Greenfield-Central Superintendent Harold Olin
HANCOCK COUNTY — Local school district administrators say they are not too surprised with the results of the recent Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) statewide survey aimed at better understanding parent perceptions.
The goal of the IDOE parent survey is to use the data to continue improving K-12 education in Indiana, state officials said in a press release.
Overall, statewide results showed high levels of parent satisfaction with the quality of their child’s school as well as the subjects and topics being taught. The DOE noted most parents reported their high school student had plans to pursue additional educational opportunities beyond high school.
One of the more alarming responses from the parent survey show concerns about child safety are highest among lower-income parents in metropolitan areas. About half, 47% of lower-income parents in metropolitan areas, say they worry about their child’s safety at school, compared with 33% of all parents.
One of the key findings from the survey showed the vast majority — 88% of Indiana parents — are satisfied with the quality of their child’s school. Satisfaction is even higher among those whose child is enrolled in elementary school — 90% — and those in rural and small-town areas, like Hancock County show a 96% approval rate.
Southern Hancock superintendent Lisa Lantrip was pleased to see the results of the survey as she noted it indicates Hoosier parents strongly support their local public schools.
“We are grateful to experience this level of support from our community every day,” Lantrip said. “We are proud of the connected, innovative and authentic educational experiences students receive each day.”
She and other district leaders say they understand school safety is a priority for the community.
“This survey indicates this is a priority for all Hoosier parents, as well,” Lantrip said. “Our schools take safety seriously.”
This year, Southern Hancock hired a dedicated police officer as a district employee to complement their other school resource officers.
“We have also added additional security cameras, handheld metal detectors, and other safety procedures to ensure our students are protected at school each day,” Lantrip said.
Eastern Hancock Superintendent George Philhower noted he was not surprised by much in the parent survey and anticipates the numbers surrounding student safety in their district would be much lower than statewide parents concerns.
“Unfortunately, fear and negativity dominate our headlines, and often our attention, and can be misleading,” Philhower said. “While I anticipate that this number would be lower at Eastern Hancock, I also understand that some parents may have concerns.”
Most parents know and approve of the subjects and topics taught at their child’s school. Only 7% of parents say they don’t approve of the subjects and topics taught to their child, and of those 7%, about two-thirds acknowledge that they do not know, or are unsure, what subjects and topics are being taught.
Parents see post-high school education as available in Indiana but not affordable. Most, 72% of parents, say education after high school is available in the state to those who need it. However, only 27% say that post-high school education is affordable.
Awareness of the Indiana 21st Century Scholars program is inconsistent across parents of students who might benefit the most. About six in 10 parents of middle school students, some 64%, are aware of the Indiana 21st Century Scholars program.
About one-third of parents of seniors say their child is not prepared for life after high school. Among parents of freshmen, roughly half say their child is not prepared for life after high school.
According to parents, seven in 10 high school students plan to pursue further education or training after high school. This includes the six in 10 who plan to attend a four-year university or two-year college and the one in 10 who say they will pursue training to learn a skill or trade.
Greenfield-Central Superintendent Harold Olin pointed out after looking at the results that he’d like to see more than seven out of 10 Hoosier graduates planning to pursue education or training beyond high school.
“We have new jobs coming to Indiana and the Midwest that provide attractive wages,” Olin said. “A vast majority of those good-paying jobs require degrees and/or training beyond high school … That number surprised me a bit.”
Olin also pointed out that their data at G-C shows a much higher number of their students pursuing training and education beyond high school.
As to school safety, Olin thinks parents across the state are still impacted greatly by the horrific events that have taken place in American schools over the past decade as to the reason why the concern for school safety is so high.
Officials from the Mt. Vernon School District agreed with Olin when it came to the school safety portion of the results.
Director of Community Relations Maria Bond noted that, at Mt. Vernon, they consistently share the safety of students and staff as their number one priority.
“We also share with our community how we have invested heavily in providing a safe learning environment,” Bond said. “We are continually reviewing, planning and increasing security measures as well as our crisis protocols in all our schools.”
The survey was administered by mail using randomly selected addresses to survey 3,042 Indiana parents of school-aged children. Parents provided information about their child’s experiences at school as well as their own attitudes and opinions about the school. The total sample is weighted based on major sub-populations (age, sex, education-level and race and ethnicity) so that estimates reflect the overall population of Indiana adults who have a school-aged child in the household, the press release stated.
