A proactive family outreach strategy is a must-have for today’s schools. Building the infrastructure upfront may require some time, but schools get that time back (and more!) by not having to clear up miscommunication or field phone calls and emails from parents that a single email could have prevented. Even more important than the time-saving aspects of a family outreach strategy is the difference it makes in student success. The more connected home and school are, the more students succeed. Based on our years of experience helping schools build communication infrastructure, we’ve put together a list of the 4 most essential elements a family outreach strategy needs.
1. Direct communication from the classroom
Families want to hear directly from their kids’ teachers. Whether it’s updates on curriculum or messages regarding academic performance, parents pay more attention when the communication comes from the classroom. Teachers benefit too: The more proactively they communicate, the less time they’ll spend later emailing individual families or returning phone calls. With jmc Family, teachers can quickly and easily send messages to families, post announcements, and more – without adding stress and multiple items to their to-do lists.
2. Immediate access to student grades
One of the most important areas that families want to stay informed about is their student’s performance. When families know they have access to grades 24/7 rather than a few progress reports throughout the year, they are more likely to be engaged and to catch issues before they grow into more serious academic problems. jmc Family provides access to their kids’ grades at all times, so they can check in as often as they’d like. Plus, they’ll get a notification if there is a missing or late score, which means they can intervene if necessary right away.
3. Streamlined attendance reporting
Schools rely on attendance reporting from families to ensure curriculum time is enough and that all students are accounted for in the unlikely event of an emergency. But if parents have to listen to a long voicemail of instructions each time they need to make a simple tardy or absence notification, the rate of reporting is likely to decrease. With jmc Family, reporting an absence or excusing a tardy is as easy as a click of a button. And office professionals will love having complete information for each absence – no more calling families back for information they forgot to add to a voicemail!
4. Quick access to student activity information
It’s no secret that families are busy. Juggling student activity schedules is stressful enough without making an extra trip to the school for hockey practice just to find out it’s been canceled. With jmc Family, the date, time, and location are displayed for each kid’s activities and families are immediately updated if something changes. Families can rest assured they have the most recent information by simply checking the Family app.
Interested in learning more about how jmc Family makes your family outreach a success? Watch our helpful video by clicking here!
