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More coverage of school safety. Stories about what students are really learning in the classroom. And less focus on the most politically fraught topics in education.
That’s what New Yorkers indicated they wanted from their education news in a survey conducted last December for Civic News Company, Chalkbeat’s parent organization. The poll asked New York City residents how they consumed news, what they needed from education coverage in the city, and about the different ways they showed up for their communities as parents, advocates, and citizens.
Here are a few key takeaways.
1. Local news really matters — and for parents, education news is especially important.
The survey asked New Yorkers how important information about a range of local topics – from politics to transportation and emergencies – was to their daily lives. In almost every category, most respondents said that information was somewhat or very important. (The only category to rate fairly low in importance? Local sports.)
Local education news was on the lower side, with 74% of overall respondents saying that kind of information was somewhat or very important to them. But that obscures how critical parents say that information is to them: Of those surveyed who identified as parents, 95% of them told us that getting information about local education, including about school programs and school quality, was somewhat or very important.
2. School safety, curriculum issues, and student performance are especially important to many New Yorkers.
So what kind of education news are New Yorkers looking for?
Parents, teachers, and those who have made an effort to effect change in local or state education were asked to name what issues matter most to them. The safety of schools, the content students are taught, and student academic performance rose to the top in importance. Upcoming events and local school council elections were least likely to be named as the most pressing issues.
3. But satisfaction with education coverage varies.
Despite their interest in education, New Yorkers aren’t always satisfied with the information they are finding. Overall, New Yorkers were less satisfied with information they receive about education than other topics, including weather and transportation. Less than 50% of respondents said they were even “somewhat” satisfied with local education information.
Still, New Yorkers surveyed showed relatively high satisfaction with coverage of certain key topics. Those included school calendars – a popular topic at Chalkbeat – as well as upcoming school events, and, to a lesser extent, academic performance.
Information about school council elections and educational disparities was lacking, the respondents said, with only 20% and 19% satisfaction rates, respectively. These findings were of particular interest to us at Chalkbeat, where we often highlight how racial, economic, and other disparities show up in New York City’s public schools.
Recent Chalkbeat coverage of the city’s low-turnout Community Education Council elections — just 2% of eligible parents voted in the last election — led to a probe by the comptroller’s office and highlighted the need for increased outreach. (Here’s the latest on this year’s education council elections.)
One area that many respondents said in written responses they wanted covered less: political and cultural debates around diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as transgender students’ rights. This sentiment came from New Yorkers on all sides of these issues.
4. Word of mouth really matters – as do Parent Teacher Associations.
Asked where they turn for quality information, New Yorkers told us they look most often to friends, family, and colleagues. Local digital news outlets ranked second, tied with online search and local TV stations.
The trend holds for education information. New Yorkers consistently turn to personal networks for their information. And compared to respondents nationwide, they were less likely to cite local schools, districts, and local TV stations as sources. But New Yorkers set themselves apart in another way: They were much more likely to cite their PTAs or parent associations as a source for local education news.
5. Involvement in education is low.
New Yorkers are interested in civic issues – but not always moved to participate, the survey found. A little under half of respondents in New York City reported getting involved in local or state education, such as talking to a member of the community about an education issue or participating in a school board. And only 9% described themselves as advocating and working for improvements.
No surprise here: Educators were a bit more likely than respondents overall to say they are civically engaged and had volunteered, contacted an elected official, or organized in their community in the last year.
This survey, part of an effort called the Civic Information Needs Census, was conducted online Dec. 9-20, 2024 by EMBOLD, a nonpartisan research company. It surveyed 1,428 adults in New York City, oversampling parents and educators, and had a 3% margin of error.
Sarah Darville is Chalkbeat’s editor in chief.
