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The John Locke Foundation

is a501(c)(3) nonprot, nonpartisan researchinstitute dedicated to improving public policy debate in North Carolina. Viewpoints expressed by authors do not necessarilyrefect those o the sta or board o the Locke Foundation.

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hat do parents want rom their child’s school district? In this rank-ing, I have separated the answer into our general areas — admin-istrators, teachers, saety, and academic perormance (see Table 1,beginning on page 3). These our areas correspond to the areas o parentalsatisaction measured in

Parent and Family Involvement in Education, 2006-07 School Year, From the National Household Education Surveys Program o 2007,

a report published by the U.S. Department o Education in 2008.The

Parent and Family Involvement in Education

report (hereater PFIE)includes measures o parental satisaction in six areas, including overall sat-isaction with the school, teachers, academic standards, order/discipline, inter-action with school sta, and homework. Due to data limitations, this

Parent Friendly

report will exclude two areas: overall satisaction and homework (see

No. 356 – November 30, 2009

arent

-F

riendly

choolS

, 2009

How ‘parent-riendly’ are school districts in North Carolina?

Thi rport dvlop  tm to vlut chool ditrict on how “prntrindl” th r — in othr word, to dtrmin to wht xtnt North Cr-olin’ chool ditrict provid childrn  ound, bic duction in  tblnd  chool nvironmnt tht i rponiv to th nd o childrn ndth concrn o prnt.key aCTs:• North Crolin’ chool ditrict r not prnt-rindl orgniztion. Whil  hndul o chool ditrict r ronblwll in th fnl rning, th hight cor w  3.4, or  B+.• school ditrict in wtrn North Crolin gnrll rd vr wll in thrning, whil th Trid, Tringl, Chrlott, nd northtrn rgion rdpoorl. svn o th top tn chool ditrict r loctd in wtrn NorthCrolin.• In gnrl, mllr chool ditrict r mor prnt-rindl thn lrgrchool ditrict. Mot o th top-prorming chool ditrict nrolld wrthn 10,000 tudnt.• urthr rrch will b rquird to pinpoint th combintion o ctortht contribut to thir ucc, but ditrict iz nd high-qulit dmini-trtiv nd/or tching t ppr to b outtnding ron wh ditrictrd wll in thi rning.

the appendices or a more detailed explanation o the methodology and the state data sets used in this ranking). PFIEuses direct assessments o parental attitudes, but that kind o data is not available or North Carolina’s 115 schooldistricts. Thus, the

Parent Friendly

ranking uses indirect assessments to determine i each o the state’s school systemsoers educational conditions that the average parent would fnd satisactory.The

Parent Friendly

ranking also includes enrollment, demographic, and per-pupil expenditure data or eachschool district (see Table 2, beginning on page 6). There is neither a strong nor a consistent relationship between theseactors and district perormance in the

Parent Friendly

ranking.

1. Administrators

PFIE reported that only 51 percent o parents with children assigned to a public school said that they were “verysatisfed” with the way school sta interacts with parents. The

Parent Friendly

ranking uses two data points to assessschool interaction with parents. First, it includes the percentage o teachers that “strongly agreed” or “agreed” thatschool leadership communicates clear expectations to students and parents. Second, it examines the total number o consultants, clerical sta, and “other” proessionals as a percentage o total sta. This data point provides a compara-tive measure o the size o the school district bureaucracy, which is an indication o the accessibility o school and dis-trict administrators. As a rule, large school and district bureaucracies typically make it difcult or concerned parentsto obtain necessary inormation or discuss concerns with decision makers.

2. Teachers

According to PFIE, 61 percent o parents with children assigned to a public school reported that they were “verysatisfed” with the teachers their student had during the year. The three data points in the

Parent Friendly

rankinginclude the ollowing: 1) the number o teachers that taught in the school district in 2006-07 as a percentage o thetotal number o teachers or the 2007-08 school year; 2) the percentage o teachers that let their teaching positions;and 3) the number o vacant positions as a percentage o the total number o teachers. Those actors assess stabilityand continuity in the teacher workorce, key prerequisites or any school district seeking to employ an experienced,high-quality teaching sta. Given the ongoing debate about the validity o traditional measures o teacher quality, theParent Friendly ranking o teachers does not include years o experience, certifcation status, and graduate training.

3. Saety

According to PFIE, only 58 percent o parents with children assigned to a public school reported that they were“very satisfed” with order and discipline at the school. Obviously, parents want their children to attend sae and or-derly schools that minimize disruptions in the educational process. The

Parent Friendly

ranking uses one data point tomeasure order and discipline among schools in the district — the number o reported acts o school crime and violenceper 1,000 students.

4. Academic achievement

PFIE reported that 58 percent o parents with children assigned to a public school said that they were “very sat-isfed” with academic standards at the school. Parents want their children to attend schools that maintain high aca-demic standards rom kindergarten through twelth grade. To assess elementary and middle school perormance, the

Parent Friendly

ranking examines end-o-grade reading and math test scores or students in grades 3-8. Graduationrates and SAT scores are used to measure the academic perormance o high school students. The ranking also utilizesa measure o district-wide perormance: the percentage o student subgroups (e.g., race and ethnicity, disability, eco-nomic disadvantage, etc.) that met profciency requirements on state tests. This measure is also known as Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP targets met under the ederal No Child Let Behind law.

District Administration Teachers SafetyAcademicPerformance2009GPA2009GradeRank 2008GPA2008GradeChange08-09

Clay AB+ AC+ 3.40 B+ 13.18 B0.22Cherokee B+ B+ AB- 3.33 B+ 23.43 B+ -0.11Elkin CABA3.25 B32.90 B0.35Ashe CAB- A3.18 BT-4 2.93 B0.25Polk AA- DA3.18 BT-4 3.50 B+ -0.33Surry ABCB+ 3.08 B62.75 B0.33Henderson BCBA3.00 BT-7 2.15 C0.85Dare DABA3.00 BT-7 3.18 B-0.18Lincoln ABC+ B- 3.00 BT-7 3.18 B-0.18Camden C- A- BB+ 2.93 B102.75 B0.18Rutherford A- A- CC2.85 B112.68 B- 0.17Macon C+ BAC2.83 B122.50 C+ 0.33Davie CCAB2.75 BT-13 2.43 C+ 0.32Martin ACBC2.75 BT-13 2.75 B0.00McDowell B- BBC2.68 B- 152.75 B-0.08Madison B- B- C+ B- 2.60 B- T-16 2.25 C0.35Iredell-Statesville B- C- CA2.60 B- T-16 2.33 C+ 0.27Cleveland BAD+C2.58 C+ T-18 2.50 C+ 0.08Alleghany C+ CC+ A- 2.58 C+ T-18 2.83 B-0.26Mooresville A- D+CB2.50 C+ T-20 2.43 C+ 0.07Union B+ C- CB2.50 C+ T-20 2.50 C+ 0.00Richmond ACBD2.50 C+ T-20 2.83 B-0.33Mount Airy B- BDB+ 2.50 C+ T-20 2.93 B-0.43Burke C+ B+ CC+ 2.48 C+ 242.50 C+ -0.03Hickory A- DCB2.43 C+ T-25 1.33 D+1.10Duplin B- CBC2.43 C+ T-252.18 C0.25Wake CCCA- 2.43 C+ T-252.25 C0.18Buncombe CBCB- 2.43 C+ T-252.43 C+ -0.01Beaufort ACCC- 2.43 C+ T-252.50 C+ -0.08Stanly B+ BDC+ 2.40 C+ 302.43 C+ -0.03 Newton/Conover ADDB+ 2.33 C+ T-31 2.00 C0.33Haywood CBDB+ 2.33 C+ T-312.25 C0.08Moore C+ CCB2.33 C+ T-312.25 C0.08Chapel Hill/Carrboro FD+AA2.33 C+ T-312.43 C+ -0.11Asheville CCC+ B2.33 C+ T-312.50 C+ -0.18Graham D+ACC2.33 C+ T-312.50 C+ -0.18Stokes BCCC+ 2.33 C+ T-312.50 C+ -0.18Yadkin CBBD+2.33 C+ T-312.65 B- -0.33

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Tbl 1. Domin Grd nd inl Grd, 2007-08 school yr