How Districts are Closing the Loop with English Learning Families

Schools across the country want to go beyond broadcast compliance notifications. Here's how they get feedback from all families.

What does it look like when families are highly engaged with their child's education?

Though the question is simple, the answers vary. "It really can be different for one family to another," said Betsy Sostak, Director of Multilingual Services at Aptakisic-Tripp School District in Lake County, Illinois.

Where we've been.
At ReachWell, we hold regular consultation calls with each of our schools. We hear the same sentiment: measuring engagement on in-person meetings is not accurate. The pandemic aside, schools realize families have varying circumstances which make in-person meetings challenging.

Think of who constitutes your school community. Migrant, English learning or homeless families may come to mind. Your team strives to cater to their specific needs, the same way teachers meet each student at their learning level. They know one-size-fits-all engagement metrics like in-person meeting attendance does not take into account other forms of active participation and engagement.

"In the last year, our schools found out that a lot of parents couldn't come in person, and that they needed more flexibility in scheduling. We need to find a way to engage parents who are working when it's the time to come into the school," a district leader in North Dakota told us.

Where we're going.
Betsy Sostak and the Aptakisic-Tripp team sees engagement differently and seeks to answer the question: "How do we make it easy for families to provide feedback?"

With ReachWell, schools across the country are creating a culture for two-way engagement. They are going beyond one-way announcements and instead are creating a feedback loop where families' voices and feedback can be captured by leadership.

How it's gone.
In Illinois at Aptakisic-Tripp, the district is using the ReachWell app with their English Learning families, their district's hardest families to engage due to language barriers. The district sent three ReachWell requests in an email and app message for feedback on district communication. Over 35% of families replied. The request was only directed at their most hard-to-reach families with a typical response rate of 5%; a 600% increase!

Families across Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, and other states have shared feedback in their language about what they liked about the school's communication, and how they wish their schools were communicating.

What they said.

"I like that I get important notifications like no school, early dismissal, short day and any other time-sensitive notifications." -Family in Buffalo Grove, Illinois

"Since I don’t understand English well, this [ReachWell] app helps me." -Family in Buffalo Grove, Illinois

"اعرف منه كل شىء عن المدرسه يبقيني دائما على تواصل مع المدرسه " (I know everything about the school from it, it always keeps me in touch with the school) -Family in Minneapolis, Minnesota

“Es muy bien para la comunicación para lo que tengan q decir los maestros” (The app is really good for communication for what the teachers have to say.)

"It’s easier to figure out what’s going on at the school through this app than any other means of communication.” -Family in Greeley, Colorado

"What I like most about ReachWell is how convenient it is to get communications from both of my children's schools and the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation all in one app." -Family in Denver, Colorado

"Me gusta que aquí recibo todo sobre la escuela ,horarios de salida ,reuniones y más." (I like that here I receive everything about the school, dismissal schedules, events, and more.” -Family in Kansas City, Missouri

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When Residents Don’t Trust You: How to Still Keep Them Safe and Informed

By Zuben Bastani • June 17, 2025

Government distrust is at an all-time high. Many residents are wary of sharing their personal information with public agencies, often due to fears of surveillance, spam, or data misuse. This hesitation is especially acute among low-income and unhoused individuals who frequently change phone numbers due to service lapses, making traditional outreach efforts ineffective. Most public communication systems fall short. They rely on platforms like Mailchimp or Constant Contact, which get lost in crowded inboxes. Social media, while pervasive, is designed to harvest data and push ads—not to protect user privacy. Even emergency alert systems often require residents to sign up and share their location, further eroding trust. Text messaging, often called the holy grail of communication, is no longer a guaranteed solution. People guard their phone numbers carefully, especially when interacting with the government. They fear being spammed or having their data sold. So how can agencies inform and protect the public without breaching their trust? A New Approach to Community Communication Using ReachWell's extensive experience and broad customer base, here are some recommendations to consider when engaging your community in a less intrusive yet more effective manner: Offer Communication Choices : Let residents decide how they want to receive information—whether it's through text, email, voice calls, app notifications, or a combination. This respects personal preferences and helps reduce message fatigue. Respect Anonymity : Not everyone wants to share personal contact details. Provide anonymous access to messages via public channels or apps that don’t require identifying information. Support Multilingual Access : Language should never be a barrier to safety or services. Translate messages into the primary languages spoken in your community, and consider text-to-speech options for low-literacy audiences. Allow Topic Subscription : Let people select specific topics or groups they care about. Targeted messages reduce noise and increase engagement. Minimize Data Collection : Collect only the data you truly need. Avoid tracking location or behavior unless absolutely necessary—and be transparent about what is collected and why. Ensure Accessibility : Meet or exceed accessibility standards (such as WCAG 2.2 AA compliance) so all residents, including those with disabilities, can access and understand public messages. These practices foster trust, improve message delivery, and help ensure no one is left out of important conversations—especially in moments of crisis or community need. Expanded Real-World Examples: Trusted by Diverse Communities El Paso County, CO (Colorado Springs area) uses ReachWell to distribute emergency alerts—including shelter-in-place orders and missing persons reports—in over 130 languages. Residents can receive alerts even without providing contact information. The Town of Carbondale, CO keeps its multilingual and low-literate residents informed of community events, social services, and public works projects using WCAG 2.2 AA-compliant messaging and text-to-speech capabilities—ensuring no one is left behind. Tucson, AZ : Child-Parent Centers, a Head Start provider, uses ReachWell to keep 500+ staff updated on safety alerts, training sessions, and HR notices across 130 languages—building internal trust through inclusive communication. Boulder County Housing Authority ensures ongoing connection with residents—even after their contact information changes—by sending updates about emergencies, upcoming maintenance, and resident services using ReachWell’s multilingual and anonymous outreach tools. Conclusion Building trust with residents starts with giving them control. When governments let people choose how they connect, what they receive, and in what language—trust grows. ReachWell is proving that communities can be kept safe and informed without sacrificing privacy or accessibility. When people don’t trust the system, it’s time to change the system. ReachWell is doing just that. BOOK A DEMO TODAY