N.J. Poll: Parent Involvement, Not Vouchers, Key to School Reform
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| "they are buying our BS about vouchers" |
New Jersey voters cite parent involvement as the most crucial factor in resolving the state's public school problems, according to a new survey released this week.
Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind Poll found that 71 percent of voters believe that requiring more parent involvement would lead to "major improvements" to New Jersey's public schools. Another 70 percent said the lack of parent involvement is a "major" obstacle impeding learning for K-12 public school students.
Of the solutions voters considered to fix pubic schools, vouchers came in last with 40 percent, according to the poll. Parent involvement tops the list of remedies, with 70 percent, followed by increased school funding at 53 percent and reforming teacher tenure at 52 percent. The survey found that vouchers have greater support among minorities with 52 percent of non-white voters favoring the school choice option compared to 35 percent of white voters. Fairleigh Dickinson University interviewed 700 registered voters by phone last month for the survey.
"This speaks to the difficulty of assuming that a single remedy will suffice to satisfy the