Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) – The Hoover Institution has launched The National Panel of Unheard Voices, a new polling research program intended to capture local community leaders’ knowledge and perceptions of US K‒12 schools in their cities, counties, and towns.
Mobility in America is changing the landscape of K‒12 schooling everywhere, from small and large cities to counties and towns. The US Census Bureau indicates 20 percent of Americans will move at least once in the next twelve months. The National Panel of Unheard Voices wants to hear from local leaders who employ, provide support, and govern in communities, to build a solid body of research evidence that can help shape future plans for their children’s K‒12 schooling. The research is intended to identify policies and practices that enable children to benefit from the strongest education possible.
Directed by Hoover fellows Margaret (Macke) Raymond and Susie Miller Carello, the institution’s researchers are specifically interested in obtaining perspectives from local elected representatives (i.e., mayors, city council members, county supervisors), as well as business and nonprofit community support leaders. While a number of informative surveys capture the perceptions and knowledge of parents and educators, consistently absent in this data are the knowledge and opinions of community leaders.
“Hoover Education scholars know that the people who lead our communities—mayors, business owners, and resident support groups—have unique and impactful knowledge about K‒12 schooling that is so often missed in education research. The National Panel of Unheard Voices is about promoting that valuable knowledge as K‒12 schooling undergoes changes across the country,” Raymond said.
"The National Panel of Unheard Voices is an opportunity for local leadership across America to help their communities make smart choices. With over 4,000 panel members across five surveys, their experience and knowledge about what our hometowns and our children need in K‒12 schooling will create an informed future," Carello said.
Panel participants will complete five ten-minute surveys in which they share how they acquire information about their local K‒12 schools, in what ways they are allowed to participate and make decisions impacting those schools, what school choice options are available in their areas, and what are the challenges and opportunities confronting K‒12 education in their communities.
The survey is hosted on Polco, an innovative civic engagement platform that offers community members the opportunity to provide input directly to local leaders. Polco’s founder and CEO is Nick Mastronardi, a US Air Force veteran and member of the inaugural class of the Hoover Veteran Fellowship Program.
“We love this project! Gathering input from more voices on what are the right next steps for the education of our youth is critical. In addition to the traditionally heard voices of parents, we are seeking input from other critical community leaders in a unique perspective to understand the landscape and impact change and improvement,” Mastronardi said.
“In particular we are monitoring response numbers and balance of the panel among parents, elected leaders, and leaders of community organizations and businesses. We are reaching out to these key constituents and stakeholders through a variety of channels including foundations and state and national associations. We will be tracking their sentiments on several topics in a longitudinal panel assessment. It is with this feedback and data that we hope to be able to deliver insights about the industry and appropriate next steps for the education of our youth with confidence.”
Eligible respondents can access the survey at https://polco.us/voices11. Participants’ responses are anonymous, and personal data or identifying information is never shared. Community members with questions may contact hooverunheardvoices@stanford.edu.
Click here to learn more about The National Panel of Unheard Voices.
For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, jmarsch@stanford.edu.
