TransACT Blog

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:    

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: 

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.  

Parent and family engagement is not just a buzzword. It's an essential task for schools, parents, and families.   

During the COVID-19 pandemic, disruption to routines is occurring as schools blend remote and in-classroom learning. Schools can't always efficiently conduct learning assessments online; students are often less engaged with online learning and teachers are caught between two worlds, switching teaching methods for those in the classroom and online.

Family engagement in children’s academic lives produces numerous benefits for the student and the school. A focus on parent engagement can spur profound changes in classrooms. Involved parents often yield more positive experiences for everyone in the school system. Schools excel when parents support learning and classroom rules at home.

To meet federal and civil rights requirements, school administrators must provide parent communications in a language parents can understand. Administrators are specifically required to meet these communication requirements for the top 5 languages in their district.

School administrators recognize that effective communication translates to stronger parent and family engagement, which countless studies have correlated with positive educational outcomes and better classroom behavior. One-third of administrators say effective school-to-home communication is a top issue in their district. School districts are tasked with improving parent and family engagement, while also complying with federal education laws like the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

As they seek to remove communication obstacles and improve family engagement, school districts are investing in parent communication apps. Determining the best fit from the countless solutions on the market can prove challenging.  When searching for a parent communication app, school districts should look for these key features.

The student populations of school districts have become increasingly diverse in recent years, and as a result, parent communications and engagement laws have also changed. In order to remain compliant, school districts must adhere to federal education law requirements such as those detailed in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and in Civil Rights case law.

Effective school-to-home communication is proven to positively impact academic and emotional outcomes for students. Evidence shows that students with involved families are more engaged in the classroom and more likely to succeed academically.