October 2024

October kicks off the busiest time of the year! With the holidays, exam schedules, and events happening all over your district, it can be a challenge keeping families informed. Fortunately, as a SchoolStatus Connect user, you have all communication tools you need make sure families stay up-to-date and ready to engage! Here are some easy ways to get started:

🥳 Smore Newsletters are a powerful tool: Are holiday parties or field trips in your students' future? Send a Smore newsletter with important dates to remember.

🙋🏻‍♀️ Send a Volunteer Form: Need volunteers and chaperones? Don't put a note in backpacks. Teachers, ask for volunteers in Connect and let families know you could use a little extra help.

🤓 Read this SchoolStatus Blog Post: Once the holidays are here, it's important to still keep in touch! Get ready now by reading our latest blog post on holiday communication.

💻 Webinar Wednesdays are Here

Get excited for the newest addition to the SchoolStatus Connect Learning Lab! We’re launching Webinar Wednesdays, where all users can dive deeper into their SchoolStatus Connect account with our Customer Success Team through engaging 15-minute webinars. Register for a live session in our Learning Lab or catch the recordings after they have aired!

🤩 Here's what's coming up!

October 30th @ 12pm CST: Scheduling Parent/Teacher Conferences in SchoolStatus Connect

November 6th @ 12pm CST: Personalized Message Tips using Conversations and Announcements

November 13th @ 12pm CST: How to Create and Manage Events/Volunteer Requests

November 20th @ 12pm CST: SchoolStatus Connect Quarterly Product Showcase (Special Edition)

December 4th @ 12pm CST: Smore and SchoolStatus Connect

📈 We've Updated Your View Stats

You can now see who has and has not received or opened your Announcements and Newsletters in real time.

🧐 ICYMI: Here’s More Updates

• Students can now view Connect Announcements when logged in to their student app.

• Students may be able to receive text notifications as an alternative to email or push notifications.

• Unified Feed allows you to have a ‘unified view’ where announcements, events, etc. are all in one place! And now you can filter for your Announcements by District, School, or Classroom. Soon, guardians will also be able to filter by student!

Want to help shape the future of SchoolStatus? We want to hear from you! We’re excited to invite you to participate in a series of feedback sessions on several topics that will help us refine our offerings and make them even more useful for you. Your voice matters to us, and these sessions are designed to ensure our future updates are aligned with what you need most. If you sign up, you will be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card! 🤑

✅ Student Success
We’re looking to engage with educators in various roles to learn more about how you define and measure student success. Share your approach and help us understand how SchoolStatus can better support student outcomes. Get a sneak peek into a few new ideas we are considering, and let us know what you think. Sign up here!

In 2015, a school leader recognized that Gen Z students were increasingly questioning the value of college, prompting a redesign of the high school model to focus on personalized learning. Today, chronic absenteeism has reached alarming levels, signaling a widespread disengagement from the traditional high school experience.

Check out SchoolStatus Director of Education and Engagement, Kara Stern's, latest contributions to eSchoolNews for more information and thought provoking strategies on how to address this chronic absenteeism.

As the holiday season approaches, many districts experience a drop in student attendance, impacting learning outcomes and engagement. Watch this on-demand webinar where our expert speakers share how to combat this seasonal decline with proven strategies that keep students connected right up to (and after!) the holiday break.

🤝Sign Up: 8 Strategies for Building Stronger School-Family Partnerships

Sign up for this webinar to learn more about strategies to elevate your district's family engagement on the November 13 webinar. We’ll explore key findings from our 2024 K-12 Communications Survey, learn about gaps between school practices and family needs, and gain practical strategies from Dr. Jennifer de Forest, Ed.D.

📅 SchoolStatus Blog: When Establishing Routines, Use Consistent Communications

Establishing consistent routines is essential for student success. Just because it's October, doesn't mean that it's too late to introduce positive changes and establish a more consistent method of communication with families to help create a supportive environment. Check out our latest SchoolStatus blog post to see why making a communication routine could be a game changer for students and their families!

🧠 Class Dismissed: Strengthening Minds: A New Approach to Teaching Critical Thinking

Teaching critical thinking to today’s students can be challenging, especially with answers just a quick Google search, a YouTube video, or a voice assistant away. However, there are questions the internet simply can’t answer, making it vital to prepare students to think independently. Tune in to episode 279 of Class Dismissed for valuable tips on fostering independent thought in your students!

• SchoolStatus Attend - Automated Attendance Intervention Letters

• SchoolStatus Boost - Educator Observation & Coaching
  
• SchoolStatus Connect - School-Home Communications + Smore Newsletters
• SchoolStatus High Impact Data - Centralized Student Data Dashboards