Quick Hits to Boost Virtual Engagement during COVID Uncertainties

You don't need to recreate the wheel--Flyer Connect has captured proven, and innovative ways that schools across the country are meeting their communities' needs amidst the pandemic. See how six schools are changing the game.

Boost family survey results to know who's showing up and who's staying remote
During the pandemic, too many districts struggle to reach silent families. Receiving survey responses is difficult to understand their plan to return to in-person learning, access to internet, food assistance or healthcare. Relying on email surveys generate low results but, meeting families where they are is the logical step. Camelback Academy in Phoenix, AZ faced a similar issue; reaching families in the language via their app, text, and email resulted in nearly 100% response rate in just a couple weeks.

Here's some tips:

Don't make every question required, especially if it's not essential.
Keep it short; ask for no more that eight easy to answer questions per survey.
Test it out. Take the survey yourself and time your response time. Take it on multiple devices, especially your smartphone.
Translate all questions and response options in the survey to meet your families' language needs.

Keep up a personal connection with your families

I'm a hugger and even if you're not, we're all missing the personal touch in 2020. Districts and schools are using video in innovative ways to keep their personal connections going. Counselors are sharing stress management tips, principals are sharing weekly video newsletters, and district leaders are hosting virtual coffee talks.

Here's some recommendations for Flyer Connect partner schools:

Adams 14 share's their videos as links to youtube in app and email announcements.
KIPP Paseo shares frequent video shorts as tappable banners from the school's homepage.
Pasting a transcript of your video in the body of your flyer message with your video will translate the video message, give the user the ability to hear the message in their language, and still receive that personal message we're all in need of!

Daily health screeners before they walk through the doors
I don't even need to name the ways that these past several months has been a logistical challenge. As students come back for in-person instruction, getting a quick health screener shouldn't be on the list of hurdles. For students back in class at GALS Denver and Willow Elementary, families access a daily health screener with one tap.

Here's some tips:

GALS Denver makes it easily accessible through a tappable banner.
Willow Elementary links to the screener from the resource tab.
Families can take the survey at home, or when students arrive at the door.
In the survey, ask for student IDs as a way to quickly identify who is completing the form, without leaving room for error on only typing a first name.

Simplify schedule changes with live updates
It's hard to plan ahead. One week, you're preparing for in-person learning, and the next week you're learning that COVID cases are rising. 2020 is the year of consistently reassessing the game plan. Help families keep up with changing schedules by updating a synced calendar to the app.

Here's some tips:

During hybrid learning, New Legacy Charter School makes it easy for families to know when their students are learning in person, with class schedule updates in their calendars.
Update calendars four weeks at a time, to ensure that the most up-to-date schedule is posted. This avoids confusion and prevents families from seeing outdated scheduling on the app.
Teachers can sync their own classroom calendars, so that families only see information that is pertinent to them.