“I had never done polling before…the process was incredibly smooth. Everything went so quickly!”

The Latino Policy Institute (LPI) of Roger Williams University, based in Providence, Rhode Island, serves to stimulate public policy discourse by objectively examining and communicating the state’s evolving Latinx experience. Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that Latinxs in Rhode Island were disproportionately affected and suffering; while only 16% of the state’s population, Latinx residents made up 20% of those who had perished and 40% of those who had been infected. LPI partnered with Change Research in January 2021 to get a better understanding of how Latinx families with school-aged children in Providence were coping. 

Change Research collaborated with the LPI to design a survey instrument that would interview  Latinx parents and gather feedback about their experiences with remote learning and the information they had about the learning options available to them, and their knowledge of and attitudes toward charter schools. By ensuring that the Spanish translation of the poll was inclusive of local idioms commonly used among Rhode Island’s diverse Latinx communities, Change Research was able to reach a broader swath of parents and surface new insights to drive LPI’s policy work. 

Public opinion polling with Change Research helped LPI understand the impact of economic challenges, like food insecurity, that Latinx families in Providence were experiencing because of the pandemic. The research also brought light to some of the knowledge gaps about school district management and charter school funding. LPI used the findings to support the Department of Education in its efforts to improve communications with Latinx parents throughout the state.