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New Languages Available for ESSA Parent Notices

By Dr. David Holbrook | November 5, 2020

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.

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What Schools Need to Look for in a Parent Communication App

By Paige Kummer | October 27, 2020

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.

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How to Support Compliance With Federal Parent Communication Laws

By Paige Kummer | October 15, 2020

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.

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Mobile-Friendly Parent-School Communications For All Learning Models

By Alyssa Thornley | August 28, 2020

TransACT's ParentNotices software platform, used by school districts and state departments of education to enable compliant and equitable parent engagement, has launched a significant upgrade to support schools in touchless and paperless engagement. Communication requirements as set forth by ESEA (ESSA) and Civil Rights are required regardless of learning model selected by schools, districts, and states during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The upgrades and enhancements support districts in meeting complex federal requirements for parent and family engagement and uphold central district policies for communication with parents while simultaneously increasing a parent's ability to respond to the school, district, and in some cases state. The latest release includes:

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Eliminating Obstacles to Effective Parent-Teacher Communication

By Paige Kummer | July 1, 2020

Effective parent-teacher 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.

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Leading The Way In Modern Parent Engagement Software

By Alyssa Thornley | February 10, 2020

This blog was published in 2020 but was updated on May 25th, 2023.

Parent engagement software is modernizing how administrators manage school-to-home communications while remaining compliant with federal and civil rights laws.

Rather than developing required notifications and forms individually and translating each one every time, there is an amendment or update, administrators can use parent engagement software systems to send out translated notifications and comply with federal requirements and civil rights laws.

TransACT® ParentNotices is a software subscription to pre-translated federally required (or recommended) parent notifications and online collections of multi-language parent-school communications. ParentNotices is aligned with federal requirements, supports teachers in creating an inclusive communication strategy for all students, and keeps schools prepared in the event of a monitoring visit. 

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Changes to School Improvement Under ESSA

By Dr. David Holbrook | September 16, 2019

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) made some significant changes to how schools are identified as "in improvement."

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Webinar: Increases in Parent and Family Engagement Requirements

By Dr. David Holbrook | September 3, 2019

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) shifted the responsibility for some requirements of federal mandates to be determined in ESSA States plans.  

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Webinar - Funding Your TransACT Parent Notice Collection

By Dr. David Holbrook | June 12, 2019

This year, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) took full-effect, including the addition of monitoring visits by the federal government. It is imperative, not only to satisfy the legal requirements of ESSA, but also to fulfill the spirit behind the legislation: improving student outcomes for all learners.  

Your district can accomplish this by keeping the following items in mind:  

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Share Translated Parent Notices Easily with Your Colleagues (New Feature Alert)

By Dr. David Holbrook | March 31, 2019

If you have ever been asked by a colleague to help him or her sign up for a TransACT Parent Notices account, you will appreciate this new feature. 

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