When outdated tools left families in the dark, one Arizona district reshaped its communication strategy—saving time, money, and building stronger bridges between schools and homes.
GUEST COLUMN | by Renee Ryon
HASAN AS ARI
Districts can send out all of the messages and correspondence they want, but if that outreach isn’t being opened and read by the intended audience, the effort is wasted. Then, when recipients don’t receive important messages, it’s up to the district to determine why this is happening and find a solution. This consumes even more effort, energy, and resources.
‘The bottom line is that to reach most parents, you need to be present in multiple places and communicate through a variety of channels.’
With 26 schools and 23,000 students, our district was dealing with this problem in the months leading up to our adoption of a new school-home communications platform. We were having some issues with the delivery of our email correspondence. Many parents with Yahoo! addresses weren’t receiving our messages, and we weren’t getting assistance from our vendor to resolve the issue.
We were told the issue was that users were marking our messages as “spam,” but we weren’t convinced that spam filters were the problem, rather than the structure and delivery method of the emails themselves. Our parents repeatedly spoke up about not being able to access the information we were sending out. It is crucial for us to have the ability to share information with parents, and if we can’t or if they are frustrated by the process—particularly when the communications address sensitive subjects like absenteeism, outstanding balances, and permission slips—it creates a lot of confusion and frustration.
Here are a few steps we took to alleviate those frustrations once and for all:
1. Look beyond basic SIS communication capabilities. For a long time, we relied on our SIS to communicate information to families. When I joined the district, it was clear that we needed to look at different options. I’d used other tools at my previous district and knew that there were distinct differences between what was typically provided in a SIS and a dedicated communication platform.
2. Put together a strong business case. When pitching the idea of adopting a new school-home communications platform to district leaders, we prioritized the district’s needs, researched numerous tools, and developed comparison charts to evaluate our options. We were looking for a platform that offered the most features for reaching parents and allowed them to choose how they wanted to be notified (e.g., via email, app, voice, or text) and in their preferred language.
3. Focus on what matters most. We initially focused on ensuring absence notices, transportation information (i.e., delays and potential changes to school bus route assignments), and related messages were being sent to and received by parents. We also started talking to our student services team about using it for absence accrual notices. Anytime a student reaches 5, 10, 15, or 18 absences, parents traditionally receive a snail mail notice that must be printed out and mailed by a school employee. At the high school level, where absenteeism is tracked by class, this meant schools were sometimes sending out over 4,000 notices per month. Digitizing that process not only expedites parent notifications, but also vastly reduces the amount of manual work and postage needed to keep those families updated on their students’ absence rates.
4. Track the key wins so you can report on ROI. We polled schools to determine the number of staff hours and the amount of money spent on printing and mailing absence accrual notices. Since digitizing the process, our schools have cumulatively saved about $165,000 and roughly 2,300 staff hours annually. This time savings freed up staff members to conduct more direct, personal follow-ups with the students who were receiving those notices. At the high school level, this equates to more than 20 hours of saved time per month, and 3-10 hours per month at the elementary level.
5. Get incoming students in the mix early. We utilize our communication platform’s Community Groups, which feature self-serve sign-up groups, to help us expand our communication reach to a wider audience beyond current students, families, and staff. For example, we share information about athletic programs, off-season tryouts, conditioning workouts, and other events. The feature is particularly useful for connecting with students who intend to start school in the fall but aren’t officially enrolled in the system yet.
Seasoned Advice for Other Districts
For other districts in the same situation we were in and looking to upgrade their current school-home communications strategy, I’d say the best first step is to put yourself in the parents’ shoes. Ask yourself questions like: What kind of information do they need? How do they want to be communicated with? Can we also reach them in their preferred language?
The bottom line is that to reach most parents, you need to be present in multiple places and communicate through a variety of channels. Your communication platform should do the same, offering flexibility to meet families where they are and deliver information in the ways they prefer to receive it.
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Renee Ryon is the Director of Communications and Public Relations at Dysart Unified School District in Surprise, Ariz., where she leads districtwide messaging, media relations, and community engagement for 26 schools and 23,000 students. With more than two decades of experience in educational communications, she focuses on leveraging innovative tools and strategies to strengthen connections between schools, families, and the broader community. Connect with Renee on LinkedIn.
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