STANFORD, CA — A new study from the education team at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University finds that communities with low-performing schools possess extraordinary untapped civic capacity to drive educational improvement. But they are held back by both systemic exclusion and limited knowledge of how to navigate school systems effectively.
The Unheard Voices Community Conversations report, released today (March 26, 2026), draws on nine focus groups and surveys conducted across diverse communities in seven states between June and November 2025. The findings challenge conventional assumptions about community engagement and reveal that unlocking community potential requires both removing institutional barriers and building the capacity communities need to participate meaningfully.
"Communities are ready and willing to be partners in improving their schools," said Marzena Sasnal, senior research analyst at the Hoover Institution and coauthor of the study. "What we found is not apathy—it's a combination of exclusion and a lack of tools to engage effectively. Nearly 90 percent of participants want to join school improvement efforts, but they face systemic barriers that shut them out, and many lack the knowledge and skills to navigate school systems and advocate for change."
Key Findings:
Information Gap: Over half of respondents (54.3 percent) were unaware of their local schools' state performance ratings, revealing a fundamental barrier to community engagement. Many community members do not understand the connection between school performance measures and their children's life outcomes.
Quality Concerns: Among those aware of ratings, 55.9 percent rated their public schools as needing improvement or not meeting expectations. Public district schools received the lowest quality ratings of all school types (a mean of 2.91 out of 5).
Partnership Disconnect: While 52.1 percent of respondents want equal partnership with schools, only 24.3 percent believe their districts share this view. School boards were rated the least receptive to community involvement.
Untapped Capacity: Nearly 90 percent of participants expressed willingness to join a community task force to improve schools, with 54.1 percent wanting active participation.
Collective Power: While only 27.2 percent felt confident in their personal ability to drive change, 61 percent believed community-wide efforts could be effective.
Knowledge and Skills Gaps: Many participants reported limited understanding of how school systems work, how to escalate concerns, and what rights they have—particularly regarding special education.
"The study reveals that changing this dynamic requires action on two fronts," said Margaret Raymond, program director of US K–12 Education at the Hoover Institution and study coauthor. "Schools and districts must open doors to genuine partnership. But we also need intentional capacity building—educating community members about how schools operate, what accountability measures mean, and what's at stake when schools perform poorly. Without both, community engagement will remain limited."
The research team traveled to urban, suburban, and rural communities across Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, Indiana, and West Virginia. Participants included parents, educators, business owners, community leaders, and local advocates, thus representing voices often overlooked in education policy discussions.
Community members identified specific barriers to engagement, including meetings scheduled during work hours, lack of child care, fear of retaliation against their children, and limited understanding of how to navigate school systems. They also identified solutions: flexible meeting times, culturally responsive staff, practical supports, transparent decision making, parent education programs on navigating school systems and understanding their rights, and, most fundamentally, being included at the design table from the beginning.
The strongest consensus across all communities was the need for vocational and technical education programs that connect students to real career pathways and economic opportunity.
About the Study:
The Unheard Voices Community Conversations project involved eighty-two community members across nine focus groups. Districts were selected based on academic proficiency scores in the lowest quintile of their state distributions. The study received approval from the Stanford Institutional Review Board. Partner organizations in each community assisted with participant recruitment.
About the Hoover Institution:
The Hoover Institution at Stanford University is a public policy research center devoted to the advanced study of economics, politics, history, and political economy—both domestic and foreign—as well as international affairs. The Institution's education research program examines policies and practices to improve K–12 student outcomes nationwide.
Download the full report at https://www.hoover.org/research/unheard-voices-project-community-conversations
