Bridging the Gap: Key Insights for Stronger Family Engagement in Schools

Class Dismissed

In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, family engagement, data accessibility, and practical communication tools are essential to fostering student success. SchoolStatus’s 2024 Educator Report reveals critical insights from over 1,000 educators and administrators nationwide, underscoring the opportunities and challenges schools face in these areas. From navigating data gaps to improving attendance through proactive family involvement, the report highlights the pressing need for integrated, technology-driven solutions.

Here’s a look at the report’s key findings, which point to the strategies that could make the most significant difference in K-12 education.

• Family Engagement is Essential but Challenging: 77% of educators view family communication as crucial for student success, yet barriers such as time constraints, language differences, and inconsistent communication tools persist.​
• Impact of Engagement on Attendance: Schools with solid family engagement saw a 39% lower increase in chronic absenteeism and higher proficiency in subjects like English Language Arts and Math​
• Data Access and Utilization Issues: 37% of educators feel they need more data access to meet student needs, and 86% say data gaps limit their effectiveness in supporting academic success. Many still rely on spreadsheets and manual tracking, leading to inefficiencies.​
• Technological Solutions for Better Communication: Educators support tools like translation services (42%) and AI-driven systems (26%) to improve outreach, especially with multilingual families​
• Attendance Interventions: 67% of respondents believe schools overly focus on punitive measures for absenteeism, while 82% support more proactive, family-centered interventions to improve attendance rates​

In Episode 273 of the Class Dismissed Podcast, we discuss these findings with Kara Stern, SchoolStatus’s Director of Education and Engagement, and Jen De Forest, Vice President of Organizational Learning at YouthTruth, to explore how alignment between schools and families can be a game-changer.

Listen to the latest episode on your favorite podcast app or Apple Podcast for a complete discussion of these crucial insights and the new tools that could soon be available to educators.

Readers can download the full SchoolStatus report here.

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