Poll: 9 in 10 Texas Parents Worry Their Kids Fell Behind in School During Coronavirus Crisis

An overwhelming majority of Texas parents worry their kids fell behind academically during the pandemic, even though most are satisfied with how their schools responded to the crisis, according to a survey released Monday.

In an online poll conducted by the nonprofit Education Trust, 87% of 1,200 parents surveyed in April said they were concerned their children would lag academically due to school closures — ranking higher than any other concern in the survey.

At the same time, the survey found that 87% of parents thought their schools and districts handled the coronavirus well.

The survey also showed that minority and low-income parents had some of the greatest concerns about how well equipped they were to handle distance learning. Among the findings:

• Seven in 10 Latinx and Black parents worried they don't have the resources or supplies to help their kids stay academically on track.
• Four in 10 low-income families and three in 10 families of color were concerned about access to distance learning because they don’t have reliable internet access.
• Nearly one in four Latinx and one in 10 African American parents said they received little or no information about resources available from their schools and districts.

"As leaders think about how to best reopen schools, the views of parents expressed in this poll should provide even more urgency to focus on the needs of students who are students of color, English learners, students with disabilities and students from low-income backgrounds,” said Patricia Arvanitis, co-founder and CEO of Leadership ISD, a Texas nonprofit that advocates for equity in education.

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