This Mom Knows What Good Communication Looks Like, and Brings that Knowledge As a Family Services Specialist

From Parent to Program Specialist in Family Services

This summer, Claudia Guzman started her role as Program Specialist in Family Services at Clayton Early Learning Center, an early childhood education program that prepares children for Kindergarten. She previously worked in real estate. However, family communication is not new for her. She brings her experience as a mother of two when coming up with creative ideas on engaging the Clayton community.

"My two kids in 2nd and 7th grade go to Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy," Claudia said. "I loved the newsletters they sent through ReachWell, so I thought, I should do that too!'"

Claudia noticed how easy it was to keep up with all the events and activities at her child's school because of the regular newsletters and calendar updates.

Results

After working with staff to increase app adoption, her hard work is paying off. "I now get a lot of compliments from families who tell me that they always know about school events," Claudia said. "For example, we have one tomorrow for culture night, and they like getting the reminders through the app."

A recent family survey also reflects the positive feedback Claudia has heard in one-to-one conversations. Families said they love the app and get the right amount of communication from Claudia.

One parent shared in the survey "I also have the ReachWell app in the schools of my other children, and since I usually do not check my email every day, with the app I can easily and quickly find out the news and events of the school." (Original quote: "Lo tengo también en las escuelas de mis otros hijos por lo regular no reviso mi email todos los días entonces con el flayer me llega como mensaje de texto y puedo enterarme a tiempo de las noticias de la escuela u también de eventos que tiene la escuela.")

Another parent said that "the app is super easy, and you get a lot of important information about the school" (Original quote: "L aplicación es súper fácil, y obtienes mucha información importante de la escuela")

Looking Ahead

From all the positive feedback, Claudia is looking ahead on how to make family engagement even stronger.

"Families told me in the survey that they want to hear more about what's going on in the classroom," Claudia said. "I love that idea, and I think it would be cool to start posting A Day in the Life, with pictures of different classrooms, and what they're up to that day."

Clayton also holds a weekly market, where families get their own tote bag to go shopping for fruits, vegetables, hygiene products, and household products. Claudia will also start to send reminders to families through the ReachWell app.

She won't stop getting inspiration from her children's school either. She noticed that Kunsmiller provides a form for families to submit an absence notice. Claudia says she wants to start taking advantage of more ReachWell app features like that.