q27_02] The school does a good job preparing my child for the next grade level. ¦

[Q27_03] The school does a good job of teaching my child basic academic skills (e.g., reading). ¦

[Q27_04] The school does a good job of teaching my child “life skills” (e.g., responsibility). ¦

[Q27_05] The school tests are accurate measures of my child’s academic performance. ¦

[Q27_06] The school provides individualized instruction for my child.

[Q27_07] My child’s schoolwork and homework assignments are meaningful.

[Q27_08] School discipline is fair.

[Q27_09] My child has a close relationship with at least one adult at the school.

[Q27_10] Overall, I’m satisfied with my child’s academic progress.

[Q27_11] The school meets the needs of students with disabilities or other special needs.

Q28

Overall, what grade would you give to [SCHOOL NAME]?

Would you say…

1. “A” for Excellent

2. “B” for Good

3. “C” for Average

4. “D” for Needs Improvement

5. “F” for Bad

6. Don’t know

7. Refused

Q29

Would you recommend [SCHOOL NAME] to other families?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

4. Refused

Q30

Do you plan to re-enroll your child next year in [SCHOOL NAME]?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

4. Refused

[IF Q30 = 2, SHOW Q31]

Q31

Why will you not re-enroll your child in that school next year?

1. Child/family is moving away from the area

2. I am not satisfied with the school

3. Child does not want to return

4. Child is advancing past the grade levels offered at this school

5. Other (please specify) _________________

6. Don’t know

7. Refused

Q32

How would you rate the way [SCHOOL NAME] met students’ academic needs following the COVID-19 pandemic? Would you say …

1. Excellent

2. Good

3. Not So Good

4. Poor

5. No Opinion

6. Not Sure

7. Refused

COM04

Lastly, we have a few background questions.

Please remember that all your information is kept confidential.

D01

In what year were you born? _________

Enter: 88888 for Not Sure

99999 for Refused

D02

Including yourself, how many adults 18 or older currently live in your household?

Enter: 88 for Not Sure

99 for Refused

D03

How many children under the age of 18 currently live in your household?

Enter: 88 for Not Sure

99 for Refused

D04

Do you consider yourself Hispanic or Latino?

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

• Refused

What is your race?

1. White

2. Black/African American

3. American Indian or Alaskan Native

4. Asian or Pacific Islander

5. Multi-racial

6. Other (please specify):

7. Not sure

8. Refused

D06

What was the last grade or year of school that you completed?

1. Never attended school or only attended kindergarten

2. Grades 1-8 (Elementary)

3. Grades 9-11 (Some high school)

4. Completed high school or GED equivalent

5. Some college or vocational program

6. Completed associate’s degree (2-year program)

7. Completed bachelor’s degree (4-year-program)

8. Completed master’s degree

9. Beyond master’s degree

10. Not sure

11. Refused

D07

During your K- 12 education, did you ever attend Mississippi public schools for one year or more?

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

• Refused

What is your zip code? _________

Enter: 88888 for Not Sure

99999 for Refused

D09

I am going to read you a list of categories. Please stop me when I reach the category that best describes your annual household income from all sources before taxes.

• Less than $10,000

• $10,000 to under $15,000

• $15,000 to under $20,000

• $20,000 to under $25,000

• $25,000 to under $35,000

• $35,000 to under $50,000

• $50,000 to under $75,000

• $75,000 to under $100,000

• $100,000 to under $150,000

• $150,000 to under $200,000

• $200,000 or more

• Not Sure

• Refused

D10

For research purposes, I must ask that you please state your gender.

• Man

• Woman

• Non-binary

• Transgender

• Other (Please specify: __________________)

• Refused