We promised to share what we learned from our recent education surveys. Your response to the survey was unbelievable!  The intent of these surveys was to uncover a sense of common purpose that will build the foundation for collective action.

The surveys were focused on collecting your aspirations for education in Santa Fe. We at United Way of Santa Fe County heard what you had to say, and here are the results:

Question 1: At what age do you think a child’s learning begins?
Answer: The great majority believes that a child’s learning begins early – long before the child enters school – with most choosing prenatal, birth, or 0-1 as their answer.

Question 2: Is our children’s education an important issue for you?
Answer: With unanimous response our children’s education is an important issue to everyone.

Question 3: How do you think things are going in our community when it comes to education?
Answer: A great majority think that our schools need improvement with only about one in seven stating that they think our schools are “ok” or “great”.

Question 4: What one thing could we do in to make a difference?
Answer: People responded with a great variety of suggestions for what one thing could make a difference. The three categories that received the greatest number of responses were:
-    More early childhood education
-    Greater parental involvement
-    More funding for education