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SchoolStatus Launches Literacy Solution to Help Districts Engage Families in Improving Reading Outcomes
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When we took away the clerical piece of attendance interventions, principals became more connected to students and families. They started to recognize the real-life barriers to attendance. Now, they’re connected to people and not paper.Dr. Margie Boulware
Executive Director of Special Programs, Corsicana ISDHaving a student’s data and family communication on a single screen means that we’re seeing issues sooner, and then can address those issues immediately.Elizabeth Lalor
Elizabeth Lalor, Deputy Superintendent for Educational Support & School AdministrationSchoolStatus is a powerhouse data and communication tool.Chad Shealy
Superintendent, Vicksburg Warren School DistrictSchoolStatus is a powerhouse data and communication tool.Chad Shealy
Superintendent, Vicksburg Warren School DistrictWe’ve saved hundreds of hours of staff time, and I’m sure many more for our parent community. By digitizing and automating everything through [SchoolStatus Forms & Flows], there’s no more populating information from the DOE into forms by hand.Renny Fong
Principal at PS 130 Hernando De Soto (Manhattan)[SchoolStatus Boost: Inspire] has played a huge role in our continuous learning and coaching process, which has led to the observed professional growth of our teachers.Josh Snyder
Director of Learning, Wahoo Public Schools -
SchoolStatus has provided us a tool to make communication easier, more transparent, and quantifiable.Dr. Ron Brown
Former Superintendent, Lumpkin County SchoolsWe’ve seen an over 50% decrease in chronic absenteeism, which is the statewide goal. We’re already there, in just one year of work.Jessica Hull
Executive Director of Communication and Community Engagement, Roseville City School DistrictThe help [SchoolStatus] gave us was amazing; I’ve never before received help like that from any company. Honestly, we feel like we want to stay with [SchoolStatus] forever.Dina Testa
Assistant Principal, Intermediate School 7 at NYCDOEEveryone wins when you stay in the loop, and SchoolStatus Connect really helped me make that happen while also saving me time.Ellen Zissis
First Grade Teacher, Chartiers Valley Primary SchoolOur families now feel that they’re not alone. They know we want to talk with them. That’s why we’re using SchoolStatus Connect.Maureen Brown
Principal and Director of Outreach, Dove Schools -
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It's exciting to contribute to something that supports both educators and students in such a direct, measurable way.Casey Bevins
Senior Visual DesignerI like the ease with which I can contact families using my own personal phone without giving out my personal number. I also like that the student's contacts are readily available. This platform works well for families to contact us, too. We can truly partner in the student's education and work towards a goal that works for all.Abigail S.
TeacherWe’ve seen an over 50% decrease in chronic absenteeism, which is the statewide goal. We’re already there, in just one year of work.Jessica Hull
Executive Director of Communication and Community Engagement, Roseville City School District
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How Bentonville West Uses SchoolStatus Connect for Academic and Athletic Communication
See how Bentonville West High School keeps families informed, simplifies team coordination, supports fundraising efforts, and strengthens engagement through one unified family messaging solution.
District Overview
District: Bentonville Schools
Size: 17,000 students
Products Used: SchoolStatus Connect
Location: Arkansas
Blake Rudolph has two distinct roles at Bentonville West High School. During the day, he’s a Geometry teacher. In the evening, he’s the head junior varsity and assistant varsity basketball coach for the Bentonville West boys’ program. His role as one of the basketball coaches is communication-heavy. Families are involved and want to feel like they’re a part of the up-and-coming program.
Last year, school communications shifted for the team. District leaders made the decision to move everyone, from classroom teachers to sports coaches, to a single family engagement solution: SchoolStatus Connect. At first, Coach Rudolph was skeptical. He was comfortable with his previous tool, Sports U. Plus, he was concerned a districtwide tool wouldn’t work for the unique needs of sports coaches like him.
“I was pretty concerned when we switched because we had all the things that we needed [in Sports U],” Coach Rudolph says. “Usually, when they pick something for academics and athletics, it tends to favor academics and doesn’t have the features that are useful for us on the coaching side.”
But since adopting SchoolStatus Connect, he’s been pleasantly surprised. He’s been able to communicate with families, fundraise, and plan events with ease.
Managing Games & Events, Including Overnight Trips
The basketball program at Bentonville West is just a few years old. Despite that, they’ve achieved quite a bit of success. That success has come with additional logistics. Namely, needing to plan and communicate overnight trips to play teams across the state.
SchoolStatus Connect’s Activities feature has been perfect for sharing information about trips. “We’re able to add hotel information and link the itinerary. We can put a lot of things in the Activities tab, which has been nice,” explains Coach Rudolph.
Basketball families can find everything they need about an overnight trip in SchoolStatus Connect, and details about the next game or event.
When families have questions, they can also use the app to send a quick two-way message directly to the coaches.
Facilitating Better Fundraising Events
Ensuring families trust the program is one thing; sustaining the emerging basketball program is another. For that, Bentonville West relies on fundraising. Their annual event, the Shootathon, brings in thousands of much-needed dollars.
Before SchoolStatus Connect, coaches would hand out flyers and rely on student-athletes to share them with their families. Now, everything is shared digitally, giving the event more reach and eliminating the possibility of flyers being forgotten in backpacks. “Parents are grabbing the link to the Shootathon poster and sharing it directly with Grandma,” said Coach Rudolph.
Families can also see the impact of fundraising efforts in SchoolStatus Connect, like their brand new uniforms. “If you ask people to give you money, you’d better show them what it’s being spent on,” jokes Coach Rudolph. “We send out pictures and information in SchoolStatus to keep families up to date.”
Combining Academic and Athletic Communication in One Place
What started as a mandate for everyone in the district to use the same school communications solution turned into a benefit. Now, families have one central location for academic and athletic communication.
Another benefit of the districtwide implementation is that communication doesn’t change as families move from one building to another.
Coach Rudolph notes, “We have our freshman tryouts soon, and those kids are coming from two different buildings within our district.” Now, families can be part of the high school program before their kids actually start the ninth grade.
Continuing to Engage Basketball Families
The second season of using SchoolStatus Connect to facilitate communication for the Bentonville West boys’ basketball team is about to commence. Instead of meeting it with trepidation, Coach Rudolph is now convinced that SchoolStatus Connect works whether he’s teaching geometry by day or coaching the basketball team in the evenings.
In both roles, he’s able to keep families informed, maintain an open line of two-way communication, and invite families to participate in school events.
