On the morning of Sept.11, 2001, after learning of the terrorist
attacks in Washington, D.C., and New York, Janet Gauss of New
Smyrna Beach, Fla., did something that countless parents all over
the country also did -- she called her son's school to "make sure
he was safe."
It's natural for parents to want to ensure the safety of their
children when disaster strikes. But according to a recent Gallup
Poll*, nearly one-third of all parents say they fear for the safety
of their child when he or she is at school. In fact, the percentage
of parents saying they fear for their oldest child's physical
safety at school has remained similar to what it was in an August
2001 poll (32% in August 2001 and 31% in August 2002). However, the
level of concern has varied over time and tends to spike whenever
an incident of school violence attains widespread media coverage.
For example, in March 2001 shortly after a deadly school shooting
in Santee, Calif., a Gallup Poll found 45% of parents expressing
fear for the safety of their child after being at just 26% a few
months prior.
Women Worry More Than Men
Aggregated data from Gallup's 2000-2002 annual polls** on Work
and Education shed some light on which parents tend to worry about
school safety more than others. Women are slightly more likely than
are men to express worry, by a 34% to 26% margin. This may be part
of a general pattern seen in polling, in which women are more
likely to express feelings of fear or insecurity. When questioned
whether they, themselves, are concerned about being the victim of a
terrorist attack***, 47% of women say they were very or somewhat
worried compared to 28% of men. It's difficult to know if this
pattern reflects true differences in emotional reactions, or
differences in willingness to admit to emotions that men may
perceive as "weak."
Public School, Middle School Parents More Worried
Parents of children in public school are nearly twice as likely
to say they worry as those with children in non-public schools --
32% versus 18%. Perhaps non-public school parents have different
perceptions of safety because the student-to-teacher ratio is
generally smaller in non-public schools and supervision may be more
manageable.
Concern about school safety, however, takes a big leap among all
parents when children move from elementary school to middle school
and high school.Just 24% of parents whose oldest child is in
elementary school express concern for their child's safety at
school, but 47% of parents whose oldest child is in middle school
or high school do."Of course I worry much more now that he's in
middle school," says Gauss, whose son just started sixth grade in a
public school. "When he was in elementary school, I fretted about
his being hurt on the playground during roughhousing. But now I
worry about very different things -- his being bullied, beaten up
-- or worse, possibly being molested by older kids or staff
members."
Race, Income, Education and Location
Whites tend to be somewhat less concerned with school safety
than do nonwhites -- 27% versus 40%, respectively, as are those
whose annual incomes are $75,000 or more (19%) compared to those
with incomes of $20,000 or less (47%). Parents with at least some
college education are less likely to worry than parents with a high
school education or less, 23% compared to 42%. It has been well
documented that higher education leads to higher-paying jobs, which
ultimately may place more educated parents in safer neighborhoods
where they aren't as concerned about the safety of their children
in school.
Surprisingly, suburban (31%) and rural (26%) parents are about
as likely to worry about their children as parents in cities (31%).
Suburban parents may be more jittery about crime than urban parents
are, who, owing to the higher crime rate in most cities, must find
a way to emotionally deal with the risk of crime on a daily basis.
The towns of Jonesboro, Ark., West Paducah, Ky., and Littleton,
Colo., -- all areas with low crime -- have been sites of some of
the worst incidents of school violence in America.
Betsy Thompson, coordinator of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools
program for Jefferson County Schools in Colorado -- including
Columbine High School, site of the horrendous April 1999 shootings
-- has studied the issues surrounding school safety perhaps more
than anyone. "All parents really want their children to be safe and
to thrive at school," says Thompson. "If kids are doing well at
school, my sense is that parents are feeling that the safety factor
has kicked in." Thompson makes a valuable point. Only 24% of
parents who are satisfied with their child's education fear for his
or her safety at school, while close to half (47%) of dissatisfied
parents are fearful.
Key Points
One-third of parents worry about their children's physical
safety at school. In the post-Sept. 11 climate of apprehension,
schools need to be more attentive than ever to parents' fears. By
bringing parents together with administrators, teachers, law
enforcement officials and community leaders to discuss safety
concerns -- everything from playground scuttles and school violence
to evacuation plans and front-door security measures -- schools can
help provide parents with a sense of control over the academic
environment. After all, children readily pick up on their parents'
worries -- if they are not adequately addressed, kids may become
fearful of attending school themselves.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 283 parents with
children in kindergarten through 12th grade. For results
based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the
maximum margin of sampling error is ±6%.
**Results are based on aggregated data from telephone interviews
with 840 parents with children in kindergarten through
12th grade in Gallup's 2000-2002 Work and Education
polls, all conducted in August. For results based on the total
sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of
sampling error is ±4%.
***Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,003 national
adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Sept. 2-4, 2002. For results
based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95%
confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is
±3%.
