Celebrate Your K-12 District School-Home Star Communicators

Engaging students’ caregivers at home is increasingly important as educators work to help students recover from the pandemic’s impacts on learning. 

One important part of school-home communications is remembering to recognize and celebrate the people who make this communication possible. 

We get to see lots of innovative and creative school-home communication recognition programs through our work with districts across the country. Rome City Schools is an excellent example of a recognition program that promotes quality family communications by rewarding top communicators each month.

Here are three tips and takeaways from the Rome City Schools program to apply when recognizing your district’s standout communicators:

Create Categories to Recognize Specific Areas of School-Home Communication

Schools communicate with caregivers in a variety of ways. From phone calls, to emails, to text messages, adding variety and flexibility to the options for school-home communication methods help schools reach and engage more families. When creating a recognition program, it’s important to include specific categories to highlight the different types of school-home communication that are making a difference in your district.

Consider these categories from Rome City Schools for your program:

• Champion Callers
• Terrific Texters
• All Stars

Ms. Ashley Chastain, Kindergarten Teacher at West Central Elementary, was recognized as a Terrific Texter.

Don’t Forget Non-Instructional Staff

When creating your program, remember that non-instructional staff––such as counselors and attendance clerks––are also helping to engage students’ caregivers through school-home communications. These staff members play a vital role in creating communities where student success and well-being are supported. In Rome City Schools, both teachers and school staff use SchoolStatus. And, both teachers and non-instructional staff are eligible to be recognized for excellence in school-home communication.

Mrs. Melissa Holland, Counselor at Rome High School, was recognized as a Champion Caller.

Interested in using school-home communication to help improve attendance and student performance? Download our eBook for tips on engaging all families. 

Use a Newsletter to Highlight the Star Communicators

One great idea for recognizing your star communicators is highlighting them in a digital newsletter. A quick newsletter roundup of the top communicators from your school or district can easily be created using SchoolStatus. Consider adding photos of the winners with a few details about their specific efforts to reach families.

Need an example? Check out the Staff Spotlight News from Rome City Schools! 

Recognizing and rewarding the teachers and staff who make school-home communications successful is an important part of publicly valuing the hard work they do to support students. It is also an opportunity to share best practices and help educators within your school community learn from each other. 

On behalf of SchoolStatus, thank you to all of the people who are working every day to make school-home engagement meaningful. We love celebrating and supporting you!