Philly For Great Public Schools 2025 Education Poll
A new survey of 815 registered voters in Philadelphia shows widespread dissatisfaction with the state of public education in the city, and a strong desire for change. Philadelphians are broadly supportive of public charter schools, which are particularly important for Black and brown voters in the city. Philadelphians would like to see streamlined processes that allow public charter schools to open more quickly. Voters in Philadelphia would also like to see higher quality facilities, and to that end, they strongly back school construction reform.
The Vast Majority of Voters Are Concerned About Public Education in Philadelphia
Overall, just 11% of registered voters in Philadelphia are satisfied with the state of public education in the city, while 77% are concerned. The level of dissatisfaction is consistent among parents and non-parents alike, with 74% of the former and 78% of the latter expressing concern.
When it comes to the quality of public schools in Philadelphia, 14% rate them Excellent or Good; 34% call them Fair, while 43% rate them either Poor or Very Poor. Another 10% are not sure.
Charter Schools Are Most Highly Valued by Communities of Color
Charter school parents are disproportionately people of color: 65% of charter school parents are African American, while 39% of all registered voters in Philadelphia are African American. Put differently, 13% of all Black registered voters in Philadelphia have children in charter schools, while 5% of white registered voters do.
This helps provide context to the findings from throughout the survey: Black Philadelphians, Philadelphians of color generally, and those in regions with higher concentrations of lower-income families are more supportive of charter schools, and favor process or policy changes that will help facilitate that end.
Voters in Philadelphia Dissatisfied with School Facilities; Strongly Back School Construction Reform
Most Philadelphians support giving school districts the ability to hire a single general contractor for construction projects, rather than having to hire separate specialty contractors as required by the Separations Act. Overall, 62% would support such a change, while 18% would be opposed. Support is particularly high among parents citywide, and among all voters in Northeast Philadelphia: 70% of each of these groups would support this change.
Ratings of public school facilities are even more negative, with 56% calling facilities Poor or Very Poor, and just 8% rating them as Good or Excellent.
Public Education Quality Is A Major Factor in Decisions on Whether to Stay in Philadelphia
The quality of public education is a very important factor in voters’ decisions about whether and how long to stay in Philadelphia–particularly for parents. Among those with children currently in kindergarten through 12th grade, 79% say the quality of public education is at least a somewhat important factor in their decisions about staying in the city – including 55% who say it’s a very important factor. Even among non-parents, a majority say that the quality of public education is at least somewhat important to their decision. And the quality of public education is a larger factor with Philadelphians of color than with white Philadelphians: among Black voters, 68% say that the quality of public schools is an important factor in their decisions about whether to stay, versus 57% among white voters.