In September 2024, Count on Mothers examined mothers' views and firsthand experiences with U.S. public schools, including school enrollment patterns, trust in teachers and administrators, perceptions of school environment, and interest in switching school types. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of mothers across regions and the political spectrum, the survey captured five core dimensions of mothers' relationship to public education and an open-ended question on the most important problem to solve in their district's public schools. Mothers reported broadly positive views of public schools alongside specific, persistent concerns — most prominently bullying, safety, and administrative accountability.

Related themes:

Family Economic Security and Cost Pressures

Shared Priorities and Cross-Partisan Alignment Among Mothers

• Strong participation and baseline trust in public schools:
  About 74% of mothers send their children to public schools, and majorities report trust in teachers (75%) and administrators (65%), as well as confidence that schools provide a physically safe and emotionally supportive environment.
• Bullying and safety are the dominant concerns:
  While overall sentiment is positive, 36% of mothers cite bullying or safety as a key concern, rising to 46% among mothers with children currently in public schools, making it the most frequently cited issue.
• Interest in switching schools extends across school types:
  About 40% of public school mothers would consider leaving if given the option, but notable shares of private (~20%) and charter or homeschool mothers (~27%) also report interest in switching—indicating dissatisfaction is not limited to public schools.
• Different concerns drive dissatisfaction:
  Mothers seeking to leave public schools most often cite bullying and safety, while mothers already outside the public school system are more likely to point to academic quality and funding.
• Clear priorities for improvement:
  Across open-ended responses, mothers consistently identified bullying, safety, inadequate funding, and academic quality as the most important problems to address, underscoring the need for stronger school climate initiatives, clearer accountability, and improved communication with families.

Source: Count on Mothers, Mothers' Views on the U.S. Education Climate, September 2024. Nationally representative survey of U.S. mothers, n=669, weighted across political ideology and region (sample aligned to U.S. Gallup political-ideology breakdown among women and U.S. Census race and ethnicity distributions). Research led by a PhD-credentialed researcher and an MPH data scientist.

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