Communication from home to school is often an overlooked item. The standardized classroom newsletter often falls short in truly connecting families with their children’s learning journey. Research consistently demonstrates that deeper family engagement leads to improved academic outcomes, social-emotional development, and overall school success. In this post, we explore why educators should move to deeper and more meaningful connections.
The Research-Backed Impact of Family Engagement
As any educator knows, engaged families lead to more growth. Research shows that students thrive academically and emotionally when families are authentically engaged in their children’s education.
- Students with involved families are 40% more likely to earn A grades and score higher on standardized tests (Henderson & Mapp, 2002)
- Family engagement reduces absenteeism by up to 24% (Epstein & Sheldon, 2002)
- Family involvement correlates with higher levels of student motivation and self-efficacy (Fan & Williams, 2010)
Family engagement should not be overlooked as a nice addition to have. It needs to be thought of as an essential tool for improving student growth and academic success.
Overcoming Common Engagement Barriers
Barriers in the way of strong engagement are ever present, but there are some solutions that will help overcome them.
- Language Differences: Families with limited English proficiency may feel uncomfortable or unable to participate fully.
- Solution: Translate materials thoughtfully, use visual supports, change the reading level with AI tools, or if possible provide professional interpreters (not relying on children).
- Negative School Experiences: Many parents carry their own negative school memories with them.
- Solution: Create positive, low-pressure initial interactions focused on relationship-building rather than academics. Grow your relationships with families just like you do in your classroom.
- Technology Access: Digital divides continue to impact many communities.
- Solution: Provide multiple communication channels, and conduct technology access surveys. Make these low-pressure and proactive in identifying the best communication plan.
- Time Constraints: Working families, especially those with multiple jobs or non-traditional hours, may struggle to attend in-person events.
- Solution: Offer flexible scheduling, recorded sessions or messages, and asynchronous participation options.
- Cultural Misunderstandings: Different expectations about the parent-teacher relationship can create unintended friction
- Solution: Understand the cultural and family expectations present in your classroom and adapt approaches accordingly.
Metrics That Reflect Connected Families
Moving beyond success metrics like “newsletter open rates” or “event attendance” will pave the way to a better connection. Establishing meaningful family engagement can be measured through:
- Frequency of Quality Two-Direction Communication
- Frequency of family-initiated conversations
- Depth of information exchange about student learning
- Family comfort level in sharing concerns or asking questions
- Willingness to Support a Home Learning Environment
- Increased family awareness of current learning topics
- Development of home routines that support learning
- Family confidence in supporting learning at home
- A Partnership for Decision-Making
- Family participation in educational growth
- Influence of family input on classroom practices
- Shared goal-setting between teachers and families
- The Sense of Community
- Cross-family connections and support networks
- Family-to-family mentorship opportunities
- Collective problem-solving among school community members
Moving Beyond the Newsletter
As we challenge ourselves to explore why educators should move to deeper and more meaningful connections, consider these starting points:
- Host in person, or virtual “coffee chats” where families can connect informally with teachers and each other
- Create interactive learning experiences where students can easily share their work with families
- Develop personalized communication plans based on family’s preferences and needs
- Establish regular feedback loops to continuously improve engagement systems
- Build authentic relationships before focusing on academic content or expectations
Remember that effective family engagement isn’t about adding more to educators’ already full plates. It’s about transforming how we approach our communication and partnership with families to create more meaningful, impactful connections.
Next week: “The Psychology of Student Engagement and What Really Works”
