Education systems need to improve family-school connections to support student outcomes, nonprofit Learning Heroes said in a report described in a K-12 Dive article
One of the biggest barriers to partnerships: a “perception gap” that has families believing their child is performing better academically than what’s really occurring.
About 88% of parents in a 2023 survey thought their child was at or above grade level in math and reading. In reality, children performing at this level is closer to 30%, as tracked by 8th grade performance on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Parents carry significant influence over their child’s education but they can’t help fix a problem they don’t know exists, the report said.
The Learning Heroes report offered 10 suggestions for strengthening family-school partnerships.
1) Give parents accurate information on student performance. When parents know their child needs support, they are more likely to seek academic supports, such as tutoring and summer math or reading programs. They are also more likely to prioritize school attendance.
2) Share multiple points of learning data. Results from annual state tests and other standardized or formative assessments can give families a fuller picture of their child’s strengths and needs. Report cards can include factors other than academic achievement, such as classroom participation, effort and completion of assignments, that don’t necessarily measure up to grade-level performance.
“Too many report cards are still sending false signals, and many families, trusting the information they’ve been given, simply aren’t aware that their students may be behind,” the report said.
3) Provide information beyond report cards. Parents need to be aware of their child’s progress through conversations with teachers and other means — not just through a quarterly report card.
4) Allow teachers time to connect with parents. Schools should prioritize parent-teacher teams. The time teachers need to communicate with parents should be protected, as well as needed preparation time. One example: allow one-to-one conversations between parents and teachers at back-to-school nights.
5) Promote family engagement. Home visits can improve attendance, and student action plans created jointly by teachers and parents could help boost achievement. Families should be involved in strategies for attendance, literacy and math achievement and other priorities to help educators and parents connect these efforts to overall school outcomes.
6) Provide pathways to postsecondary success. Schools should guide parents and students about the opportunities available — whether students attend college or go right into the workplace after high school graduation. Access to Advanced Placement courses, dual enrollment, career awareness experiences and career and technical education can all help students start planning for their futures.
7) Don’t ignore social and emotional growth. About three-fourths of parents said it was “absolutely essential” or “very important” that their child’s school has high expectations for social and emotional development, according to the Learning Heroes report. The report highlights the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning’s Guide to Schoolwide SEL, which includes strategies for family-school partnerships to support social-emotional learning practices.
8) Address anxieties about student learning differences. Nearly 1 in 5 students have a learning difference like dyslexia or dyscalculia, but only 20% of parents of a child with a learning difference say it’s very easy to navigate the diagnosis process. Schools can help alleviate parents’ anxieties by communicating regularly and providing helpful.
9) Stop talking in ‘edu-jargon.’ Terms such as “self-regulation,” “executive functioning” and “growth mindset” may not be recognizable or even misunderstood by parents. Instead, educators should use terms understandable for families. Having clear, accessible communications can help foster trust and collaboration with parents, the report said.
10) Continue family engagement at higher grade levels. Family engagement remains important in the middle and high school years even as students become more independent. Family engagement in middle and high school years is essential to helping teens feel seen, supported and motivated, the report said. This participation is critical for supporting school attendance and school leaders should work with parents in all grades to remove barriers to regular attendance.
K-12 Dive
