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3 Tips to Increase Family Involvement

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By SchoolStatus 5 min

This time of year can be difficult to get Family involvement, but we have to tips to get started!

Be sure to lay a strong Family involvement foundation by:

  • Communicating often with families about the importance of Familyal involvement
  • Have known expectations and set up a clear structure on how families can communicate with you
  • Showcase what is happening in the classroom to create a sense of community

Class Announcements and Events are a great way to connect the classroom Family community and get families involved. Whether you’re still teaching remotely or in person, we have some great ways to increase Family involvement.

The big question is, how do you get those uber-busy families to engage?  Three words: fun, invitation, and kudos!

Make Familyal Involvement FUN!

While there is a place for an information-packed announcement, try to insert some fun and humor into your next announcement! Families love seeing what is going on in the classroom, even if you’re virtual – and let’s face it, kids are FUNNY, and sometimes families need permission to have fun 😉 !

Here is some other fun way to get families involved through interactive announcements:

  • Give families specific questions to ask their kids about what happened during school and beat the dreaded one-word answers when families ask, “How was school.” Focus on a fun lesson plan or something students responded positively towards.
  • Play games with families! Play “would you rather” in the classroom with students and have them record their answers. Then, make an Announcement and have families guess what their child would rather do. The Family with the most correct guesses wins!
  • Snap a picture or record a video of something happening in the classroom, along with a fun story to capture families’ attention. Remember: You can upload to YouTube and embed right within a ClassTag Announcement!
  • Use Announcements as a poll. Families can react to the choice they’d like to pick with an emoji, and you get instant feedback (emojis are a fun way to communicate).
  • Have families get students to go on a virtual adventure at home!

Many, many more will participate if it’s fun. Ensure your families know that smiles and laughter are good for everyone, in and out of school. Finding this balance between work and fun is key to securing Family involvement. In doing so, you will build a united group of families willing to dedicate their time to your classroom and fight Family burnout and create lasting relationships.

Invite Families to Get Involved In and Out of the Classroom

Reach out to all families in your classroom, not just the ones who are always ready and willing or the ones who are easy to reach. Having the same families contribute to your classroom is stagnant and not worthwhile. Create an opportunity for new families to get involved by sending out a classroom event asking for Family volunteers.  Additionally, let families help brainstorm ways to get involved in the classroom through an Announcement. 

Here are some fun ways families you can get families involved in your classroom:

  • Have families sign-up for “Read-aloud” slots using ClassTag Events. Families can look into the classroom world while kiddos get a fun story! For in-person learning, have families use video conferencing and project it!
  • Create a virtual or in-person talent show and get families to help their kids tap into their creative side. Pass along these 50 Talent Show ideas to get families started.
  • Hold office hours with families. You can have one-on-one conversations with them about their child or offer some “professional development.” Families want to help their children succeed but may need help knowing what to do.
  • Host a “Cooking Night” once a month. Have families and kids join and have a simple recipe for them to follow. You can always drop the ingredient list in an announcement a couple of weeks ahead! You can even do something special for Pi Day in March!

Pro-tip: Remember that all events sync with Google Calendar and automatically adds a Google Meet link for video conferencing for both you and your families. 

Give Kudos!

Just like giving credit to a student when they’ve gone the extra mile, give families kudos when they deserve it. A moment that you take to acknowledge their contribution and efforts is never a moment wasted, especially with all the stress around COVID. Also, get families and kids involved with giving kudos – we all need kindness!

Need some simple ideas to recognize families and students? We have you covered:

  • Send an announcement recognizing families who participated in an event and share some fun tidbits about what they did to make the event successful.
  • Have “Sunshine Days”, where you can recognize families and things that make them unique!
  • Plan a Random Act of Kindness day. Let kids, families , and staff get involved. Need ideas? Check out our LIVE Session with the Random Acts of Kindness Foundations!

Research has shown that children with involved families get better grades and score higher on tests. These students tend to be more positive about school. It’s no secret you’re positive about school, and you would love your students and families to share your same enthusiasm.


We hope you have an idea you’d like to try with your next announcement on ClassTag!

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SchoolStatus
SchoolStatus is a unified K-12 platform that enables districts and schools to engage more families and improve attendance with our easy-to-use communications hub and data-driven attendance solutions. We support an integrated and impactful educational experience, from district leadership to families at home. With more than two hundred million successful school-home interactions, and millions of users, SchoolStatus drives meaningful results for districts and schools across the US.
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