In a sign of angst felt to some degree across the country, parents in a western New York community report they are not confident that their schools will provide adequate social, emotional and academic support in the coming year.
Survey results released Wednesday by The Children’s Agenda followed polling of 600 parents living in Monroe County about a variety of issues they felt were lacking — from staff diversity and mental health supports to summer enrichment programs. The parents polled lived in Rochester, the county seat, and surrounding suburbs.
The report by the Rochester-based nonprofit that promotes policies to improve children’s lives also found that 1 out of 3 parents feel school administrators don’t listen to them when it comes to matters affecting their children’s lives at school.
Toyin Anderson of the Greater Rochester Parent Leadership Training Institute and board member at The Children’s Agenda, noted the issues need to be addressed by the broader society, and parents need to know they are not alone.
“It takes the whole community together to make sure the children thrive, from cradle to career,” she stated in a press release.
School officials in Monroe County could not be reached for comment by press time. But they have made previous efforts to address parents’ concerns.
The Rochester City School District, for example, began partnering with local community groups over the summer to provide mentors for school children. Last month, the district announced it would work with the University of Rochester to provide mental health training to teachers at six K-12 schools as a part of the Supporting our Students Project.
And this school year, following a July announcement by Mayor Malik Evans, the district is partnering with Pillars of Hope to provide elementary and middle school students with Black and Latino professional mentors. In a district where most students are low-income people of color, these matches “can increase a zest for learning, provide strategies to deal with challenges and offer insights into such life skills as goal setting and career selection,” a city press release stated.
Still, parents polled by The Children’s Agenda have myriad concerns that stretch from children’s well-being to the families and communities they are a part of. Almost all of the Rochester parents and 75% of suburban parents want more mental health services available in schools and greater access to support groups for children and parents, along with family counseling and services that focus on relaxation and mindfulness. The needs for these services are particularly high for children of color and those with disabilities.
Additionally, they are looking to provide their children with a more inclusive education, which 88% of Rochester parents deem “very or somewhat important.” Monroe County parents want their children’s school staff to better integrate students from different backgrounds, and key to that integration is increased diversity among teachers and staff. Polling in the suburban parts of the county revealed these concerns to be less important.
Some parents in Rochester have continued voicing their concerns, such as last year’s pushback against the Rochester City School District’s funding for police stationed near high school campuses. Community members wanted resources invested instead in mental health supports and social services for disruptive children.
School suspensions remain a major concern among those polled in August.
Eighty-four percent of parents wanted to eliminate suspensions through the third grade. And 17% of parents reported they are concerned that their children will be suspended for minor infractions — particularly Black and Hispanic kids, and parents of kids with disabilities.
Monroe County parents stated they think schools should be required to provide behavioral interventions, mediation, counseling and academic help when students are suspended, rather than booting them out of class. They suggest changing state laws and local policies to prohibit suspensions for the youngest children.
In New York state, a student can only be suspended for five days at a time, but can be given additional time with the superintendent’s approval. But there are deep disparities in who receives punishment for misbehavior. Nearly two-thirds of Monroe County parents would like to limit suspension to no more than 20 days total for the entire year, for all grades.
In 2018, state data shows that Black students in the county were 8% of the enrolled population, yet they represented 26% of students suspended.
The trend is born out nationally, according to the nonprofit research firm Child Trends. Although public schools’ reliance on exclusionary discipline like suspension has declined nationally since 2011, Black and brown students and students with disabilities remain disproportionately suspended at higher rates than their white peers. In a 2021 report, Child Trends concluded that the ongoing disparity “points to a need for more equitable school discipline practices.”
And while the number of juvenile accused of crimes has declined over decades across the country, those arrests originating from schools remain “an alarmingly high proportion of overall arrests,” according to a report published by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Experts in education and criminal justice have agreed that suspension does more harm than good in correcting disruptive or negative behaviors in children.
Keeping kids busy and engaged also weighed heavily on parents in Monroe County. More than half of parents polled had their children placed in a summer program, but some found it difficult to enroll due to high costs and transportation challenges.
A report on a notable summer program in New York City, produced by the New York State Network for Youth State Success, found that children who participated had a 23% lower chance of being involved in the juvenile justice system. Those results were especially true for kids from “traditionally underserved communities, including children of color, those from low-income families, and children living in rural areas.”
Larry Marx, CEO of The Children’s Agenda, said in a statement that parents want policies put in place “that provide for the needs of the whole child and the whole family.”
His advocacy group is calling for greater public investment in holistic support for children and their families — so that all Monroe County children can “be supported in their social, emotional, and intellectual development.”
