How to Boost Family Engagement & Attendance

Insights from the 2024 K-12 Educator Survey

Plus four free downloadable tools to help get you started!

Helping Educators Reach Every Family Proactively

Family engagement isn’t a “nice-to-have”, it’s a must-have for student success. When families are connected, informed, and empowered, students show up ready to learn. But for many schools, communication challenges persist:

“We’re trying everything, but parents still say they don’t know what’s going on.”
“I wish we could reach families before attendance becomes a problem.”

You’re not alone. In our 2024 K-12 Educator Survey, 77% of respondents said family engagement is essential for student outcomes. Yet only 25% said it’s easy to connect with families in meaningful ways.

That’s where this guide comes in. Based on survey data, educator feedback, and proven district strategies, we’ll show you how to:

• Communicate consistently across channels
• Personalize outreach at scale
• Overcome language and access barriers
• Streamline your tools
  Track what’s working—and what’s not
  

Want to know when to intervene early? Read: How to Spot At-Risk Students Early

Step 1: Create a Consistent Communication Rhythm
Step 2: Deliver High-Impact, Actionable Messaging
Step 3: Foster Two-Way Family Partnerships
Step 4: Ensure Accessibility in Communication
Step 5: Unify Communication Channels and Tools

Step 1: Create a Consistent Communication Rhythm

Families thrive on predictability. Consistent outreach builds trust, reinforces school-home partnerships, and prevents information overload.

Insight from the Field: 68% of families say they want weekly updates, yet most schools send communication sporadically or only reactively.

Quick Wins

1. Pick a weekly communication day (e.g., “Monday Memo,” “Friday Recap”)
2. Use templates for academic updates, attendance alerts, and celebrations
3. Track one key metric (e.g., attendance, grades) and share progress each week

FREE TOOL: Communication Calendar Template

Use this ready-made template to:

• Plan regular family updates throughout the year
• Track important dates and communication needs
• Ensure consistent outreach across grade levels
• Balance different communication channels

Related Link: SchoolStatus Attend helps track absenteeism trends and deliver timely, personalized updates to families.

Step 2: Deliver High-Impact, Actionable Messaging

Families want to help—but they need relevant, actionable insights, not generic updates.

Survey Highlight:

• 53% want clarity on how absences impact student success
• 60% want more academic feedback

Quick Wins

1. Send a personalized shoutout to every student monthly
2. Launch a “Weekly Win Wednesday” celebrating academic or attendance growth
3. Use “Action Alerts” to flag issues and offer solutions

FREE TOOL: Family Communication Checklist

This practical checklist helps you:

• Craft clear, actionable messages
• Include key information families want
• Choose the right channel for each message
• Measure message effectiveness

Related Product: SchoolStatus Connect lets educators send two-way messages via text, email, and phone—translated in real time.

Support the need for actionable messaging with research from Learning Heroes on what families want to know.

Step 3: Foster Two-Way Family Partnerships

Communication is most effective when it goes both ways. When families are asked for input, and that input is visibly used, they become real partners in student success.

What We Found:

• Only 34% of educators say families are highly engaged
• 31% of families say school messages feel impersonal or irrelevant

Quick Wins

• Open every message with a prompt like “What questions do you have?”
• Implement a “Reply Y/N” system for quick feedback
• Share how family feedback shaped school decisions

FREE TOOL: Family Feedback Survey Template

This customizable survey helps you:

• Gather specific feedback on communication preferences
• Identify barriers to engagement
• Understand what information families value most
• Track satisfaction over time

Extra Resource: Learn best practices for family voice and engagement from Edutopia.

Success Stories: See how districts like Lake Worth ISD increased parent response rates with unified communications.

Step 4: Ensure Accessibility in Communication

Families should never miss important updates due to language, tech, or time constraints. Accessible communications ensure all families can support their students. With 32% of educators facing language barriers and 42% needing better translation tools, making communications accessible to all families is crucial for student success.

Barriers to Watch:

• 32% of educators struggle with language translation
• 42% need better tools to ensure accessibility

Quick Wins

1. Add images (with alt text) to emails and texts
2. Use icons (📅 events, 📚 reading logs, ✏️ assignments) to enhance understanding
3. Translate your top three message types into your most-spoken home languages

FREE TOOL: Communication Accessibility Audit Tool

Use this comprehensive audit to:

• Evaluate current communication methods
• Identify accessibility gaps
• Plan improvements
• Track progress toward goals

Visit Colorín Colorado for resources on multilingual communication in K-12 education.

SchoolStatus Connect offers instant translation in 100+ languages—no extra apps or logins needed.

Step 5: Unify Communication Channels and Tools

Using too many tools creates noise for educators and families. A centralized platform simplifies outreach and strengthens messaging.

Key Takeaways:

• 39% of educators want a unified communication system
• 35% say tracking communication impact is too difficult

Quick Wins

1. Publish a communication tool “cheat sheet” for staff and families
2. Survey families on preferred contact methods and tailor outreach
3. Use a single digital calendar for all events and deadlines

Explore SchoolStatus to connect attendance, communication, and engagement in one place—no guesswork, no silos.

See Attendance Works on the impact of coordinated, early intervention strategies.

Remember: Even small steps toward unifying your communication efforts can have a big impact. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining your outreach strategy, these 5 steps can help you connect with more families, reduce absenteeism, and strengthen school-home trust.

By implementing the strategies in this guide—from creating consistent communication rhythms to unifying your outreach efforts—you’ll be well on your way to stronger family engagement and better student outcomes. The key is to start small, measure what works, and keep building on your successes. 

Ready to put these ideas into action? Review your Action Plan in the next section to get started.

Need More Support?

Every school’s journey to stronger family engagement is unique. SchoolStatus’ unified platform and resources can help you:

• Save time with automated communications
• Reach families through their preferred channels
• Track engagement and attendance effectively
• Make data-driven decisions about outreach

Remember: Start small, measure results, and build on what works. Each step toward better family engagement is a step toward student success.

Ready to take your family engagement efforts to the next level?