Dive Brief:

• Digital platforms, such as integrated student information tools, offer teachers new ways to engage parents in their student’s learning and keep them abreast of new developments.
• For example, many teachers and districts are now using Remind, a text messaging alert tool to nudge parents about meetings, paperwork, and other matters.
• However, research indicates that to reach all families, not just wealthy ones, teachers should use a variety of tools, including email, text messaging, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings to reach out to parents.

Dive Insight:

A Harvard study cited in Education Week’s article offers interesting insights on parent-teacher communication in the digital age. For example, it found that frequent text communication between educators and families was linked to improved student performance. An earlier study found that frequent texts and phone calls from teachers to families boosted student engagement. The research indicates that truisms about parental involvement in education developed prior to the digital age still stand — and that tech tools can help support them.

"[It] has allowed me to feel like I'm serving students exactly the way I need, in a way that I wasn't able to do before,” Joseph Vincente, a 10th grade chemistry teacher at East Side Community High School in New York City, told Education Week.

Still, experts also caution that districts should be careful about picking technologies, both to ensure they meet the intended use and to ensure student privacy is protected.