The Future of Education: What Do You Need for Student Success?

Learning-focused family engagement is an emerging priority for K-12 learning.  Several announcements signal a shift in the K-12 education landscape and the teaching profession. We’ll explore the implications of this shift and how districts can stay ahead of these changes to ensure that students are thriving academically. 

Federal and state announcements signal changes in K-12 education

Doubling-down on proven solutions

The Biden-Harris administration has signaled a strong commitment to advancing the state of education through investments in the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC) Programs and the 2024 Improving School Achievement Agenda.  Continued investment in the SFEC programs ensures continuation of statewide efforts to meaningfully engage families in learning. 
​
The 2024 Improving School Achievement Agenda affirms the critical need in K-12 education to support initiatives that have demonstrated proven impact on student achievement. The administration recently announced an extension of ESSER funds use, with the stipulation that school systems utilize funds to implement proven solutions in three priority areas: addressing chronic absenteeism, providing personalized learning support, and offering extended learning opportunities.

These announcements emphasize the important role that effective family engagement strategies can have on boosting attendance and supporting student learning.

California recognizes the potential of the teacher-parent relationship

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing approved a revised set of Standards for the Teaching Profession, which are slated to be adopted in the 2025-26 school year. The most notable additions to the standards include: culturally responsive teaching, social-emotional learning, and family engagement. The standards will require teachers to adopt effective strategies for communicating and creating relationships with families.  While this change will be taking effect in the state of California, this signals a shift in the education system towards prioritizing families as a key stakeholder in learning. ​

Insights from district leaders underscore importance of attendance, and surface needs around supporting teachers.

Our own research with district and school stakeholders has revealed an increasing sense of urgency and prioritization in the following areas:

• Streamlining solutions into a cohesive technology ecosystem that supports learning. Notably, we’re also observing a desire to center the relationships between key stakeholders in learning: teachers, students, and families.
• Attendance and intervention strategies to improve attendance rates will continue to be a priority for districts in the upcoming school year.
• Concerns about staff retention and supporting teachers with their day-to-day workload, while balancing the new technology and programs they are expected to use. ​

What's needed for student success: aligning instruction, academic interventions, and family engagement to deliver coherent learning experiences

Districts and schools have focused their efforts on delivering coherent learning experiences for students that align high-quality instruction with tailored interventions to address individual student needs. Yet, this approach overlooks a critical stakeholder in student success: families. 

Moving from fragmented solutions to an aligned strategy will require district and school leaders to:

• Equip and support teachers through professional learning and technology.
• Prioritize family engagement and adopt effective strategies. 
• Implement effective interventions to support student learning.

Equipping and supporting teachers in delivering high-quality instruction

Teachers have entirely too much on their plates to fit into the school day. They carry the responsibility of preparing and delivering effective lessons, assessing student learning and making adjustments to instruction, managing their classrooms, addressing behavioral challenges, providing personalized support to students…. and the list goes on. 

District and school leaders must find ways to ensure that teachers feel supported and successful. Adopting high-quality instructional materials can help streamline lesson planning and selecting assessment solutions that improve the grading experience will go a long way to help lighten teachers’ workload. Additionally, implementing technology solutions that support classroom management in increasingly complex digital learning environments helps improve the instructional experience for teachers and students. 

Implementing proven solutions for individualized support

In addition to providing support to teachers to improve direct instruction, schools are also focused on implementing programs that provide individualized support to students. Many schools have elected to deliver programs like high-dosage tutoring, which extend teacher capacity and provide additional touchpoints for students to engage with learning materials and reinforce important concepts. The Biden-Harris announcement emphasizes the importance of programs that offer additional touchpoints for learning, including extended day and summer learning opportunities.

More significant emphasis on family engagement to support student success

District and school leaders will prioritize family engagement as a critical component of their student success plans, with an emphasis on strategies that meaningfully engage families in their child’s learning. The Biden-Harris fact sheet calls out home-visit programs specifically, and we believe that districts should also consider adopting solutions that support consistent learning-focused family communication, and programs to build family capacity to support with Math and ELA. 

When districts implement parent teacher communication software that provides consistent  and actionable learning-focused communication to parents and families, the student academic gains are remarkable. When families are equipped with tips and activities to support what their child is learning, they can play a significant role in accelerating academic success and shaping mindsets about learning. ​

Family Engagement Lab helps districts and schools make the most of their family engagement strategy.

Connect with us to explore how to accelerate academic achievement through family engagement. ​