As Nevada transitioned into distance learning, many of our state’s teachers worked tirelessly during the last months of school, ensuring that they were in contact with their students. There were phone calls to parents that frequently took place outside of normal school hours, going over lessons, explaining how to access online materials, how to login to virtual classrooms and sometimes, just checking on families, finding out if their students had food to eat and an adequate place to do their schooling.

The relationships that teachers build with their students and families are an important part of schooling. This is reflected in EdChoice’s Public Opinion Tracker, launched earlier this month, which shows us that when asked how much trust Nevadans place in teachers to make good educational decisions, only 7% indicated a lack of trust, showing that Nevadans do trust teachers to make good choices for education. This compares to the 36% of Nevadans polled that indicated an absence of trust when asked how much trust they place in school district superintendents, and 31% that answered the same for school boards.

Trust in teachers, and building that good rapport, also translates into the satisfaction that parents feel with their schools. EdChoice’s April 2020 Gen Pop National Polling Presentation shows that nationally, 59% of all adults are very satisfied with their children’s experiences with religious, parochial private schools compared to just 33% of adults who are very satisfied with their children’s experiences with public district schools inside their school district.

This aligns with the Nevada K-12 & School Choice Survey published by Nevada Action for School Options and EdChoice in March of 2019. This survey shows us that 73% of school parents ranked their charter school as an A or B school. Only 34% of public district schools ranked their school as an A or B school.

Nevadans want to choose where to send their children to school, and Nevadans want to send their students to private schools. When asked what school they would select for their children, if transportation and financial costs were not factors, 45% of all Nevadans that participated would select a private school for their child, compared to the 31% that would select a public district school. 

Breaking this down even further into subgroups, this compares to the 2019 Nevada K-12 & School Choice Survey which showed us that 48% of Nevada Hispanics and 34% of Nevada African Americans would select private schooling for their child if transportation and financial cost were of no concern. 

EdChoice has done a thorough and thought provoking job with their opinion tracker. In What You Need to Know About the EdChoice Public Opinion Tracker Paul DiPerna breaks down the goals for the opinion tracker, as well as how to find and navigate the results. It is worth checking back in frequently for their monthly poll updates.

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