Written by Heather Dooley
As the calendar turns and the second semester approaches, district and school leaders have a unique opportunity to pause, reflect, and recalibrate.
What’s working well when it comes to engaging families? Where are the gaps—in connection, communication, or outcomes? And what small, strategic shifts could make a big difference?
At a recent edWeb webinar, Kate Pechacek (CEO & Founder of OpenDoorsEd) and Amanda Ensor (Senior Content & Learning Manager at TalkingPoints) shared five practical, research-backed moves to help school and district leaders strengthen family-school partnerships—both around the classroom (culture, systems) and within it (relationships, learning support).
“These aren’t just communication moves—they’re culture moves.”
— Kate Pechacek, CEO & Founder, OpenDoorsEd
Whether your district is focused on attendance, academic growth, mental health, or teacher morale, these five midyear family engagement strategies help district and school leaders step back, review what’s working, and make practical shifts that strengthen family-school partnerships and support student success—without adding more to educators’ plates.
Watch the full family engagement webinar recording now:
5 Midyear Moves for Family Engagement: What to Keep, Shift, or Strengthen
5 midyear moves to strengthen family engagement
1. Check your foundation for family engagement
Before you adjust your strategy, revisit what you set out to build. Re-anchor your efforts in your shared vision for student success and ask: Are our family engagement practices truly aligned to that vision—and visible in daily practice?
“Alignment doesn’t just mean agreeing at the top—it means seeing the same priorities play out at the classroom level.”
— Amanda Ensor, TalkingPoints’ Senior Content & Learning Manager
2. Align culture, strategy, and practice with families in mind
Sustainable engagement happens when everyone—from the central office to the classroom—communicates with families in consistent, inclusive ways. When strategy and systems reflect your values, and everyone has tools that make partnership easier, families are more likely to trust, connect, and collaborate.
3. Use family engagement data to reconnect—and recommit to equity
This is the moment to take a fresh look at data. Who are you reaching—and who is missing? Don’t just count interactions. Look for patterns. Persistent gaps may point not to “hard-to-reach families”—but to system signals.
“What if we stopped calling them ‘hard-to-reach families’—and started seeing them as trail markers showing us where our systems need repair?”
— Amanda Ensor
4. Elevate what’s working in family-school partnerships
Don’t wait for a new initiative to create change. Amplify what’s already working—like more frequent check-ins or increased two-way conversations. Small wins build momentum and shift culture from the ground up.
5. Sustain family engagement with a plan for spring and beyond
Don’t let engagement fade in the spring. Use what you’ve learned so far to build a plan that carries into summer and seeds next year’s strategy. Engagement is a long game, and midyear is the perfect time to re-commit.
Discover how TalkingPoints’ family engagement platform can help you make these five moves:
5 more pro tips from the webinar
In addition to the core strategies, Amanda and Kate shared several insights and reframes that sparked conversation among attendees:
Digital engagement is the work
“This isn’t about adding more to the plate. It’s about building engagement into how we already work—especially through digital channels that families trust.”
— Kate Pechacek
With tools like TalkingPoints, family engagement is embedded into daily workflows—supporting consistency, saving time, and helping staff build confidence and capacity.
Family engagement is a fiscal and moral imperative
“When you invest in the right communication strategies, you’re not just doing what’s right—you’re doing what’s smart.”
— Kate Pechacek
Strong family-school partnerships don’t just feel good—they work. They reduce absenteeism, improve behavior, and boost academic performance, all while saving time and resources.
Ground-up design matters
“TalkingPoints is the only engagement and communication platform that grew from classroom use—not top-down. That matters.”
— Kate Pechacek
Because it started with teachers, TalkingPoints reflects the real rhythms of the classroom. Today, it offers research-based tools for educators, school leaders, and district teams—with features that support positive culture, effective communication, and improved outcomes.
Reframe deficit mindsets
“We’re asking teachers to carry on like it’s business as usual—while chronic absenteeism, mental health struggles, equity gaps, tech challenges, and community distrust swirl around the classroom. What if instead of tackling each issue in isolation, we flipped the script—and launched a positive culture-building initiative that gets at the root of it all?
When we treat families as partners and co-creators, not problems to solve, engagement becomes a force for resilience and improvement, rather than just a checkbox.
Progress over perfection
“Pick one thing and do it well. Family engagement doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.”
— Kate Pechacek
In other words: start somewhere. Sustain what works. Build momentum from there.
What’s Next?
This session was the second in a three-part series. In the fall, we focused on building trust at the start of the school year to support classroom learning and shape district culture. This spring, we’ll return with Part 3: turning this year’s insights into a strategic family engagement plan for next year.
Want to keep learning?
🎥 Share the recording with your team
🤝 Learn how TalkingPoints can support your district
❓ Assess your district’s family engagement readiness with this quick self-assessment
Together, we can make family-school partnership a driver of real, lasting change.
Celebrating 10 years of partnership and impact
For a decade, TalkingPoints has supported students, families, and educators through the power of effective family-school partnerships. As an education technology nonprofit, our award-winning communication and family engagement platform has improved outcomes for districts and students across the country.
We connect 9 million+ educators, students, and family members annually and have facilitated more than one billion conversations—building trust, fostering relationships, and fueling student success. Named by Common Sense Education as “the best overall family communication platform for teachers and schools,” TalkingPoints drives measurable gains in attendance and academic achievement, backed by rigorous, causal research.
Join us in building a future where every child has the support they need to thrive.
