A teacher recently reported that a parent they called broke down in tears saying, “This is the first time the school has called with good news.” The impact of a positive phone call can be incredibly powerful, especially for families who are not used to hearing good news.
In Fairbanks, the school district took this strategy a step further by adopting a district-wide effort to contact their families at least once per quarter with positive messages. The Student Services Department launched the program before school started by contacting 1,000 families whose students struggled with attendance in the previous year to ask if the family needed any supplies or support. This was an all-hands-on-deck effort that included:
- Training and coaching for staff on how to keep it customer service-oriented and positive
- Scripts, tracking spreadsheets, and other tools
- Community partnership in the form of donated supplies
Families reported feeling seen and supported. Some appreciated being able to pick up supplies outside of a big, busy event, while others felt more comfortable reaching out to the school district when they had concerns. By winter, the percentage of students who were not chronically absent rose from 56% to 70%.
Fairbanks School District’s Brianna Gray and Lindsy Weaver shared the tools they used and described what they did (and what they learned) in this 22-minute video.