From Attendance to Opportunity: How ECISD Is Strengthening Family Engagement—and Investing in the Future of Its Community
When Shane McKay talks about attendance, he doesn’t start with funding. He starts with students. “As humans we are designed to be social creatures,” says McKay, Assistant Superintendent for East […]
Straight From the Experts: The Latest Thinking on What Actually Moves Attendance
Author: Mallary Swartz, PhD Last month, I joined nearly 60 researchers, state and district leaders, and intermediary organizations in New York for a two-day convening focused on turning attendance research […]
The Belonging Window You Can’t Afford to Miss: 5 Ways to Build Strong Attendance Early This Year
September is Attendance Awareness Month — one of our favorite times of year at TalkingPoints, because it puts a spotlight on something we believe in every day: families are the […]
Relationships First: The Small Moments That Change Everything
Written by Amanda Ensor Time to read: 5 minutes Summary: Why a one-minute text on a child’s first day of school can build more trust than any formal communication plan […]
Building the District You Want: Six Pillars of Communication, from Aurora Public Schools
Written by Amanda Ensor 🕐 5 minute read Summary Six pillars that decide whether communication feels human, or just like noise Breaking the defensive communications cycle that keeps comms teams […]
Let the Good News Roll: Highlights from NSPRA 2026
Written by Amanda Ensor There’s a particular kind of electricity that runs through a room when strangers become, briefly and completely, one crowd. That’s exactly what greeted attendees before this year’s […]