PPSD districtwide text-messaging platform for parent and guardian communication¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 5 claims (5 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

An engagement tool implemented in all PPSD schools in 2018/19 that lets administrators and staff send and receive messages to parents and guardians of the whole school, groups, or individual students. The platform "provides parents and guardians the option to have texts translated to and from one of more than 80 languages," and gives school and district officials timely attendance, absence, and truancy data. The study analyzed its use via four measures, including attendance-related messages per month per student.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Schools are encouraged to establish consistent processes for maintaining parent and guardian contact information and for following up on absences.

Constraints¶

• Only 8 percent of text messages sent during the 2018/19 school year were attendance related; texting is intended to complement other attendance supports and serve family-engagement purposes beyond attendance.

Target Learners¶

• K-12 students in Providence Public School District schools, reached via their parents and guardians

Target Learning Goals¶

• Reducing chronic absenteeism by improving school-family communication about attendance

Claims¶

• Schools in which chronic absenteeism decreased implemented phone calls, mentorship programs, and text messaging with moderate or high fidelity more frequently than schools in which it increased [+W]
• PPSD schools most frequently implemented nudge letters, phone calls, and attendance teams with moderate or high fidelity in 2018/19 [+W]
• Secondary schools, especially those with higher chronic absenteeism rates, used attendance-related text messaging more than elementary schools, suggesting use was better predicted by grade configuration than by absenteeism rates [+W]
• Nearly all attendance-related text-messaging events were targeted to specific students or subgroups, and nearly a third were sent in a language other than English, mostly Spanish [+W]
• During 2018/19, attendance-related text messaging increased more quickly in schools where chronic absenteeism decreased than in schools where it increased, where use remained flat [+W]

Related Elements¶

• PowerSchool Attendance Intervention platform for attendance monitoring and two-way family messaging

Examples¶

• Utilizing Mobile Communication Apps for Parent Engagement
• Use universally designed auto-translated two-way messaging so families need only basic text messaging

Key Sources¶

• Lavigne, H., Caven, M., Bock, G., Zhang, X., & Braham, E. (2021). Exploring implementation of attendance supports to reduce chronic absenteeism in the Providence Public School District (REL 2021–099). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands. https://ies.ed.gov/use-work/resource-library/report/descriptive-study/exploring-implementation-attendance-supports-reduce-chronic-absenteeism-providence-public-school