Press
Family Engagement Lab is in the news! Read press announcements, news, and recent articles featuring Family Engagement Lab.
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How to Partner with Families to Cultivate Growth Mindset
June 26, 2024 | District Administration Magazine Growth mindsets are an essential skill that support students' academic success and positive development. In this article, Elisabeth explores the powerful role that adults play in cultivating a growth mindset and shares key strategies that teachers can use to help families cultivate growth mindsets. |
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Learning-Focused Parent-Teacher Communication: A Powerful Strategy for Large School Districts
June 12, 2024 Large school districts are grappling with wide-ranging challenges from budget cuts to teacher retention to chronic absenteeism and persistent learning loss. A powerful, but largely underutilized, intervention is a strong and well-executed family engagement strategy focused on student learning. |
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EdTech: Vidya Sundaram of Family Engagement Lab on how technology will make and Important positive impact on education
June 1, 2024 Working on complex social change is so professionally rewarding, but the setbacks sometimes feel devastating, especially when so many children are hurt by the shortcomings of our educational systems. It helps me to get curious about those frustrations and to stay motivated when confronted with those difficult setbacks. Explore this post for more insights, including 5 things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact. |
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Can teachers partners with families for student success?
May 29, 2024 Teachers are in a unique position to effectively engage families. Yet, opportunities for teacher to learn and practice are limited, only 51% of educator preparation programs offer at least one standalone course in family and community engagement. Explore what it will take to close this gap. |
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FASTalk: Disrupting the Daily Dialogue about what children learned at school today
April 29, 2024 “What did you learn today?” And “nothing” is the response I get most often. The conversation I was hoping to have about learning stopped before it even really started. Elisabeth O'Bryon shares how small shifts in parent-child interactions that FASTalk prompts add up in a meaningful way when it comes to student achievement. |
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In her own words: Vidya Sundaram brings home and school together
April 10, 2024 Bizwoman's In her own words is a regular series that features contributions from business leaders across a variety of industries. In this feature, Vidya shares more about her own experiences in the public school system and explores the richness that comes from a strong school-home connection that values the unique assets of linguistically diverse families. |
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FASTalk named finalist in The EdTech Awards 2024
March 28, 2024 The EdTech Awards from EdTech Digest recognizes outstanding contributions in transforming education through technology to enrich the lives of learners everywhere. We're thrilled to be amongst the tools and providers named as finalists. FASTalk was named a finalist in the Parent Solution category for Cool Tools in the The EdTech Awards 2024. |
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Unlocking the power of family engagement to advance equitable educational outcomes
March 21, 2024 Research shows better student outcomes when teachers find that sweet spot of actionable, accessible, consistent family engagement. Elisabeth O'Bryon shares 6 recommendations for making the most of family engagement to support student learning. |
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Announcing our partnership with BetterLesson
March 19, 2024 We’re excited to announce that we’re partnering with BetterLesson, a leading provider of high-quality professional development for schools and districts … We’ll work together to advance equitable academic outcomes through our collective effort. FEL’s co-founder and CEO, Vidya, shared “Our partnership with BetterLesson, centers the critically important yet often overlooked intersection of curriculum, professional learning, and family engagement. Together we offer a powerful opportunity to shift the way that school systems equip and support the most important stakeholders in a student’s learning journey, families and teachers” |
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When Schools tap Parental Love
March 13, 2024 With an approach of giving and problem-solving, family engagement is a team effort well worth the buy-in from all sides. A recent study found that schools that scored high on family involvement before the pandemic saw a 39% smaller increase in chronic absenteeism. Those schools also showed less decline in math and English. “With family engagement you see positive outcomes with behavior, motivation, high school graduation, so it’s really wide-ranging – the positive benefits of that engagement with their child’s learning,” Dr. O’Bryon says. |
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Tackling Teacher Retention: A Holistic Approach through Family Engagement and Technology
February 26, 2024 Elisabeth O'Bryon delves into the challenge of retaining high-quality teachers and offers up an (often underutilized) resource in school communities - families. This article explores some of the ways in which families can partner with schools to ensure teachers feel supported. Read more. |
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The Future of Education Podcast: Overcoming Barriers to Help Kids Achieve More
February 20, 2024 Vidya Sundaram delves into unlocking the potential of parental engagement. In our journey to support children in achieving more, understanding the specific skills expected of them is crucial. While traditional reports lack detailed insights into skill development, Family Engagement Lab equips parents with the tools to identify and nurture these skills and empower children to reach their full potential academically. Today, Vidya discusses overcoming barriers to help kids achieve more. Listen now. |
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Hiring in EdTech: How Companies Try to Lock in the Right Candidates
February 16, 2024 A fundamental need is making sure candidates are aligned with the mission and values of the organization. Hear more about Elisabeth O'Bryon's perspective on what it takes to find candidates that are a good fit for a start up environment. Read More. |
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A Former Teacher Turns Classroom Prowess into Partnerships with Families
February 5, 2024 Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryon had the chance to learn more about Ana Parasella's community and family engagement work in Alvin Independent School District in Texas. Ana has the rare combination of experience teaching in the classroom and leading community and family engagement at the district level. Click here to read the full article and read what Vidya and Elisabeth had to say. |
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How to Engage All Families (Using their Phones!)
January 11, 2024 Vidya Sundaram speaks with Kevin Hogan at eSchool News about the power of simple technology (text messages) in creating connections between classroom instruction and reinforcement opportunities outside of the classroom. Click here to read the full article and watch the video interview. |
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Education in 2024: Partners break down 8 dig trends
December 21, 2023 Vidya Sundaram & Elisabeth O'Bryon weigh in on the importance of family engagement in supporting student learning in 2024. Click here to read the full article. |
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AI and Texting: Your school's new student success team
December 8, 2023 Elisabeth O'Bryon & FEL featured in District Administration It’s a blend of the cutting-edge and what might have been cutting-edge 20 years ago: AI-powered text messages are helping K12 leaders move the needle in some key areas of student success... Click here to read the full article. |
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Celebrating multilingualism to unlock the potential of family engagement
November 27, 2023 Written by Elisabeth O'Bryon, Chief Impact Officer and Co-founder, Family Engagement Lab For decades, the education community has sought to unravel the complexities of what contributes to a child’s educational success. Countless studies have explored a multitude of factors, from socioeconomic status and student background to teacher characteristics to the type of school a student attends. However, one factor consistently stands out as a key determinant of educational achievement: family engagement in a child’s education. Click here to read the full article. |
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Cambiar Thrive Grant Awards $3 Million to Cutting-Edge Organizations Providing Families With Student Data and Insights
SAN DIEGO, CA, November 15, 2023 - Today, Cambiar Education, in partnership with Tyton Partners and with support from the Walton Family Foundation, Overdeck Family Foundation, Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, announced award recipients of the Thrive Grant, a $3 million program to surface new, innovative approaches to providing parents and caregivers with easy-to-obtain, meaningful, and actionable information about their child’s K-12 education and development. Click here to read the full press release. |
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Family Engagement Lab Announces Four New Powerhouse Board Members to Guide its Growth in K-12 School Districts
SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) JUNE 27, 2023 Family Engagement Lab, a national nonprofit and leader in the advancement of learning-centered family engagement in PreK-12 school systems, announced today four new Board of Director appointments to support its mission to catalyze equitable family engagement and student learning by bridging classroom curriculum and at-home learning. Click here to read the full press release. |
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Hechinger Report March 17, 2022 Translating a quarter of a million text messages for families One small town experiments with new messaging platform to reach families that don’t speak English at home Click here to read the full article. |
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RFF Shout Out: Family Engagement Lab December 15, 2021 Family Engagement Lab ignites the potential in millions of families to support their child’s learning with FASTalk (Families and Schools Talk) their premier engagement tool. FASTalk promotes equity and builds partnerships between teachers and historically underserved families by sharing accessible, impactful, and engaging, at-home learning activities via text messages in each family’s home language. Click here to read the full article. |
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Why Schools Can’t Talk About Family Engagement Without Talking About Race November 17, 2021 Family Engagement Lab Co-founder and CEO Vidya Sundaram weighs in on how racism in schools is impacting families as well as students. Click here to read the full article. |
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FASTalk: Activating the Power of Families to Support Mathematics
September 28, 2021 Family Engagement Lab’s evidence-based #FASTalk tool serves as an equitable approach to engaging families in mathematics. Read about their partnership with IM in this week’s featured blog post written by Family Engagement Lab Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer, Elisabeth O'Bryon and Managing Editor, Megan Lorio. Click here to read the full blog post. |
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Clayton Christensen Institute. Family engagement reimagined: Innovations strengthening family-school connections to help students thrive
September 28, 2021 Schools and K-12 programs must evolve from communicating to families to engaging with families as partners in their students’ learning. Family Engagement Lab is featured in new research from Mahnaz Charania, PhD, of the Clayton Christensen Institute that reimagines family engagement. Click here to read the full report. |
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EdReports: 5 Ways to Engage Families Around Student Learning (and why you should!)
September 20, 2021 Family Engagement Lab Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer, Elisabeth O'Bryon and Lauren Weisskirk, Chief Strategy Officer at EdReports, highlight a range of strategies for school systems to leverage parental involvement to accelerate student learning and forge trust. Click here to read the full blog post. |
July 2021
- FASTalk is highlighted in the Overdeck Family Foundation blog on supporting kindergarten readiness and early school success.
- Family Engagement Lab is one of the featured technology nonprofits in an article by FutureEd, highlighting that engaging families effectively and equitably in their children’s learning is no small feat.
- Family Engagement Lab was featured in an essay and video supplementing the new report from the Carnegie Corporation of New York on Family Engagement: Embracing a New Normal: Toward a More Liberatory Approach to Family Engagement by Karen L. Mapp and Eyal Bergman.
- Kelsey Knox joins Family Engagement Lab's Board of Directors. Click here to read more about Kelsey’s experience or see the full announcement.
June 2021
- Family Engagement Lab's Chief Impact Officer and Co-Founder Elisabeth O'Bryon penned an article for the Greater Good Magazine on how technology can support meaningful family engagement and promote literacy development, prosociality, and equity.
May 2021
- Family Engagement Lab's CEO Vidya Sundaram is featured in The Grade article: Parents Front and Center.
- Zoom portraits - Carnegie Corporation of New York featured reflections from stakeholders in an upended education system.
April 2021
February 2021
January 2021
September 2020
June 2020
- FASTalk's impact in Oakland highlighted in Great School Voices
- Press Release: FASTalk bridges language gap between parents and teachers during pandemic (Spanish version)
- Press Release: Study Shows FASTalk Meaningfully Advances Academic Achievement, Significant
Literacy Gains Observed - Press Release: Free Early Childhood At-Home School Readiness Program to Assist New Orleans Area Families with School Success
May 2020
- Press Release: FASTalk Offers Summer Learning Tool to Extend Learning Time
April 2020
- Co-founders Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryon featured in Thrive Global
- Press Release: FASTalk Offers Expert Learning Tips and Resources to Maximize Learning for Families Without Internet Access
March 2020
- Co-Founders Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O’Bryon were featured as Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech by Authority Magazine
February 2020
- Co-Founder Elisabeth O'Bryon shares six strategies for supporting students and families, no matter what language they speak, in her article "Keeping the Family Close," featured in the February issue of Language Magazine (pages 24-27)
December 2019
- Oakland Teacher uses FASTalk to Engage Parents in Student Learning (Tech & Learning)
November 2019
- FASTalk Featured as a Top Digital Learning Strategy by Teacher in Oakland, CA (eSchool News)
- Family Engagement Lab Launches Learning Series for Educators (District Administration, THE EDVOCATE)
- Family Engagement Lab Founders Featured in Fordham's Wonk-A-Thon
October 2019
- FASTalk Featured as Learning Counsel's "App of the Week"
- FASTalk Wins Zaentz Early Education Innovation Challenge at Harvard
September 2019
- Family Engagement Lab Co-Founder Featured on Two La Red Hispana Weekly Programs: La Doctora Isabel Gómez-Bassols and Dr. Eduardo Lopez Navarro.
- Innovation Challenge Names 15 Finalists (The Sector)
February 2019
- Family Engagement Lab team highlighted as part of the Oakland Literacy Coalition Member Network
July 2018
- J-PAL North America Announces Inaugural Partners for Education, Technology, Opportunity and Innovation Competition (MIT News)
March 2018
- Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley announces Greater Good Parenting grantees (Greater Good Science Center)
March 2017
- As education goes digital, some parents are left behind (EdSurge)
- How to keep parents onboard and informed using classroom tech (EdTech Focus on K-12)