Team up to Support Student Success
Arkansas families want to be partners in their children's learning.
By building trust and sharing a clear picture of student progress, teachers can help families support learning from the first day of school. Use these steps and resources to support your family outreach.
TOOLS AND RESOURCES
CONNECT with families early
Reach out within the first 2 weeks of school with a welcome call or brief in-person conversation. Getting to know families helps you better understand each student’s strengths, passions, and goals—and builds trust for meaningful partnerships that support learning throughout the year.
- Use these helpful conversation starters to get to know your families.
COMMUNICATE grade-level progress
Use the Beginning-of-Year ATLAS Screener to help families see how their child is starting the year. Sharing this data alongside classroom grades and other data provides a clearer picture of how a student is progressing against grade-level expectations, and helps parents know where more support may be needed.
Third-grade families will receive a beginning-of-year promotion letter based on ATLAS scores — reach out to them to see if they have questions or concerns. For students with an Individual Reading Plan, explain what the data means, how the school is helping them meet goals, and what families can do at home.
- Check out the ATLAS Educator Toolkit to support your family outreach.
- See the Third-Grade Promotion Toolkit for more information and resources.
- To help navigate candid conversations about grade-level progress, check out this Teacher FAQ.
CREATE a plan with families
Go over what your students are learning, share RISE grade-level reading guides, connect them to at-home reading and math resources, and make a plan together to support each child at school and at home. Encourage families to read with their child daily, and set a time to check back in on progress.
- Share R.I.S.E. Arkansas Family Resources for free K–8 tools families can use at home.
- Check out this Parent-Teacher Planning Tool for a template to guide conversations with families about different forms of student data.
Did you Know?
84% of Arkansas parents think their child reads at or above grade level.* Less than 40% actually do.**
Partner Resources
Check out this helpful tool to share with families
Planning home visits or early fall check-ins? Use these practical conversation starters to build trust, spark positive collaboration, and open the door for meaningful, two-way communication with families right from the start of the school year.
Missing just a few days of school a month can quickly set a student behind in reading. Use these evidence-based resources and strategies to engage families early, address attendance barriers collaboratively, and build strong daily attendance habits right from the start of the year.
Where can I find free educational programs in my county? How can my local library help my students stay on track? Use this map to find public libraries near you and connect with free educational programs, events, and resources for kids of all ages.