The Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans since 2007. These polls are designed to provide a snapshot about how parents, guardians, and the general public view New Orleans’ highly decentralized K-12 public education system. Each year, we ask some new questions about the most relevant and pressing issues facing educators and families. We also carry over questions from our previous polls to assess how opinions change over time on a few key topics. This is the first of two briefs we will release on our poll this year. This brief covers general perceptions about New Orleans K-12 public education; the second brief will delve more deeply into specific areas of education.