SchoolStatus’ K-12 communications survey highlights families’ desire for frequent, relevant, and actionable communications on student progress and attendance
RIDGELAND, Miss., March 22, 2024 / — SchoolStatus, a leading provider of K-12 EdTech solutions, today released key findings from a nationwide survey of K-12 families. Notably, the survey found that despite 77% of families recognizing the importance of school-home communication, 33% feel uninformed about their child’s progress in school. Moreover, less than 40% of families receive regular communication on how they can support their child’s academic success. Attendance also emerged as a critical factor for student success, with 88% of families across all grades considering it essential.
Underscoring the urgency of these findings, the Biden-Harris Administration recently identified two-way school-home communication and addressing chronic absenteeism as top priorities for improving overall student achievement in 2024. This highlights an opportunity for districts to leverage survey findings to enhance collaboration with families and improve communication effectiveness on these issues.
The survey collected insights from 1,050+ diverse K-12 families on school communication preferences and the relevancy, inclusivity, and accessibility of current communications. Full findings are available in the 2024 School-Family Communications Report.
Streamlined, Accessible Digital Communications Channels
K-12 families are grappling with technology and information overload, emphasizing a desire for a single, user-friendly school-home communications solution.
- 62% of respondents expressed that having a central communications hub would simplify their connection with their child’s school
- 72% of respondents favor emails and 70% prefer texts, highlighting that strong digital communication is key for engagement
Frequent, Relevant, and Actionable Communications on Student Progress
The survey illuminated a clear need for improvement in ensuring information accessibility and understanding, as well.
- 69% of families want daily (48%) or weekly (21%) communication on their children’s academic progress, but only 52% currently receive updates at that frequency
- 45% reported that school communications are not frequent enough
- 42% indicated insufficient information is provided by the school
- 53% expressed that information shared by their children’s school is not always easy to access and understand
Positive, Proactive Communication about Attendance
Attendance emerged as a critical aspect of student success, with K-12 families expressing the importance of proactive, positive messaging.
- Over 45% of families only receive communication about the importance of attendance after their child misses school
- Over 70% of families believe positive updates celebrating good attendance or improvements in attendance are helpful
“At a time when K-12 districts and educators are facing academic setbacks, chronic absenteeism, and more, the findings from our K-12 family survey show that districts have a significant opportunity to enhance collaboration with families to address these critical issues and support student success,” said SchoolStatus founder and CEO Russ Davis. “Families want to be involved in their child’s education, and for them to fully participate, they need relevant, accessible, and actionable information.”
About the Survey
The 2024 K-12 Family Communication Survey, conducted by SchoolStatus in January 2024, aimed to gather insights from 1,000+ U.S. families and caregivers of K-12 children aged 6-18. The survey employed SurveyMonkey Audience as the data collection platform.
About SchoolStatus
SchoolStatus is a unified K-12 platform that enables districts and schools to engage more families and improve attendance with an easy-to-use communications hub and data-driven attendance solutions. With more than 2 billion successful school-home interactions, and millions of users, SchoolStatus drives meaningful results for districts and schools across all 50 states. For more information, visit schoolstatus.com.
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