LA County parents dissatisfied with distance learning, UCLA survey finds
LOS ANGELS (KABC) -- In a year unlike any other, an annual UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs survey of the quality of life in Los Angeles echoed what the pandemic exposed: Los Angeles County is split in two with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
"What we've seen in the last several years is a divide in Los Angeles that's represented in younger people, people of lower income who are less satisfied with their quality of life," said Zev Yaroslavsky, the Director of the L.A. Initiative at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs.
Between March 3 and March 23 of this year, 1,434 residents were surveyed and the results were shared during a summit moderated by host of Eyewitness Newsmakers Adrienne Alpert. One of the most alarming changes from 2020 to 2021 was the loss in faith parents have in the quality of K-12 education.
How's your quality of life? UCLA Luskin Summit takes close look at life in LA
"Seventy-six percent of the people - of all respondents - who have kids between the ages of 5 and 18 years of age living at home believe their children were substantially harmed by distance learning, either socially or academically. Of parents whose income went down during the pandemic, 87% believe their kids were substantially hurt," said Yaroslavsky.
But parents did not necessarily blame their school district, approving of the overall response to the pandemic. And if your income dropped, that was reflected in a feeling you live in a place where the average person can't get ahead.
"Those folks who say their income went down a lot, that's about 22% of our entire sample, they rate their quality of life at 49, remember 58 is the overall rating," said Yaroslavsky.
The survey also found most workers in L.A. County don't want to go back to their workplace full-time and prefer the hybrid approach. But many jobs don't allow that option.
