Most Families Say Ongoing Communications is a Big Win that Supports Student Learning
It’s not a surprise that families say that ongoing, consistent communication with them is key to supporting student success. During the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, our Evaluation and Learning Team set out to learn from nearly 70 families from our family engagement partner schools. What they found was that many families perceive open lines of communication with educators and school staff to be critical to their ability to support their children in school. In fact, families were ten times more likely to mention ongoing communications when asked about the things that families and school staff have done that are most effective in supporting their children’s success in school.
In the beginning of every school year, Flamboyan supports teachers as they build trusting relationships with families, which secures the foundation for future family engagement work. As families and teachers build trust, educators learn what modes of communications work best for families so that they can meaningfully communicate with families on the students’ progress toward goals and where there’s room for improvement.
Here are the top five things families agree make ongoing communication a rewarding family engagement strategy.
- “If my child is having a problem in class, please don’t wait until it’s time for grading to let me know. I need for you to call me ahead of time…you see my child hasn’t turned in his assignments or if you see my child is failing – please don’t tell me at the last minute. Let me know ahead of time.” Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School Parent
- “The most important thing that an individual at the school has done…actually helped me get him [the student] into different activities to help him channel his energy. [It was] communication [and] letting me know—that’s how we all came to the agreement that worked out.” Stanton Elementary School Parent
- “Just don’t wait until the last minute to call the parent. Call when it’s happening if you can so I can nip it right then. Call about problems. Call for good and bad [updates]. Grades, everything. Don’t wait until the last minute. Let’s catch it together.” Elliot-Hine Middle School Parent
- “What makes me feel like a partner is, one, they [teachers] keep me in the loop of everything that they’re doing with my daughter. And when it comes time for reinforcement, they give me the tools that I need in order to reinforce what they are doing in school. So, she’s not going to get something different at home than what she got at school and vice versa. We’re always in the same report because we have that open communication.” Garrison Elementary School Parent
- “I talk to the teachers on a daily basis. I feel like communication with the teachers is totally key. I mean how else will you know how your child is doing as an individual if you don’t talk to the teachers?” Ketcham Elementary School Parent
