Back to School is here. Are GreatSchools members ready?
Each year, we ask GreatSchools Members how they’re preparing themselves and their families for the challenges of going back to school. According to this year’s survey, conducted in partnership with Hallmark, GreatSchools Members are planning to step up their involvement with the logistical, academic and emotional support their kids need to start the school year off right.
So, how are parents getting ready?
Not surprising, nearly all parents (93%) are planning to buy school supplies prior to the first day of school. But that’s only part of the story. This year, amid a troubled economy with stretched family and school budgets, GreatSchools Members are planning to do more with less. The survey finds that a majority of parents are taking cost-cutting steps by shopping in different, less-expensive stores (59%), reusing portions of last year’s school supplies (56%) and looking for coupons in newspapers (58%).
Another way that GreatSchools Members are practicing smart shopping: more than one in five (21%) say they will delay buying school supplies altogether until after school starts so that they only buy what their child needs.
Does the focus on shopping smart mean less attention to some of the other back-to-school prep basics? Not so. According to the survey, GreatSchools Members are preparing for back to school in ways that go beyond shopping. In fact, most parents surveyed already know the topics their kids will learn in the coming school year and, similarly, a full 76% of respondents have researched the academic performance of the school their child is attending.
GreatSchools Members are also taking steps to ease the transition from summer fun to the start of the school year. The survey finds that, prior to the first day of school, parents are adjusting their child’s sleep schedule (87%) and increasing the amount of time devoted to reading (59%).
This is all good news to ensure children will be well-rested and won’t be cramming for backto school. But what about calming the common first day of school jitters, such as making friends, meeting new teachers and encountering an unfamiliar environment?
In order to ease the back-to-school butterflies, most GreatSchools Members are planning to visit the school in advance, to meet their child’s teacher and show their child where things (entrances, exits, pick-up and drop-off locations) are. They’re also planning to talk to their child, to help them envision the school day.
Many parents are planning to take this emotional support a step further. More than one in three (34%) parents will encourage their child by packing a card of supportin their lunch box, for example, for the first day of school.
This year’s back-to-school survey was conducted in partnership with Hallmark. The online survey questioned more than 1,000 GreatSchools Members who are parents of school-aged kids.
