As summer gets underway, we find ourselves returning to a question that keeps surfacing in our conversations with district leaders and partners: what does it take to translate reach into something more?
Over the last decade, schools have made real progress in reaching families. Communication platforms have transformed what's possible, delivering information across languages, devices, and channels in ways that weren't possible just a few years ago. That progress is worth celebrating.
And yet, we keep asking: are families who receive more messages actually better equipped to support their children's learning at home?
This month's issue explores what we're learning from the field about the gap between communication and genuine instructional partnership, and what it takes to close it.
Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O’Bryon
Family Engagement Lab Co-founders
From the Field: What We’re Seeing
New on the Blog: Communication Platforms Are Reaching Families. Can They Also Support Student Learning?
Imagine you're a parent on a Tuesday afternoon. Three messages from your child's school pop up on your phone: a field day reminder, a district announcement, and a permission slip to sign. You read them all, but you're still missing the information you want most: What is my child learning right now, and how can I help?
In our latest blog, we explore why improved communication infrastructure hasn't yet translated into stronger home-school learning partnerships — and what it takes to close that gap. The missing ingredient isn't more messages or better platforms. It's instructional coherence: communication that is connected to what students are actually learning in the classroom.
We share practical questions district leaders and platform partners can use to audit whether their communications are building real learning partnerships or just delivering information efficiently.
Go Beyond Grades (Learning Heroes) offers spring and summer resources designed to help families engage in conversations about student progress beyond report cards and test scores. The collection includes tools for discussing learning goals with teachers and supporting learning during the summer months.
Recent research from Learning Heroes and TNTP, authored by Dr. Eyal Bergman and Dr. Zenzile Riddick with guidance from Dr. Karen Mapp and Dr. Todd Rogers, examines how family-school partnerships contribute to student success. The report highlights practices associated with stronger attendance, engagement, and academic outcomes, while offering insights into how schools can build more effective partnerships with families.
Together, these resources point to a common idea: family engagement is most effective when families have clear, actionable ways to support learning and when schools create consistent opportunities for partnership around student learning.
Upcoming Events
This October, we'll be at the National Assembly for Family Engagement in Education in San Diego. The Assembly is a rare space where researchers, district leaders, practitioners, and community organizations come together to dig into the real work of family engagement implementation.
If you’ll be there, we’d love to connect.
National Assembly for Family Engagement in Education
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