Trust of Teachers and Favorability of Public Education Slips Post-COVID
By The Garrity Group
Albuquerque, NM – Post pandemic, New Mexico residents lost favor with the education system. According to the 2023 Garrity Perception Survey (GPS), 64 percent of residents trust teachers (a five percent decline from 2020) and 39 percent of residents have a favorable opinion of public education (a two percent decline from 2020). The 2023 scientific survey of 408 New Mexico residents has a 95 percent level of confidence.
“The pandemic challenged both public education and the teaching profession; we anticipated a bit of a dip in favorability and trust,” said Tom Garrity; President and CEO of The Garrity Group Public Relations. “Trust of teachers dropped five points and favorability of public education slipped two points, when compared to the 2020 survey.”
According to the 2023 GPS, residents who are more likely to have a favorable impression of public schools includes Democrats, those earning less than $60,000, living in Las Cruces/Southwest and those who have recently moved to New Mexico less than eitght years ago. Residents who are more likely to trust teachers have a graduate degree or higher and live in the Albuquerque area or North Central New Mexico.
“People connect with people which is why trust of teachers is so much higher than favorability of public schools,” says Garrity. “Because teachers are a trusted source, administration of public schools will be well served to share important information through their teachers, as a partner in the communications process.”
From the soon-to-be-released 2023 Garrity Perception Survey Book: The public schools in New Mexico are in a precarious position. They need votes to pass needed bond and mill levy funding from those who are no longer engaged with the public schools. Full insights from the 2023 Garrity Perception Survey Book will be available in August 2023.
About The Garrity Perception Survey
The 2023 Garrity Perception Survey measures New Mexico trust of 15 people/professions, favorability of 17 industries/institutions and how residents access news/information. It is a scientific survey of New Mexico residents conducted by Research & Polling Inc. The survey has a 95% level of confidence. All interviews were conducted between March 15 and April 2, 2023.
About The Garrity Group
The Garrity Group is a New Mexico public relations firm that helps small businesses to be heard and large organizations to be understood. Established in 1997 and based in Albuquerque, our team provides media relations, issue management, crisis communications, digital media marketing and event awareness.
Published July 31, 2023
featured articles
TGG BLOG: How transitioning back to a role in Public Relations from a Public Administrator is going
Blog: How transitioning back to a role in Public Relations from a Public Administrator is going By Gary Romero At the end of July 2024, I retired from a 30-year career in State Government. My path in State Government led me through several different job assignments. ...
TGG BLOG: What an active volcano taught me about PR
Blog: What an active volcano taught me about PR By Jenna SimonIn mid-August, I hiked an active volcano in Guatemala. Yes, with lava eruptions and everything! My best friend and I decided we wanted to make a “core memory” together after a year and a half of living 1000...
The About Perception Podcast: Carmen Lopez, Observe New Mexico Elections
Tom Garrity and Carmen J. Lopez, the president of CL strategies, talk about Observe New Mexico Elections, a program with a goal of providing more confidence in the integrity and security of New Mexico’s election system.
Schedule a Consultation
Request a time for your team to address a specific issue, learn more about the Garrity Perception Survey or lets discuss our work on your behalf.