BoardOnTrack is now a part of the TransACT team! Learn more about our partnership and its impact on charter school boards.

Alyssa Thornley

Alyssa Thornley has spent her career working to support schools and communities in providing opportunity to all students. In positions as a teacher, professional development coordinator, and as a volunteer, she has focused on the community’s role in education, and in designing efficient programs that work for diverse needs. Alyssa leads TransACT’s customer engagement and market strategy efforts, and works to ensure innovative programs, guidance, and thought leadership from across the country’s districts are being shared and spread.
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Recent Posts

NAELPA Publishes White Paper on Having an Asset-Based Mindset Toward Multilingual Learners

By Alyssa Thornley | September 22, 2022

The National Association of English Learner Program Administrators’ (NAELPA) Advocating for Multilingual Learners Committee recently posted a brief white paper, The Importance of an Asset-Based Mindset and Using Asset-Based Terminology when Referencing the ESSA Subgroup – ELs. The white paper summarizes the results of the committee’s research on this topic.

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BoardOnTrack, the Charter School Governance Software Leader, Partners with TransACT to Support Growth

By Alyssa Thornley | April 5, 2022

After over a decade of working with charter school boards and nonprofits across the country to provide a powerful governance platform, BoardOnTrack has been acquired by TransACT Communications.

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HIMSS December 2021 Release: Improving Communication with District Homeless Liaisons

By Alyssa Thornley | January 5, 2022

The Homeless Information Management System for Students (HIMSS) December 2021 software development release improves communication with district homeless liaisons to support at-risk student groups. 

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Easily Add Zoom and Teams Meeting Link to ParentNotices

By Alyssa Thornley | November 3, 2021

TransACT ParentNotices subscribers get unlimited access for all district users to over 200 expertly written and translated parent notifications. These notices have been legally reviewed (where applicable) to comply with federal education laws and are regularly updated to remain current with changes. ParentNotices supports administrators in a compliant parent and family engagement plan and can serve as evidence of implementation in the event of a state monitoring visit, ensuring districts have genuine support when they need it most.   

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August 2021 Release: Easily Add Parents and Staff to ParentNotices

By Alyssa Thornley | September 22, 2021

TransACT ParentNotices is parent engagement software used by school districts and state departments of education to support compliant and equitable parent engagement. Subscribers of ParentNotices can have access to over 200 expertly written and translated notices that have been legally reviewed where applicable to comply with federal education laws. ParentNotices supports administrators in a compliant parent engagement plan and can serve as evidence of implementation in the event of a state monitoring visit.

The August 2021 ParentNotices feature release involves enhanced monitoring capabilities when adding parents and staff into the system.

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Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness and Students in Foster Care

By Alyssa Thornley | September 17, 2021

Students experiencing homelessness often end up in foster care, and when students in foster care age out of the system, they often end up being identified as students experiencing homelessness.  

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It Takes More Than a Student Information System to Effectively Track Students Experiencing Homelessness

By Alyssa Thornley | August 26, 2021

For schools nationwide, understanding the backgrounds and living situations of the students they serve is vital to providing adequate support. The process is not always straightforward. The Student Information System (SIS) of many school districts can be inadequate because an SIS is only as accurate as the data that it houses. Inaccurate data, missing data, or data that an SIS doesn't store can create hurdles to support students' needs. Not only does this impact the school's ability to stay compliant with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (M-V Act), it can hinder student achievement and stability. 

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Webinar: Increases in Federal Requirements for Parent and Family Engagement

By Alyssa Thornley | August 10, 2021

Effective school-to-home communication plays a vital role when it comes to achieving successful student outcomes. However, staying in compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements when communicating with parents and family members can prove challenging and the pandemic has only exasperated the difficulties as schools operated remotely.

TransACT’s Executive Director of Federal Programs and State Relationships is leading a webinar on the “Increases in Federal Requirements for Parent and Family Engagement” on August 25th, 2021, at 9:30 am PT / 10:30 am MT, 11:30 am CT, and 12:00 pm ET.   

In this webinar, you will learn about significant changes to parent and family engagement under ESSA, including:    

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ParentNotices: June Feature Release

By Alyssa Thornley | July 2, 2021

The June 2021 ParentNotices release further supports school and district staff by collecting parent signatures on crucial notifications while improving content management with auto-fill student assessment results. The latest release includes: 

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Spring 2021 Release: Advanced Reporting for Easier Parent and Family Engagement Compliance in TransACT ParentNotices

By Alyssa Thornley | May 11, 2021

TransACT ParentNotices is parent engagement software that is used by school districts and state departments of education to support compliant and equitable parent engagement. Subscribers of ParentNotices have access to over 200 different expertly written and translated notices that have been legally reviewed where applicable for compliance with federal education laws. ParentNotices supports administrators in a compliant parent engagement plan and can serve as evidence of implementation in the event of a state monitoring visit.  

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