Possip uses pulse check surveys and experienced educators to help schools make parents one of their greatest assets. We give parents weekly pulse checks that translate into weekly actionable reports for schools.
Savannah, a current Possip reporter and former educator, discusses three ways to find funding for your school or district so that you can use a program like Possip!
As a former teacher, the word “funding” is one that still incites emotions that aren’t exactly positive. As a teacher, it often felt like there was never enough money to cover curriculum or classroom expenses, student sports fees, technology needs, etc. Or, when teachers do have a need, or an idea, the process of applying for funding can feel incredibly overwhelming and exhausting. While this isn’t necessarily true of all schools, it’s rare that a school, or district, has a surplus of disposable funds. So, what do you do when you want to find funding for a program like Possip!? Here are a few ideas and resources to start with:
ESSER Funding
If your school received ESSER funding as a result of the pandemic, it’s possible you can use them to fund Possip, or other similar programs.. Generally, ESSER funding is used to maintain day to day school operations during COVID. Possip is a helpful communication tool that supports school communities and families, especially when in-person contact is limited. You can visit your state’s government website for more information regarding the stipulations of these funds.
Title 3 Dollars
While using Title 3 money is possible, it’s rare, and dependent on your school community demographics. Title 3 is differentiated support for EL families. Possip provides translation in many languages, so this definitely qualifies! The stipulation here is that the services have to be above and beyond what English speaking students/families receive. So, the school would need to use Possip only for non-English speaking families and students. Depending on your school’s needs, this could work, but the perimeters are more specific. Click here to learn more about Title 3!
Allocated Budget
Does your school have an allocated budget for family engagement, school climate, or staff support? If so, Possip fits all of these categories! Possip offers family and staff pulse checks to improve the overall school climate and culture. There are a variety of plans available depending on your school’s specific needs. We believe in our mission at Possip, and we want to make this resource work for you!
Finding funding is a common battle for most schools. Whether it be for classroom supplies, a field trip, or building a library, figuring out how to use specific resources can be a process, depending on the system. Spending time reading the stipulations and guidelines for your available funding is helpful so you can strategically plan the best way to use it. If you need further support we’re happy to help. We know finding funding can be hard, especially right now. We also know clear communication, powerful praise, and formative feedback can build a school’s culture.
Amanda Richards, Possip’s Reporting Team Lead, analyzed data from our Pulse Checks to provide you with the top 10 family trends from the beginning of this spring semester!
Happy new year from Possip! With a new year, comes both new and repeated points of praise and feedback from families regarding the current state of their child’s education. Our trends blog this week will cover the top ten biggest trends we’ve heard from families as they are returning back from winter break. The goal of our trends blog is to shine a light on important topics and areas of concern that families consistently share, with the hope that it will inform school leaders’ actions and help families understand they are not alone.
During the week of January 10th, Possip has heard from over 11,500 unique family members through Possip Pulse Checks! As an average for the year, 74% of families stated they were happy with their school.
What is top of mind for families right now?
1⃣ COVID Safety Measures
2⃣ Virtual Learning
3⃣ Curriculum Feedback
4⃣ Academic Support
5⃣ Communications Around COVID Practices
6⃣ Teacher Communication
7⃣ School Schedule
8⃣ Technology Needs
9⃣ Transportation and Carline Logistics
IEPs or 504 Plans
TOP 10 FAMILY TRENDS BREAKDOWN:
COVID Safety Measures.
The largest feedback trend was around COVID safety measures on school campuses. Family members shared feedback, opinions, and questions about COVID safety procedures that are or are not happening. Between decisions to transition to remote school districtwide, frustrations about mask policies, and questions about quarantine learning, COVID was the most significant trending topic. Overall, though, there is a wide variety of opinions, feelings, and desires in terms of COVID safety measures from families.
Virtual Learning.
Families shared feedback about virtual learning. Moreover, both a desire for a virtual learning option and frustration over schools moving to virtual learning. Some families were extremely thankful for going virtual and having an option to continue school through that method. Other families were frustrated that the move to virtual learning in their district is greatly impacting their own ability to go to work, their student’s ability to learn and socialize, and their student’s mental health. This was the second-largest trend and may continue as more schools and districts are debating this choice now.
Curriculum Feedback.
Curriculum feedback was the third most talked about topic in Possip this past week. Families mentioned that not enough learning is happening in class and shared specific feedback about certain classes or subject topics. Families also discussed the desire to have less screen time during class. Instead, they want more engaging lessons, and more support for advanced learners through more rigorous curricular options.
Academic Support.
Families are also requesting academic support for students during this time. Consequently, families want increased tutoring options, extra support when coming back from quarantine learning, accommodations for students who are struggling with content, and more one-on-one time with teachers.
Communication Around COVID Practices.
Families want more transparency on the decision-making process for classroom closures, quarantine decisions, and the decision to move to virtual learning. Families also wanted more communication and clarity around quarantine procedures. For example, contact tracing procedures, COVID positive case reporting numbers, and information on testing without parental consent. Overall, families want more information from schools around proactive decision-making processes and clarity around the safety of their students on campus.
Teacher Communication.
In addition to COVID communication, families also talked about wanting increased teacher communication this past week. Specifically, families discussed slow or no response from teachers, requests for more information on student progress, and more information on what is happening in classrooms.
School Schedule.
Questions around the school schedule and when students would return from school after temporary virtual learning was the next trend in feedback. Families are asking for more advance notice if anything in the school schedule changes. Also, they are sharing feedback on holiday breaks, length of class periods, and school start times.
Technology Needs.
With many schools going remote temporarily, technology needs were a trend in this week’s Possip Pulse Checks. Families need laptops, wifi, help with google links, support logging into apps and zoom rooms, and requests for more tech support from a teacher or school staff member.
Transportation Needs and Carline Logistics.
Families of students who ride the bus shared that the busses are either always late or don’t arrive at all. For families who do carline drop off, they are sharing feedback that the carline process is very time-consuming, unsafe, and disorganized.
IEPs or 504 Plans.
In the number ten spot, families that have students with IEPs or 504 plans are requesting increased support. Families are sharing feedback about staff shortages in the special education department at their school, virtual learning not being an effective learning method for students and a general lack of meeting students’ IEP or 504 plan this year.
Bonus trends can be found here:
We heard a lot of feedback, ideas, and comments aboutextracurricular activities. This ended up as #11 on our trends list. Families want more opportunities for their child to build community with others, learn social skills, offer in-person events for the school community, and share more information on clubs and extracurricular opportunities that the school currently offers.
Bullyingwas the #12 trending topic on our list. Families are concerned that their children are being bullied and want action to be taken to resolve bullying concerns. Possip has a few helpfulresourceson this topic if you are looking for resources and recommendations on bullying prevention.
If you have questions about these trends, how to resolve them in your school or have feedback on our trends blog, please reach out toamanda@possip.com!
What do you do when parent sentiment changes and you’re not sure why?Étoile Academy Charter School Superintendent and Lead Founder, Kayleigh Colombero, looked to Possip, which helped her identify a root cause.
We spoke with Colombero about how she manages Possip, and uses it to inform her decision making at school and strengthen Étoile’s parent partnerships.
Étoile, which means “star” in French, prides itself on creating a school community where students reach for ambitious goals and parents feel welcomed and connected.
It started with a tight-knit group of 75 students and families, and has seen substantial growth over the past few years. Although it’s growing, Colombero wants the school to maintain its strong connection to all parents, so when presented with an opportunity to partner with Possip, thanks to the Charter School Growth Fund, she took it.
Read our full interview below!
You’re a newer Possip partner. Can you tell us some about why you wanted to use Possip in partnership with the Charter School Growth Fund?
Hearing about Possip, I felt like this would be a great opportunity for us to get regular touch points from parents, and then use that to have follow-up conversations with parents that we really needed to reach out to.
We are super excited to be in theCharter School Growth Fund portfolio. It was a pretty rigorous application process and our staff was thrilled to be invited into the portfolio because it comes not only with supportive funding but, even more importantly, a lot of great opportunities like Possip. Being in the portfolio can help us think about what systems and software we can put in place before we start our major growth trajectory over the next five years. It’ll help make sure that we’re set up for success.
What was your first impression of reports?
Truly, I wish every email that came to me would be as organized as the feedback I get from Possip.
I love that at the top there’s a visual that says how many families said yes, they’re super happy, how many said mostly, and how many said no. Then it really shows what the hot priorities are– feedback you need to respond to right away. As you scroll down, you can see all feedback if you want. We have a very high population of Spanish speakers so I love that it has their original Spanish feedback and a translation.I love that as I scroll I can get a sense of exactly what parents are saying and follow up right away.
I felt like you had school leaders in mind when you designed it– school leaders don’t have time to read every single thing on the page, you made the report very clear so we can know what the big things to prioritize are.
All photos shared with permission from
Étoile Academy Charter School.
What kind of system does your team use to follow up?
All of our leaders have a log in to Possip, but we tend to have people own certain projects. I own Possip since it’s something we are piloting and something I am considering making a part of every campus we open.
As soon as I get the email that we have a new report, I open it up. Even though our leaders have access to the report, I screenshot who the parent is, their email and phone number–I love that their contact is included right under their name. I email their commentto the appropriate leaders and specifically let them know next steps. I find that to be really helpful because leaders have so many platforms to log in to. It’s really helpful for me to screenshot the one thing I need that leader to pay attention to and let them know by EOD I’d like to hear a report on the conversation.
Can you provide an example of closing the feedback loop?
One of the, probably, best examples: we did not have after-school programming during COVID for obvious reasons. But when we opened this year, we felt like we could return to after-school programming. It’s an important part of what we offer for parents and students. For example, we have tutoring after school and extracurricular clubs.
So, when we launched it in the fall, because we hadn’t done after-school programming in a while, a lot of parents had questions about it. We have a director of after-school, so I was able to send our director parent questions about it from Possip.
And, transparently, it gave my upper level leadership and I a chance to reflect– how well did we message about after-school? Did we message well enough if we got a bunch of questions about it? How could it have been messaged more successfully so we wouldn’t have so many parents confused about it after the fact?
So two main takeaways– one, parents have loved that we reach out to them right away and answer their questions or address their concerns. We get a lot of parents who say, “I can’t believe you called me right away, I just did that survey on Friday.”
But then two, it really helps us as an organization think about how we could have better messaged something from the start to prevent the parent confusion in the first place.
The last time we talked, you mentioned that you connected a lower sentiment at one point to report card release. This helped inform your decision making at school afterwards. Can you speak more generally on how gaining parent feedback through Possip has informed your decision making at school?
So we are typically in the 90s or higher for “yes” replies to the Pulse Check (parents saying yes, they’re happy with the school). One week, we didn’t have that many “no” replies, but we did have a lot of mostlys, and when we looked at the feedback, there were parents expressing concern that their student wasn’t academically successful.
Taking those comments in, we did two things: one is that we always host parent-teacher conferences after report cards, so we messaged teachers: “hey, this is a lot of students’ first report cards from us.” A lot of parents are used to schools that give As and Bs without real context, so we made sure to include in our parent-teacher conferences a copy of our most recent NWEA Map Scores, so teachers could talk through those with parents and show them how the grades actually match those test scores.
Additionally, while we know kids can make progress and will make progress, we wanted to be honest with parents about where they were starting off the year, especially coming back from COVID.
The second big thing we did is host a virtual parent meeting about the different interventions that we offer students– how we are supporting students with literacy, how we are supporting them with math, and how parents can support them at home as well.
This was to help respond to the understandable concerns parents had about their kids starting the year off in a lower place than they were used to seeing.
It gave us a good perspective on how we can help parents understand that, while it is concerning if your student isn’t performing well right now, we have lots of systems in place to make sure by the end of the year they are successful.
Why does parent voice matter to you?
I firmly believe that parent voice, with the possible exception of student voice, is the most important thing that we can get.
One of our main things that we talk about at Étoile is: why did we build the school? What is our legacy? Why do we do this work every day?
The answer is that we really want kids and families to be able to point to Étoile as a pivotal moment in their lives that allowed them to be on a productive, successful, and ambitious pathway trajectory for the rest of their lives. And you can’t do that without family collaboration.
It would never be that meaningful to students or to families if we left the family piece out,especially since we started with 75 students and we got so close to our founding families. We’ve always had it in our hearts to make sure that, as we grow, we manage to maintain that level of connection and that level of two way communication with families.When we know what families are excited about and what families are up against, it makes us a better school, better teachers, and a better organization that can best support, not just students, but families as a whole.
Étoile Academy Charter School Superintendent and Lead Founder, Kayleigh Colombero
Special thanks to
Superintendent and Lead Founder, Kayleigh Colombero, for the interview! Learn more aboutÉtoile Academy Charter School here.
Read more Possip Partner Spotlights to learn how parent and staff voices help inform decision making at school for additional school and district partners.
For current partners: The Bonus Question is a great way to get insight to inform decision making at school. Do you have a story about how Possip has impacted your decision making at school? Email us!
Another power-packed 30-minutes in a series of talks that helps partners maximize use of Possip! Possip’s Data Dashboard and Report insights give you quick access to qualitative and quantitative data for your school or district. Learn more about accessing this data, and using it to tell an impact story!
During troubling times, schools need a Principal who supports students coming of age during the pandemic. Micah Klaver is the 7th Grade Assistant Principal at McAuliffe International School in Denver Public Schools. Mr. Klaver, a career educator, is a native of Colorado. He came to McAuliffe in 2013 after time with Americorps, City and Non-Profit Outdoor Recreation Programs and as an Expeditionary Learning Teacher. He is passionate about kids and communities. As well as, facilitating and creating learning experiences that challenge and empower students to dig deeper, teaching students to ask questions and become positive leaders in their communities or being an advocate and encourager.
Mr. Klaver holds degrees from the University of Colorado and the University of Denver. He and his wife Kate, also a school administrator, have three young daughters . They spend as much time as possible backpacking, skiing, hiking, and camping. Mr. Klaver shares his first-hand perspective, being a middle school administrator during the Covid 19 pandemic.
As a father of three and a middle school administrator, my focus over the past two years has largely been on the impact of the global pandemic on our kids. For instance, students around the world, including our own students, have waded through some incredibly challenging circumstances over the past twenty-two months. As parents, teachers, and mentors we have tried to empathize with the struggle of entering adolescence during a global pandemic. I’m afraid as our students/children so often remind us…we just don’t understand. Consequently, I fear that their argument holds more weight than ever.
Middle School is a time of high emotions, anxiety, social drama and risk-taking behaviors. In other words, it is a hormonal hurricane season that lasts the better part of three years. This year, middle school teachers and administrators have seen a significant need for support, structure and compassion. Given that, these needs were borne out of the gaps in opportunities for healthy social and emotional development. For all intents and purposes, our students have missed the integral experiences of a normal adjustment into adolescence. In our community here in Denver:
Sixth-graders missed the support and guidance of a compassionate transition to a more rigorous and complex learning environment.
Our eighth-graders have not been able to mark or celebrate the passage of these awkward yet integral years prior to beginning high school.
Several students have remained online for the entirety of a grade level (in some cases two). They have not been in school or around other students for twenty-two months.
“As students have returned to various forms of in-person learning we are learning more and more about what supports might be necessary to move forward.We are, at this moment, a nation of children who need the time to heal, adjust, and relearn how to function in healthy environments as well as form appropriate relationships.”
As we entered back into the community with one another this year, the stress, anxiety, pressure, and the hurt our students carried started to show in both externalized and internalized behaviors. Student reports of self-harm, online bullying, and harassment had grown exponentially from pre-pandemic learning. Physical fights, inappropriate language, and vandalism (such as theTikTok Lik Challenge) also became prevalent factors in student life. Though overwhelming for educators and parents alike, the thing we all had to remind ourselves was that behavior is communication whether it was our preferred form or not. They were telling us about their frustration, their brokenness, and their grief. I think we all struggled with how to respond.
RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES
Did we need to shift course as a school community? We fought back against what felt like very reactive responses to the situation. We took many masked deep breaths and had to center ourselves as a community. Over the years, we have worked hard to build a culture that can be flexible. We must meet the diverse academic, social, and emotional needs of our kids. With an increasingly diverse community of learners, we have prioritized communicating a very simple message:
“You”……
“belong here!”
“can be successful here!”
“are loved here!”
We know safe and supportive learning communities exist when students are able to get their needs met. This year, that has meant doubling down on our efforts to build relationships while hurdling obstacles like masks and quarantines. Comparatively, it has meant teachers, administrators, and support staff finding every opportunity to be present. For example, be with kids in hallways, at lunches and enrichment activities as much as possible.It has meant communicating frequently, transparently, and authentically with families and other stakeholders.Most importantly, it has meant making the decision to see this pandemic as an obstacle but not an excuse or barrier.
PARENTS AS PARTNERS
Our parent community has played an integral role in the success of our kids as well. We have pushed our families to stay engaged, ask questions, and create space to listen to their students. We want them to know the challenges their students are facing. Also, what areas are seeing of strength and growth. Additionally, we have tried to support families in the process of healing for students as well, reminding parents that their students don’t always want solutions but they do want someone to listen.
While we have done our best to navigate this pandemic for our families we need to remember our kids have experienced this in ways we cannot fully understand. Are we creating safe spaces for them to process? We continue to challenge our families to engage in tough conversations around social media, peer pressure, language, and healthy relationships. There is no “right way” to engage in these challenging conversations. However, understanding our silence communicates a message we may not want to be delivered.
In all learning communities, it has never been more important to reflect and work together.
Ask questions, seek clarification and assume positive intent. There was a time early in the pandemic when our neighborhoods collectively howled in the evenings. This was to show our support for our front-line workers. It felt a little silly at first but the feeling of hope, belonging and togetherness was magical. Finally, I pray this pandemic finds its end. I hope we can continue to find a way to keep howling, especially for our kids. Together there is no problem we can’t solve, hurdles we can’t clear, and challenges we can’t face. Our students need us to lead, love, and learn how to heal with them. I have been inspired often by a quote from Dr. King who understood this all too clearly:
“All this is simply to say that all life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality; tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Student enrollment is top of mind for Possip district and school partners. Savannah, a current Possip reporter and former educator shares tips on how to increase student enrollment for this semester!
The pandemic is having a huge impact on student enrollment. It’s tricky for school and district leaders. Some parents don’t feel comfortable with their children returning to school in person. Other parents are frustrated with unpredictability in school closures.
Some parents chose home schooling, others chose private schools. Meanwhile, there are also entire swaths of families and kids that districts and schools just can’t track down.
This movement is evidently influencing enrollment.
Here are a few enrollment tips from Possip to consider:
1️⃣ Make Your School Accessible:It has been years since many parents and kids have been into a school. In many places schools and districts have had to cancel tours. So parents and kids may not be comfortable or remember the power of school. So make your school accessible!
host playdates at your playground
host outdoor meet ups with teachers and staff
do outdoor performance or parades
have students video a tour inside the school
2️⃣ Tell Your School’s Story:You can powerfully tell your school’s story in an authentic and meaningful way!
Some questions to consider asking:
Who are you as a school?
What does your school value?
How was your school founded?
Who attends your school?
For instance. check out this story of Rockwood Preparatory Academy in Portland, Oregon, and how they share their story with prospective parents using Possip!
3️⃣ Accessible Applications:School applications can be cumbersome and inaccessible for families. Make it easy for them to access, read, and submit! If you have to rely on your district’s application, consider hosting support hours. No matter the parent body, school applications can feel as hard as doing taxes sometimes.
Develop a template that you can use year after year.
Hiring teachers is top of mind for Savannah, a current Possip reporter and former educator. She shares tips on how to make the most of teacher and staff hiring for this semester! Shani Dowell, Possip Founder, joins her. Shani spent over 10 years in teacher and principal recruitment.
Schools and districts need to hire qualified teachers. It feels more urgent than ever. Yet, hiring – and retaining – is hard. Teacher shortages, and their root causes, bring decades worth of reasons. COVID-19 demands exacerbate the need for change and intentional hiring practices.
The last two years have proven difficult for schools across the United States. Teachers have to pivot between in-person and virtual learning. Along with reworking the curriculum, and filling in videos all while guiding students through COVID-safety protocols.
It is no secret. Teachers are burnt out.
With teacher shortages, school administrators struggle to encourage time off without many substitutes available. As a result, many qualified teachers choose to leave the profession. This leads to higher turnover, and an impact on school stability, community, and student learning.
Given these challenges, how can administrators intentionally hire qualified educators with so much already before them?
Here are a few tips from Possip for attracting and screening potential teachers:
Learn what your school or district’s assets are:
Unfortunately, all schools can be painted with one broad stroke. That’s not fair. And we know that school cultures are highly variable. We see this in our pulse checks. Within one district some teachers are gleeful about their workplace and school culture – while others are struggling. Your school has assets. You don’t get to brag about them until you know what they are. So ask your teachers, your families, your students – what do you love about our school? What is special about our school community?
Brag on yourself – repeat it – often:
In the marketing world, they say people need to hear a message 7 times at least before they start considering it. How can you share why someone would want to teach at or work at your school or district – again, and again, and again?
Know where your future teachers study, eat, play:
Once you have a message you want to say again and again, where are you going to deliver it? Find out where your teachers or staff learned about your school or district – and go there again and again with your message. It could be a local university, a favorite professor, a social media platform. You want to get in front of them again and again.
Understand requirements for licensure and new teachers:
When we’re confronting a teacher shortage, we’re going to have to bring new teachers into the profession. Make sure someone in your district or staff are prepared to support aspiring teachers into the profession. This means you know someone who understands options for aspiring teachers based on their education, test passage, and certification options. There are residency options for aspiring teachers, as well as alternative certification programs.
Leverage a sample lesson if possible:
A resume, letters of recommendation, and supplemental materials are standard procedure when hiring educators. However, an in-person sample lesson will help a prospective teacher see themselves in your building, in their classroom, with your school or district’s students. Meanwhile, it will allow you to assess how a teacher interacts with students, their teaching style, and content knowledge. An in-person sample lesson can help determine if the fit is right for both the teacher and the school.
Consider your student demographic:
When teachers reflect the cultural, linguistic, and racial demographic of students, it is more likely that students will feel seen, known, and represented. While this is difficult to achieve, especially during a teacher shortage, it’s nevertheless important. Consider where you are posting and advertising about open positions. Or, if your district partners with a recruiter, grow curious about where they are finding candidates.
Be expansive about your school culture, strengths, and areas of growth:
As a former teacher, during interviews I was often bombarded with statistics regarding how many students were accepted into four-year colleges. While this was an impressive statistic, prospective teachers may have diverse motivations. Some prospective teachers may be motivated by the extracurricular opportunities for students or how they’ll get to work with their colleagues. By being expansive about what you share – both strengths and areas for growth – you can give the prospective teacher a holistic read on your school culture.
Interview multiple candidates:
Interviewing multiple applicants is time-consuming, but will also help you identify who will best fit the role. Also sometimes candidates apply for the role that is open – but in education, we know that what role is open can change quickly. So while you may only have one 6th grade Reading position open, by interviewing 5 people – even when you have a great prospect – you can be prepared should a 7th grade English position open (or a 6th grade Social Studies).
Be a problem solver:
In a time of shortages, you are going to have to get creative at times. Working with hundreds of principals over my careers, I saw some principals give up when a great teacher candidate had some obstacle come up. The difference between those and the great principals is the great principals were relentless. They would call the state certification department, call the candidates, and generally saw problems as obstacles to be navigated. Problems were the starting point, not the end. So be prepared to solve problems to get great teachers.
Keep and care for your current teachers and staff:
We talk about this as a company – it’s much harder to get new customers than do great work with your current ones. Similarly, having to replace and train new teachers and staff is hard. So while you’re bringing on new teammates, remember to care for your current ones. Here are some resources from Possip on caring for and retaining teachers and staff. And guess what! Helping bring on new teachers and staff may be one way current teachers want to engage!
Read our blog. We’ll continue to share tips about recruiting, retaining, and growing your staff, students, and families.
IEPs or 504 Plans
