PART 2: Meaningful Connections—How Staff Leverage TalkingPoints

Written by Alanna Dushok

School-Based Technology Specialist at Fairfax County Public Schools

The universal platform for connection

TalkingPoints is a research-based, unique solution combining three components of universal family engagement: embedded best practices, scaled family engagement, and data-informed guidance. The platform is universally designed, enabling relationship-building with all families. Crucially, TalkingPoints features industry-leading K-12 translation, removing the need for interpreters or parent liaisons in daily communication. A third-party validated quasi-experimental study found that the platform improved student academics and attendance overall, yielding “outsized results for underserved students”.

See TalkingPoints in action—watch a 90-second explainer video.

For teachers and administrators, the platform is simple, quick, and easy to use. Kindergarten teacher Lauren Gaither, who initially felt hesitant because Westlawn had never used a communication app, now states she “could never live without it.” Gaither previously relied on copying and pasting messages into Google Translate for non-English speaking families, or having the parent liaison make phone calls. Now, the automatic translation feature is her favorite, allowing her to build a stronger school-home partnership because communication is easier and doesn’t rely on email, which not everyone uses.

Kindergarten teacher Lauren Gaither, who initially felt hesitant because Westlawn had never used a communication app, now states she “could never live without it.”

School service providers, such as Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) Helen Larkin, have found TalkingPoints to be “remarkable” and essential for workflow. The SLP uses the tool to schedule IEP meetings and follow up after screening students for services. Before implementation, language barriers and time constraints prevented Larkin from proactively introducing herself to new families. Now, she uses the translation feature to communicate directly with families who do not speak English, reducing the time spent coordinating interpreters or phone calls, and allowing her to spend more time providing services to students. New families often express pleasure and curiosity, asking how they can help their child’s development at home, fostering a true partnership.

Even specialists at Westlawn have found TalkingPoints to be a game-changer in terms of the connections it allows them to make that were simply not an option previously. Librarian Trisha Heyer has completely transformed the notifications that she sends to students with overdue materials, moving from a printed sheet of paper sent home in the weekly news folder to a message sent via TalkingPoints. Heyer has noticed that families are very responsive to the notifications, and overdue materials are being returned at a higher rate than with paper notices. Her ability to quickly send a message on TalkingPoints is also less resource-heavy than creating, printing, and filing the paper reports in homeroom teachers’ mailboxes, and Heyer credits the speed and ease of sharing information on TalkingPoints with the increase in returned overdue items.

Let’s build something great together—start your journey with TalkingPoints.

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.