Consolidating Student Data and Communication to Reach All Families

It can be difficult to get the full picture of how a student is doing when different programs house their data. But educators and administrators need that background information to have effective family communications. The pandemic made this even more clear—having a centralized location for student information and family conversations is a necessity. That’s why districts turn to SchoolStatus Connect to merge student data and communications. SchoolStatus Connect makes it easy to see students’ full history and engage their families.

Documenting Contact with Families

Western Line School District in Mississippi needed a better way to reach families. “Some Families don’t use Facebook (our other communications broadcast avenue), but Families and most of their children have a phone,” says Lena Tatum, a Federal Programs Specialist for Western Line School District. 

This need was especially clear during remote learning, when communication proved crucial. The district needed a solution to reach all families and track contact, which is what led them to implement SchoolStatus Connect.

“We were using SchoolStatus [Connect] to help us document our contact with Families in this most crucial time,” explains Tatum. SchoolStatus Connect tracks information sent to stakeholders for compliance measures, meets families where they’re at, and allows for teachers and administrators to be sure every family is accounted for. 

All communication made with SchoolStatus Connect—calls, texts, or emails—becomes part of the student record. This single-screen record, called the Student Card, houses all of a given student’s data points, making it easy for teachers and administrators to locate whatever student information they need. “With SchoolStatus [Connect] we are able to document our outreach to and our interaction with Families,” says Tatum.

Communication is Data

What happens to the content of family conversations? This is the difference between a district that has centralized data and one that doesn’t. Having a record of conversations and student work in one place can ensure continuity. No educator has to start a new year or semester from scratch—everything they need to know is at their fingertips.

To make it even easier to get a snapshot of each student’s history, SchoolStatus Connect pulls data points from other sources. West of Mississippi, Texas teacher Beth Sullivan enjoys having one centralized platform for student data. “It’s able to pull from Powerschool, Case21, NWEA, and all these different outlets!” enthuses Sullivan. “I love how with SchoolStatus [Connect] I can hit ‘Student Card’ and I get their name, their birth date, their history, their grades, their Families—and I get everything all in one place.” 

SchoolStatus Connect imports all data automatically, meaning data is also dispersed to your team safely. “Teachers love it because they are not having to go to five different outlets to get all this information,” says Sullivan.

This consolidated profile of student data gives a more complete picture of the student’s situation. After state tests were canceled during the pandemic, Sullivan found this especially important. “Since we won’t have that data, SchoolStatus Connect has been very important to gather up the practice tests and midterm grades and get the whole picture. It includes the previous school year data so we can know the appropriate placements based on the data in front of us,” shares Sullivan.

Moving Forward with Confidence

Schools and districts shouldn’t have to manage disparate data points between many platforms. It increases the chances of missing an important interaction or growth opportunity. Thankfully, teams no longer need to rely on meeting daily to review student data or discuss family conversations. They can now find all the information they need in one place with SchoolStatus Connect. 

“I have found SchoolStatus [Connect] to be not just helpful, but absolutely vital for distance learning,” says Mississippi teacher Anita Graham, who loves having every data point about each student, plus tools to communicate what she’s seeing with Families, on one screen. “I have used other messaging services but I find that the comprehensive nature of SchoolStatus [Connect] puts it head and shoulders above the other services.” Districts with a combined data and communication solution set themselves—and especially their students—up for future success. 

Continue the Conversation

SchoolStatus empowers your district with centralized data and communications to support every student. Contact our team to see how SchoolStatus can help your district achieve its goals. 

Thanks to our contributors!

Lena Tatum, Federal Programs Specialist, Western Line School District
Beth Sullivan, Teacher, Sanger Independent School District
Anita Graham, Teacher, Union Public School District