Ignite Stronger Connections with Families — Start Your Spark

Take our quick, 3-minute self-assessment to see how well your school or district is communicating with families—and where you can grow.

You’ll receive customized resources with actionable steps to strengthen school-home connections, enhance engagement, and support student success. Every score is a starting point to spark better communication!

Family Engagement

1 / 3

Question 1

Can your families select their messaging preferences from the school/district and choose among email, phone, or text communications?

Yes, our parents have full control of their communication preferences.

Somewhat. Parents can only set the preferences for one type of message.

Very little. Parents can set their preferences in the Student Information System, but we have no way to honor them.

No, our parents have no way to control how they receive messages from our school.

Question 2

Does your current communication platform support multiple languages?

Yes, our platform supports every language that we need.

Somewhat. Our platform supports additional languages, but we are missing a few key languages.

Not really. Our platform only supports English, Spanish, and French.

No, our platform only supports messages in English.

Question 3

Can your families access your communications from any device?

Yes, our families can access our communications from a computer, tablet, and phone. There’s even an app.

Mostly. Our families can access our communications from a computer, tablet, and phone, but it is not mobile responsive on the phone, so information is not formatted correctly.

Partly. Our families can access our communications from a computer and tablet, but there’s no support for mobile phones.

No, our families can only access our communications from a computer.

Question 4

How many different communication platforms/classroom apps are your families accessing?

1-3

4-6

7-9

10 or more

Question 5

How difficult is it for your families to access your communication platform(s)?

Very Easy. We only have one place for families to go and logging in is not a problem for our families.

Somewhat Easy. We have a couple of different platforms our families access, but they seem to log in just fine.

Somewhat Difficult. Our families have children that attend multiple schools in our district and each school/teacher uses a different platform.

Very Difficult. Families are not aware of all the different communication tools being used throughout the district and have a hard time knowing which platform to access.

Question 6

Does your current communication platform provide you with effectiveness ratings on your communications?

Yes, our platform gives us effectiveness ratings on our communications, so we know we are reaching the right people, that they’ve read the message, and our messages are resonating.

Somewhat. Our platform tells us that messages were sent and received and what happened to the message, but we must look at individual recipients to determine if messages are effective.

Very little. Our platform tells us that messages were sent and received, but there are no other details.

No, our platform does not provide reporting.

Question 7

How effective is your school website at engaging with your community?

Very Effective. Our community can easily access all the information they need from our website, and our staff members can quickly update content on the website.

Somewhat Effective. Our community is able to access the information they need, but it is cumbersome to keep the content up-to-date.

Somewhat ineffective. Our community has some trouble finding the information they need, and our website is difficult to update.

Very Ineffective. Our community tells us they can’t find anything, and content is constantly out-of-date and very difficult to change.

Personalized Experience

2 / 3

Question 8

Do your families currently have a single-pane-of-glass view to see grades, attendance, assignments, forms, and communication tools all in one place?

Yes, our families can see all this information in one location.

Mostly. Our families can access grades, attendance, and assignments in the parent portal, but there is no more than 1 other app used for 2-way communication.

Somewhat. Our families can access grades, attendance and assignments in the parent portal, but several other sites and apps are used for classroom and staff communications.

No, our families need to go to separate systems to see all this information.

Question 9

Do you have an AI assistant to help answer routine questions from families like "What's the attendance policy?"

Yes, we have an AI assistant that provides answers to family questions.

No, we do not have an AI assistant for our families to ask questions.

Question 10

Do you have a solution that provides a single point of access for families to report absences?

Yes, our families go to the same spot where they access communication tools and student information to report absences.

Somewhat. Our student information system provides a method of reporting absences, but it only receives absences that must be manually reconciled.

Disjointed. It is up to individual schools to create their own processes for absence reporting.

No. We do not have a system or method for parents to report absences before they happen or during the school day.

Question 11

Do you have a solution that provides a single point of access for families to see behavior updates on their child?

Yes, parents can see behavior updates on their child in the same, singular portal they can see grades, report attendance, and send the teacher a message.

Yes, parents can see behavior updates, but they must log into a separate website or app to do so.

No, we do not provide a behavior update solution.

Question 12

Do you have a solution that provides a single point of access for families to fill out forms like field trip permission slips and year-round updates?

Yes, parents can fill out forms on their child in the same, singular portal they can see grades, report attendance, and send the teacher a message.

Yes, parents can fill out forms, but they must access a separate website/app or click a link in their email or SMS to do so.

No, we do not provide a solution to fill out form.

Question 13

Do you have a solution that provides a single point of access for families and students to access their college & career path?

Yes, parents and students can see and modify their college and career path in the same, singular portal they can see grades, report attendance, and send the teacher a message.

Yes, parents and students can see and modify their college and career path, but they must access a separate website or app to do so.

No, we do not provide a solution for families/students to manage their college and career path.

Question 14

Can you customize your current family portal to include links to other sites your families need to access?

Yes, we can provide custom links in our current family portal.

No, we cannot provide custom links in our current family portal.

Security & Privacy

3 / 3

Question 15

Do all your communication tools and platforms comply with FERPA and other applicable student privacy protections?

Yes, all of them do. Our district vets every communication tool for compliance with student privacy regulations before it is ever used.

Most of them. We have a process in place but have not vetted every tool used by schools and teachers.

Some of them. We have begun the process to vet our communications tools used by schools and teachers but have not made any conclusions.

No, not all of them. There are some communication tools in use that have not been formally vetted for compliance with student privacy regulations.

Question 16

Have you made it unnecessary for teachers/staff to use free, unmonitored apps or other methods that can expose personal contact details?

Yes, we have strict rules about which of our fully vetted communication tools they must use.

Mostly. We have fully vetted communication tools we recommend to teachers, but know they have their own preferences to communicate.

Somewhat. We have begun to vet communications tools, but have not made any recommendations.

No, our staff can use personal contact details for school purposes and/or leverage free classroom communication tools.

Question 17

How many passwords do your families and students have to maintain?

1-3 passwords

4-6 passwords

7-9 passwords

10 or more passwords

Question 18

Do your communication tools ensure that student-specific messages only go to authorized family members?

Yes, family contact details are sourced from the SIS database of record or an authorized school administrator and synchronized regularly.

No, communication tool administrators share out public signup links or manually add family contacts. They cannot ensure that only authorized family members have access to student-specific messages.

Complete the Form to See Your Results!

Family Engagement

Maintaining

Emerging

Advancing

Innovating

Family communication systems are partially in place, but your current tools may be a barrier to engagement.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

A communication platform that supports English speakers
Browser-based communication systems without mobile features
Several apps/platforms for communication from teachers, the school, or the district

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Keep student data and teacher messaging in a single location
Streamline communication across channels, including social media
Learn how teachers, leaders, parents, and students stay connected easily

Family communication systems are partly in place, and you are taking steps toward better home-school engagement strategies.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

Communication platform that supports English and a few other languages
Browser-based communication systems with minimal mobile features
Several apps/platforms for communication from teachers, the school, or the district
Systematic approaches that show an awareness of family communication needs

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Learn how teachers, leaders, parents, and students stay connected easily
Centralize information for parents and students to boost engagement
Keep student data and teacher messaging in a single location
Streamline communication across channels, including social media

Family communication systems are fully in place, but not every family knows their full capacity.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

A communication platform that supports most languages
Mobile-friendly communication systems accessible across devices
One or two apps/platforms that consolidate communication between teachers, the school, or the districts
Proactive approaches that address family communication needs

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Discover real-world strategies to increase parent engagement
Learn how teachers, leaders, parents, and students stay connected easily
Centralize information for parents and students to boost engagement
Keep student data and teacher messaging in a single location
Streamline communication across channels, including social media

You lead the way in family engagement with innovative, personalized communication strategies that drive strong partnerships between home and school.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has most of the following in place:

A fully integrated communication platform that supports all languages with two-way translation
Mobile-first communication systems with intuitive user experiences across platforms
A single, streamlined platform that connects all communication from teachers, the school, and the district, customized to family preferences
Continuous family feedback and engagement metrics to refine and innovate communication approaches

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Discover real-world strategies to increase parent engagement
Learn how teachers, leaders, parents, and students stay connected easily
Centralize information for parents and students to boost engagement
Keep student data and teacher messaging in a single location
Streamline communication across channels, including social media

Personalized Experience

Maintaining

Emerging

Advancing

Innovating

Family communication systems are not able to be personalized according to user preferences.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

Parents can contact the school or search your website when they have questions
Varied sources for teacher and school communications
Students and families log into different systems for absences, behavior, and postsecondary planning tools
Communications can be translated into a few languages (Spanish, French, etc.), but options are limited

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Give families a single-screen overview of their child’s progress
Centralize information for parents and students to boost engagement
Make communications accessible to all families with multilingual options
Enable administrators to customize broadcasts by topic, time of day, and student needs

Family communication systems are in place, and users can select from a few options for their preferences.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

Parents can find answers to some questions on your website
Varied sources for teacher and school communications
Students and families log into different systems for absences, behavior, and postsecondary planning tools
Communications can be translated into a handful of languages

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Give families a single-screen overview of their child’s progress
Centralize information for parents and students to boost engagement
Make communications accessible to all families with multilingual options
Enable administrators to customize broadcasts by topic, time of day, and student needs

Family communication systems are personalized with users able to tailor communication preferences.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

Parents can easily find answers to most questions on your website
One or two sources for communication from teachers and the school or district
Students and families log into one or two systems for absences, behavior, postsecondary planning, or other tools
Communications are translated into most languages

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Give families a single-screen overview of their child’s progress
Centralize information for parents and students to boost engagement
Make communications accessible to all families with multilingual options
Enable administrators to customize broadcasts by topic, time of day, and student needs

Family communication systems are fully personalized, leveraging data to deliver proactive, customized experiences tailored to each family's preferences and needs.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has most of the following in place:

Parents can quickly find answer to all their questions on your website or through a help center
Personalized dashboards for families that provide relevant updates based on preferences and engagement history
A unified system for families to access absences, behavior, academic progress, and postsecondary planning tools in one place
Communications are translated both ways in real-time into a wide range of languages, ensuring full accessibility for all families

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Give families a single-screen overview of their child’s progress
Centralize information for parents and students to boost engagement
Make communications accessible to all families with multilingual options
Enable administrators to customize broadcasts by topic, time of day, and student needs

Security & Privacy

Maintaining

Emerging

Advancing

Innovating

Data governance needs—including FERPA, cybersecurity, and outdated systems—are being partially addressed.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

Proactive approaches for adhering to compliance requirements
Ongoing tech audits to modernize systems
A strong commitment to data privacy and security

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Reduce the spread of data via free, unmonitored communication apps
Streamline systems to avoid errors in manual communication processes
K-12 Cybersecurity blog
Guide to Federal Cybersecurity Grants

Data governance needs—including FERPA, cybersecurity, and outdated systems—are being addressed.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

Mostly consistent and proactive approaches for adhering to compliance requirements
A schedule for tech audits to modernize systems
Systematic approaches to data privacy and security

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Protect student data that can be accessed via free, unmonitored communication apps
Streamline systems to avoid errors in manual communication processes
K-12 Cybersecurity blog
Guide to Federal Cybersecurity Grants

Data governance needs—including FERPA, cybersecurity, and system modernization—are thoroughly addressed with comprehensive, proactive strategies in place.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has some of the following in place:

Consistent, proactive adherence to compliance requirements, regularly updated in response to new regulations
Regular and comprehensive tech audits, with clear action plans for modernization and addressing vulnerabilities
Integrated data privacy and security measures, with most staff trained on best practices and emerging threats
Implementation of multi-factor authentication (MFA) and encryption protocols for sensitive data

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Reduce the spread of data via free, unmonitored communication apps
Streamline systems to avoid errors in manual communication processes
K-12 Cybersecurity blog
Guide to Federal Cybersecurity Grants

Your school or district sets the standard for security and privacy by implementing forward-thinking practices and continually evolving to meet data governance challenges.

Rating & Rationale

Your school or district likely has most of the following in place:

A proactive approach to compliance, regularly reviewing and updating policies to stay current with new regulations and best practices
Ongoing tech audits with tools to identify potential vulnerabilities and maintain modernized systems
Advanced cybersecurity systems with real-time monitoring and rapid response capabilities to potential threats
Implementation of next-generation security measures, such as encrypted data storage and multi-factor authentication (MFA)
A district-wide culture of security with continuous, relevant training for staff and awareness programs for students and families

How PowerSchool Can Help (Tools, Resources, and Services)

Reduce the spread of data via free, unmonitored communication apps
Streamline systems to avoid errors in manual communication processes
K-12 Cybersecurity blog
Guide to Federal Cybersecurity Grants

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