Schools fare well in annual survey of parents

By JENNIFER WING ROTHACKER

June 14, 2000 Web posted at: 11:07 AM EDT (1507 GMT)

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Charlotte Observer) -- Despite a year filled with student-assignment turmoil, Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools fared well on the annual families survey, with more parents giving their child's school an "A" grade than last year.

Parents awarded high marks to the academic rigor, cleanliness and safety of their child's school. Overall, 38 percent of the 57,818 parents who responded to the survey gave their child's school an "A," up from 33 percent last year.

The district sent a survey to the homes of all 101,000 students in December, with about 57 percent of the parents returning them. The district also sent home an additional survey to parents of disabled students.

The generally high marks came despite this year's student-assignment uncertainty.

A federal judge last fall ordered the district to stop using race as a factor in student assignment. The school board spent much of last year devising a race-neutral plan it is to carry out in fall 2001.

While the surveys asked nothing directly about the student-assignment wrangling, parents gave the district as a whole a slightly lower grade than last year - from a 2.46 to a 2.4 on a 4.0 scale.

Parents' biggest complaints concerned quantity of computers and other resources and materials.

Among the other findings of the general family survey:

High marks included: 88.5 percent of parents said teachers frequently required their child to read at home; 87.7 percent said the schools were neat, clean and well-maintained; 86.7 percent said parents are warmly welcomed when they visit the school; 86.3 percent said they feel welcome to participate in parent activities at school; 86.3 percent said classwork challenges their child, and 85.9 percent said their child feels safe at school.

Among the greatest areas of disappointment: 24.9 percent didn't feel their child's school had enough computers and 21.5 percent felt there weren't enough materials and supplies.

Nearly 20 percent felt the schools were not developing their child's special interests and/or talents.

In general, elementary school parents gave higher marks than middle or high school parents. For example, 71.1 percent of elementary parents said their child's school has taught their child how to handle conflict. Only 48.5 percent of high school parents agreed with that.

Parental involvement in a number of categories increased from last year. For example, more parents say they attend PTA meetings and parent/teacher conferences than last year.

The district gave an additional survey to parents of exceptional students. About 46 percent, or 4,929 parents, responded.

Results showed that 92.6 percent agreed that teachers expect their students to learn, but only 54.5 percent felt the exceptional children programs were preparing their child for opportunities after high school.

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