Parents give schools low grades for their lack of focus on physical activity and have mixed views about the health of food available at school.
This poll is part of an ongoing series of surveys sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health and NPR. Just under 1,400 American adults who had a child attending a public or public charter school in grades K-12 during the 2012-2013 school year participated in the Education and Health in Schools poll.
Most parents gave their child’s schools high grades though they also voiced concern that schools are not adequately preparing children for entering the workforce. Contrary to the high grades that parents give schools in general, a large number of parents gave schools low grades for their lack of support of physical activity. Parents also had mixed views regarding school lunches with most parents reporting school lunches as healthy, but also reporting that schools serve a variety of unhealthy foods.