For the past five years, back-to-school has added a layer of complexity: the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 disruptions that have left many students significantly behind compared to their pre-pandemic peers.
While we’re out of the immediate crisis of the pandemic, we still have a long road of recovery ahead. That’s particularly true in reading. Recent NWEA research highlighted that the average student would need four months of additional instructional time to catch up to pre-pandemic levels in reading.
Schools continue to administer screeners and other reading assessments, provide high-quality instruction, and determine appropriate interventions. One critical partnership has risen to greater importance—the role of families in helping students grow academically, especially in addressing the challenges left by the pandemic.
When superintendents think about how they will guide their districts, they must consider the role of families, especially in supporting literacy at home. Easy, right?
Nope. Recent reporting indicates that some parents are losing interest in reading at home, increasing the urgency to engage (or re-engage) them appropriately and effectively.
Rarely are superintendents the direct communicators with families; instead, they are vital leaders who set the tone and education priorities within their community. While they may not be personally making phone calls home or attending PTA meetings, they do have a unique role that offers opportunities to raise awareness and advocate for families to be a more critical partner with educators.
1. Understand your community dynamics
Start with an understanding of how your district engages with the community. Determine who the community’s influencers (positive and negative) are, who is in direct communications with families, and who families engage with or prefer to engage with, both within the district and in the community.
Some districts do this formally with a community survey. The National School Public Relations Association, an organization that supports school district communications professionals, provides templates and, for a fee, conducts these surveys and audits.
Understanding how your families prefer to receive information and who they go to with questions is key in ensuring that when you do communicate, you increase the likelihood that they will receive it and pay attention.
2. Understand your literacy data
District summative and interim literacy data will clarify where to focus your attention. Are some schools behind in meeting their reading goals? Are some grades demonstrating proficiency while others struggle?
Knowing the K12 literacy data will help determine the parent audience and craft the message.
3. Check your district literacy plan.
Your district literacy plan is a blueprint for literacy success in your district. While it probably includes clear goals, roles and responsibilities for your staff, it may not mention the critical role of families.
If families are not mentioned, consider revising the plan to include them as a partner. Describe their role, expectations, and markers for success in clear, easy-to-understand terms.
4. Involve your internal staff
Literacy success requires an “all hands on deck” approach, and there is a role for everyone—from your admins to your custodians. How will your staff community understand the plan, and what outcome are you working on together?
Most importantly, how will they understand their own unique and critical role?
5. Leverage your communications staff.
They can help, with assistance for you and your literacy teams, determine the top messages to reiterate with families about literacy. For example, they can develop monthly top messages for school principals to include in school newsletters that reiterate support at home, like “read aloud with your children for at least 20 minutes a day” or “start a book club with your child.”
6. Make a splash, or three.
Superintendents have a unique gift—a platform with a bullhorn. While you may not talk to families daily, you can consider two to three critical points to be vocal in the community where parents are in attendance.
A kickoff event, a mid-year interview, and an end-of-year celebration of success with parents by your side will speak volumes to families in your district.
A vision, a plan and excitement
Improving reading outcomes is hard, and it takes a village. Engaging parents as partners in the solution helps consistent messaging across stakeholders and ensures students are learning not just bell-to-bell, but from bell-to-bedtime.
Something as simple as sharing tips with families on how to support literacy is doable, with a vision, a plan and excitement.
