This February we’ve continued our research to understand the most effective pathways for teachers to share at-home learning resources to equip families with the tools to support their children's individual learning needs.
By listening carefully to teachers and families, we're uncovering valuable insights into what information gaps families are experiencing, particularly around understanding their child’s academic progress and how to provide personalized at-home learning support. We’re also learning what support teachers need to efficiently share resources with families.
Our research continues to reinforce that meaningful solutions must address both the practical constraints teachers face and the specific support families need to confidently engage with their children's learning. We're committed to developing resources that bridge these information gaps while strengthening the impact of home-school partnerships on student achievement.
In this newsletter, we're excited to share what we're learning and how these insights are shaping our approach moving forward.
Warmly,
Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryon
Family Engagement Lab Co-Founders
What we're learning
Teachers, parents, and caregivers share a common passion for attending to the individual needs of young learners. Recent interviews with teachers, parents, and caregivers uncovered key insights that are informing our efforts to identify the most impactful pathways for leveraging parent-teacher collaboration to support students.
Teacher Perspectives
Across our research, educators continue to emphasize the need for efficient, time-saving solutions to support differentiation and scaffolding that integrate seamlessly with existing curricula. Today's teachers are seeking tools that can be personalized to individual student needs without adding to their already full plates. Additionally, there's strong interest in solutions that provide actionable data on student progress, particularly when these insights include family observations from the home environment.
Family Perspectives
Families consistently express commitment to supporting learning at home, though many encounter obstacles in providing effective assistance. While they value school communication, many find the information they receive too infrequent or general to guide their support efforts meaningfully. Parents and caregivers utilize various approaches to facilitate learning, but report particular difficulty with new teaching methods, especially in mathematics. Despite time constraints from competing responsibilities, families demonstrate clear interest in personalized, educator-recommended resources tailored to their child's specific needs.
Our research underscores the need for new solutions that:
Balance teacher efficiency with families’ desire for specific, actionable information to support their child’s learning
Ensure family resources include clear explanations of new teaching approaches, particularly in mathematics
Acknowledge real-world time constraints by focusing on high-impact touchpoints rather than time-intensive processes
Facilitate the sharing of student observations between home and school environments
As we continue to listen and learn, can you help us recruit K-2 teachers, parents, and caregivers for brief interviews?
The National Parents Union's recent report calls for a more comprehensive and equitable approach to evaluating student success, emphasizing the importance of family engagement in shaping effective education policies. The report highlights the need for enhanced communication with families, as many parents feel disconnected from their child’s academic progress due to infrequent updates and a lack of clear, accessible information about assessments and learning outcomes. Improving regular, transparent communication can bridge this gap.
“Teachers identified parents as the biggest potential buoy to students’ progress, with 87 percent saying that increasing support for families and parents would have the greatest impact."
Dana Bryson, senior vice president of social impact for Study.com, says a closer look at teachers’ responses revealed their desire to get parents more engaged with their children’s schooling. “My big takeaway is that it was not like, ‘Hey, parents, you're apathetic,’” Bryson says, “but it was actually more, ‘We need to do a better job at making sure parents can be involved.’ And all kinds of parents from all walks of life — not just parents, but caregivers."
What we're sharing
Webinar recording:
Did you miss the 2/19 webinar, “Transforming Family-School Partnerships with PTA's National Standards?”
You'll discover best practices for building partnerships with evidence-based family engagement programs, PTAs and parent groups and others to strengthen family engagement capacity in your schools and districts.
Check out the recording for insights from Vidya and other family engagement leaders:
Where we'll be
AI K12 Deeper Learning Summit in Anaheim, CA
February 28: The 2025 AI K12 Deeper Learning Summit offers educators a dynamic educational experience where they can share and discover how AI can unlock deeper learning for students.
Oakland Literacy Coalition's Literacy and Justice for All Symposium in Oakland, CA
March 7-8: Literacy & Justice For All is a dynamic symposium promoting effective practices in literacy and reading skills and mobilizing learning professionals around literacy as a vehicle for social justice and transformational life outcomes.
California Association of African American Superintendents Association (CAAASA) Annual Statewide Professional Development Summit in Los Angeles, CA
March 26-28: "Promoting Black Student Achievement: Programs and Policies to Fulfill the Promise of Brown"
