Category: Teacher Resources & Strategies

Building a Better Student Success Strategy for Back-to-School

7/24/2024

Accelerated academic achievement. Second language learning. Social and emotional skill development. Increased attendance and engagement. Higher graduation rates. A handful of astonishing student-level benefits.

We partnered with BetterLesson on a white paper where we explore the research-backed benefits of family engagement, signals that a school system is under-investing in family engagement, and high-impact strategies for student success.

Read paper!

Who should be thinking about this?

District administrators are grappling with looming budget cuts and a need to streamline technology. Building leaders are grappling with chronic absenteeism and persisting learning loss. Teachers are grappling with feelings of overwhelming to do lists and burnout.

Educators are beginning to prepare for the upcoming academic year. Addressing these persisting systemic challenges will require collaborative problem solving to address root causes.

Incremental steps to improve family engagement

Building leaders and classroom educators can take several steps to incrementally adjust their current practices.

Understand the existing evidence base
Reflect on your current practices
Identify high-impact practices
Create your plan

Get Action Plan Toolkit

Teacher panel shares strategies for advancing student success through family engagement

3/14/2024

In our last post, we shared a summary of strategies to improve parent-teacher communication in large school districts. Today, we’ve asked teachers to share their perspectives and experiences with family engagement in the context of their classroom. Read more to learn more about the high-impact family engagement strategies that these teachers are implementing and the connection with accelerated learning and student success.

What is high-impact family engagement?

Decades of research has revealed that families play an essential role in the learning and development of their children. In fact, parent and family involvement in at-home learning has more than twice the effect on student achievement than parents’ education levels or socioeconomic status (Melhuish et al, 2008). Educators have a unique opportunity to engage families as part of their extended “student success team,” and our experience in the field suggests that there are some simple yet effective strategies to do so.

Building off of the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnership, Family Engagement Lab believes that high-impact family engagement is collaborative, builds on the assets of both educators and families, and is focused on student learning.

Our approach is guided by input from Teacher-leaders

Let’s meet a few members of the FASTalk Teacher Advisory Board:

Mrs. Reza, 3rd Grade Teacher in East Fort Worth, Texas
Ms. Madison, 1st Grade Teacher in New Orleans, Louisiana
Mrs. Melissa, PK-3 Teacher in Many, Louisiana
Mrs. Atkins, 1st Grade Teacher in Denver, Colorado
Mrs. West, PK Grade Teacher in Stonewall, Louisiana
Mrs. Loftin, Kindergarten Teacher in Logansport, Louisiana

Perspectives from Teacher Leaders

We’ve asked these FASTalk super users to share more about their experiences with engaging families and how that connects with student success. We’ll dive into the reasons they prioritize family engagement, their recommendations for where to start, and how they’re using a teacher parent communication tool like FASTalk to build relationships with families centered around student learning.

You have a lot on your plate and you’re often managing competing requests for your time. Why are you prioritizing family engagement?

Learning often happens beyond the school building

Ms. Madison shared that in her experience, without family engagement there isn’t as much academic success, acknowledging that ‘learning doesn’t all happen in the classroom’. To make the most of family engagement, it is important to get really specific with families about what they can do to support. Ms. Madison also noted that it is rewarding to see how proud parents are of their children.

‘Student Success Team’ should include Teachers and Families

Mrs. Reza refers to a triangle of people involved in learning; students, teachers, and families. She notes students’ growth is dependent on involving parents so that they can support their child at home, and ultimately that supports the teacher in the classroom. Strong relationships between families and the teacher are a game changer. Mrs. Reza also shares that ‘families love to know about their student’s progress and the more the teacher shares the better the results.”

Engaged families are at the core of a healthy classroom

Mrs. Atkins noted that family engagement is core to a healthy classroom and that it is important to over communicate and connect. Her 13 years of experience teaching first grade has taught Ms. Atkins that you can see the impact when you don’t have a strong relationship with the parent or family member that is in charge.

This sentiment is echoed by Mrs. Loftin. As a kindergarten teacher for 18 years, Mrs. Loftin has come to understand that in order for kids to learn, their parents must know what’s going on in the classroom. If they don’t know what is going on, then they are not able to support their kids.

What would you recommend to other teachers who want to prioritize family engagement, but don't know where to start?

Meet families where they are

Mrs. Loftin suggests starting with making connections and building relationships with families. She notes that it can be helpful to attend school and community events as they offer opportunities to connect outside of the classroom to build relationships. Taking an interest in students’ interests is another important way to demonstrate that you care, and parents will notice. Mrs. Loftin also noted that making an effort to reach out to check in with families can go a long way, she mentioned “families don’t know what they don’t know and oftentimes won’t feel comfortable to make the first contact, so it helps for you to reach out first.”

Balanced communication includes glows and grows

Ms. Reza shared a few guiding principles and recommendations for teachers who are looking to start communicating and engaging their families: always have something positive to say about the student. If you start with 2 positives and a photo, then you can share a growth area.

Leverage the resources and supports available to you

Mrs. Melissa recommends tapping into the support network at the school. This includes grade-level lead teachers and parental coordinators at the school to gather information and look for support with family communication. Working in collaboration with others can help reduce the amount of time and energy spent drafting communication.

Keep it simple, and start with something small

Mrs. Atkins recommends starting at a smaller scale that is more management. She has found success with sending home notes and quick text messages. If you’re not sure where to start, then think of something quick. A text message is just as effective as a full phone call, and can sometimes be more direct and better at keeping the communication on track.

What was happening in your world when you realized the value of a family engagement tool like FASTalk?

FASTalk helps Teachers meaningfully engage families in student learning

Ms. Madison shared that, "FASTalk has helped me engage with families in so many ways: as reminders for parents to review student work and tests, or fill out field trip slips, to more advanced individual reports about students glows and grows. FASTalk helps promote student success by engaging families in student learning. I see a huge progress in the students whose families respond to the messages and do the fun activities. Learning skills starts in the classroom but it takes a village to build lifelong learners that will be successful community members."

FASTalk helps Teachers realize student success through relationship-building with families

Mrs. Reza is a firm believer in building strong teacher-family and teacher-student relationships. When these relationships exist, the outcome is huge and positive. Mrs. Reza shares that “parents love to know about their students’ progress and want to know what is happening in the classroom. It leads to better results. For the past 2 years, I have had FASTalk and home visits and I’ve been benefiting with the two programs.”

FASTalk helps translate classroom instruction (and language) for families to use at home

Mrs. West noted that she recognized the importance of learning-focused family communication when she began receiving FASTalk messages as a parent. She notes that, “FASTalk really does reinforce skills and that’s what families need at home. The kids need to hear the same language. They need to hear it from their teacher and they also need to hear it from their parents.”

Family Engagement Lab is committed to helping districts, schools, and educators build authentic relationships with families that are focused on learning, and lead to meaningful improvements in student achievement. Subscribe to our Learning Series for curated family engagement resources.

Strategies for Effective Parent Teacher Communication in Large School Districts

3/1/2024

Author: Kelsey Hodge

School districts across the country are grappling with a range of challenges, from budget deficits to persistent absenteeism, all of which are affecting student achievement. Decades of research has shown that parental involvement in student learning can make a meaningful difference on student achievement, attendance, and graduation rates (Melhuish et al., 2008). Transformative parental involvement begins with the relationships that are fostered through parent-teacher communication. By employing high-impact strategies for parent-teacher communication, teachers can create the conditions through which families and schools can partner to support student learning outcomes.

Advantages of Effective Parent-Teacher Communication

Teachers and schools invest significant effort in keeping parents informed about events, conferences, and report cards. However, these traditional forms of communication often fail to reach all families reliably or equitably, particularly in communities with limited internet access or greater linguistic diversity. When parent-teacher communication is accessible to all, collaborative, and focused on student learning, school districts are able to grapple with the challenges they face as students thrive.

Advantages for students

As school districts work to close grade-level gaps and boost student achievement, student absenteeism and mental health challenges are on the rise. Study after study has demonstrated the marked impact that parent-teacher partnerships have on student well-being and academic achievement. Students benefit tremendously from stronger parent involvement in schools. When parents and teachers engage in regular dialogue about the importance of attendance, the child’s overall well-being, and academic progress, it also builds a strong foundation for strengthening parent- teacher relationships. Strong parent-teacher communication and partnership can enhance each child’s engagement in their own learning journey and sense of belonging in their school community.

Advantages for parents

Parents have a strong desire to support their children’s education but often the shortcomings of traditional communication leave them ill-equipped to do so. Families report receiving limited information from their child’s school about grade-level skills, their child’s mastery of those skills, and what they can do to support at home. By inviting parents to partner and developing a collaborative relationship through on-going communication, teachers can build parents’ confidence in supporting their child’s educational journey and create schools in which all families are welcomed as valuable community members.

Advantages for teachers

The everyday demands of teaching can be isolating. The responsibilities teachers are juggling, from implementing new curriculum to grappling with chronic absenteeism, can lead to teacher burnout. Effective parent-teacher communication provides teachers with a sense of partnership that ensures that teachers feel supported knowing that the learning happening in their classroom is being reinforced by families and caregivers at home. With on-going, relational communication with parents, teachers can gain greater insight into their students and build a more diverse toolkit for responding to each child’s needs resulting in improved job satisfaction.

Strategies to Improve Parent-Teacher Communication

The most effective parent-teacher communication is relational, directly linked to student learning, and builds the capacity of both parents, teachers, and school administrators.. Adopting high-impact strategies like those below can allow large districts and busy teachers to maximize their limited time and resources with the maximum benefit for their students and school communities.

Ensure Learning-focused Communication is Accessible for All Students’ Families

In order for every child to have the opportunity to succeed, communication must be accessible for all parents and caregivers. Take time to gather information about the parents and caregivers within the community and their specific needs around contact preferences, home language, and internet access. By putting families’ communication needs at the forefront of parent-teacher communication, parents and caregivers are more readily able to engage and feel included in their child’s education.

Personalize Parent-Teacher Communication with Impactful & Effective Messaging

Despite current teacher and school district communication efforts, parents are frequently left wondering about grade-level learning goals and if their child is on track to meet those goals. A child’s teacher has invaluable insight into student learning and sharing that insight through learning-focused communication promotes a sense of trust and deepens the partnership between teachers and families. Be intentional about sharing regular updates on classroom learning in a way that allows parents to meaningfully engage and support their child’s growth.

Set up a Two-Way Dialogue

Too often traditional parent-teacher communication looks more like a news bulletin than a conversation. To foster partnerships between parents and teachers, it’s important for teachers to start by sharing when parents can expect to hear from them, what information will be shared, and how parents can contact them. Open the conversation by asking parents and caregivers questions about their child or their hopes and dreams for them in order to connect. Once established, a two-way dialogue between parents and teachers not only promotes connection and builds capacity but also results in more positive communication.

Share Student Successes and Areas for Growth

After establishing relationships with parents through accessible, learning-focused, two-way dialogue, it becomes much easier for teachers to contact parents and have open, honest conversations about students’ performance on assessments and behavior. In fact, many parents express a deep desire to know more about their child’s areas for growth. When parent-teacher communication promotes partnership and equips parents with actionable information, it allows for joint problem-solving that improves student outcomes. As trust builds through sustained dialogue, teachers are more equipped to have transparent conversations around topics like the impact of frequent absences on student learning.

How FASTalk Can Transform Parent-Teacher Communication

FASTalk is an evidence-based parent-teacher communication tool that was designed to connect classroom instruction with at-home learning through a regular cadence of learning-focused information and activities delivered to families in their home language. FASTalk aims to remove the common barriers to parent engagement by ensuring learning-focused communication takes place weekly, in each family’s preferred language, and doesn’t require access to WiFi. FASTalk equips teachers with a tool they can use to communicate via text message with their students’ families in over 100 languages without having to share their personal cell phone numbers. Parent involvement can play a pivotal role in advancing student learning outcomes for district’s seeking solutions to rising challenges.

Reach Parents in Their Preferred Language Through Direct Translations

The FASTalk team identifies the linguistic needs of each school community to ensure that the FASTalk text messages sent to families are professionally translated into the home languages of all caregivers. In addition, teachers can use FASTalk to engage in two-way translated communication with parents and caregivers in over 100 languages. As a result of the accessibility of FASTalk messages and parental involvement, students have experienced literacy gains, especially when their parents did not share a home language with the teacher.

Provide Engaging and Simple Learning Activities for Parents to Try With Their Child

The FASTalk tips and activities are designed specifically for families by curriculum experts to align with a school district’s curriculum and/or grade-level learning goals. The weekly FASTalk text messages give caregivers a window into classroom learning by sharing on-going information about key grade-level skills and ways that they can reinforce those skills. While there are numerous communication platforms available for teachers to communicate with families, 85% of FASTalk families report that FASTalk is the only place that they receive learning focused information and activities to support their child.

Connect Directly With Parents Through Text Messages

The FASTalk tips and activities are delivered straight to parents’ phones each week through SMS text message. There’s no computer or internet connection required for parents ensuring that any caregiver with access to a cell phone can engage in fun, on-the-go activities to support their child’s learning from anywhere.

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Family feedback surfaces strategies teachers can implement in their classroom

2/2/2024

Author: Kelsey Hodge

Teachers and parents/families are the most important stakeholders in a student’s learning journey. A student’s success is dependent on both teachers and families being equipped with the information and tools they need to provide support. Consistent communication between teachers and families, that is learning-focused, can activate a powerful partnership that makes the most of classroom instruction and opportunities to reinforce learning at home.

As FEL’s Partner Success Manager, I am responsible for helping teachers implement high-quality family engagement strategies through FASTalk - our parent-teacher communication platform. As a former teacher, I have firsthand experience with implementing family engagement strategies in the classroom. My experience balancing the needs of students with complex instructional material, and prioritizing family communication, makes me uniquely positioned to help other practitioners in the field.

I recently co-facilitated focus groups with families in DeSoto Parish Public Schools, where they shared more about their experiences receiving learning-focused communication from their child’s teacher. Below I share some reflections based on their feedback and how this shapes our work sharing effective strategies with FASTalk Teachers.

What family engagement strategies have you implemented as a former teacher? What were some of the challenges you faced?
My first school emphasized the importance of building learning-centered relationships with families by prioritizing regular, on-going school communication about what students were learning and their areas of strength and weakness. That experience fueled my interactions with my students’ caregivers when I entered the classroom as a secondary social studies teacher in Dallas. With more students and complex instructional material, I struggled to provide accessible snapshots of our learning goals and consistent insights into students’ academic growth. Each year in the classroom provided me with the opportunity to build that muscle, but I still found it challenging to balance many competing priorities.

FASTalk reduces the burden on teachers by working alongside schools to create playlists of messages aligned to student learning that are sent automatically to families each week on the teacher’s behalf.

What stood out most to you from the focus groups in DeSoto? How will this shape your work and the touchpoints you have with FASTalk teachers?
I found it striking how much families across grade-levels appreciated the conversations and interactions that the FASTalk messages prompted for them. Each caregiver revealed moments of connection that grew from FASTalk texts, from prompts that encouraged the hands-on measuring of items around the house to prompts that sparked dialogue on real-world questions at the heart of classroom novels. It was heartening to hear caregivers with students in different grade-levels share how the FASTalk texts led their children to connect with one another around learning. After posing a FASTalk question on a novel being read in class, one mother listened to her older child who’d previously read the book discuss it with his younger sibling. Another mother shared how much her younger child looked forward to hearing her older sibling’s FASTalk texts and engaging in the conversation as well.

The focus groups in Desoto highlighted for me the importance of elevating family feedback and stories for teachers. Stories like the ones that Megan and I heard provide a really essential window into the impact of the FASTalk messages that teachers may not regularly see. I’ll be using future touchpoints and communication with teachers to highlight stories from families in their districts.

Was any of the feedback surprising? In what ways?
There were notable differences in how families hoped to engage with their child’s learning at the elementary and secondary levels. The two sessions reinforced for me that just as the needs of families change depending on grade level, so does the support that teachers need to engage families in learning-focused relationships. It’s not only important for our team to elevate family feedback for teachers but also for us to provide ideas for ways in which FASTalk can facilitate on-going dialogue around information desired by families and information shared by teachers. It’s essential for our team to hear from teachers at both the elementary and secondary levels to better understand their needs in order to tailor the support we provide.

At Family Engagement Lab, we are committed to helping districts, schools, and educators implement best practices in family engagement that invite parents and families to support student learning. When family engagement is done well, teachers feel supported, families feel connected and purposeful, and students thrive.

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