How to Communicate Your District Parent University Program

The research on family engagement and student achievement consistently shows that what families do at home to support learning matters significantly. But many families, particularly those who are newer to a school system, who did not have successful school experiences themselves, or who come from different educational contexts, need support building those home practices.

Parent university programs exist to close that gap. They are one of the more effective ways districts can build the family capacity that research says matters. Communicating them well is what makes the difference between well-attended sessions that change how families support their children and under-attended sessions that quietly disappear after a semester.

Communicate the value before the logistics

The standard parent university communication leads with date, time, and topic. That is useful information, but it is not the primary reason families attend. Families attend when they believe a session will help them do something specific and important for their child.

Lead with the outcome. "Learn exactly what phonics skills your first grader needs to build by spring, and three activities you can do at home in ten minutes a day" is more compelling than "First Grade Literacy Night, Thursday at 6 PM." The former tells parents what they will leave with. The latter tells them when to show up.

Address the barriers families anticipate

Working parents, parents with young children at home, and parents who do not feel comfortable in school settings all have specific barriers to attending evening events. Acknowledge and address these barriers directly in your communication.

"Childcare is available at no cost for children ages two through twelve. Sessions are offered in English and Spanish. A recording will be available for families who cannot attend." Three sentences that remove three common barriers. Families who read those sentences and were planning to skip because of childcare or language reasons will reconsider.

Series communication builds consistent attendance

If your parent university runs as a series of sessions across the year, communicate the full series at the start of the year so families can plan ahead, then promote each individual session as it approaches. Families who can see the full calendar in September are more likely to build attendance into their schedule than families who learn about each session one or two weeks before it happens.

A brief series overview, with session dates, topics, and a note about which sessions are most relevant for which grade levels, gives families enough information to identify the sessions that matter most to them and commit to attending those.

Feature testimonials and outcomes from past sessions

A parent who attended a previous session and can describe specifically what she learned and how she used it at home with her child is more persuasive than any district-written description of the program. If you can collect brief quotes or short video testimonials from parents who attended previous sessions, include them in your communications.

Families are more influenced by other families' experiences than by institutional promotion. A brief quote from a parent who says "I attended the homework strategies session and it completely changed how I help my son with math" is worth more than a district paragraph about the program's goals and objectives.

Share what families learned through post-session communications

After each session, send a brief recap to all families, including those who could not attend. Include the key takeaways, any resources or handouts from the session, and information about the recording if one is available. This extends the reach of each session beyond the families in the room and demonstrates to families who missed it that the content was valuable enough to share.

Post-session communications also serve as promotion for future sessions. Families who missed a session and received a recap that looked useful are more likely to attend the next one.