5. Get Feedback from Parents
Text messages allow for quick and easy two-way communication. Each message I sent home to parents requested a response. On average, parents in this study responded 33 percent of the time. Response rates were slightly higher (38%) when parents were provided with multiple choice response options, compared with open-ended responses (28%). Despite the fact that parents did not always respond, on a survey they indicated that they preferred messages that requested responses as opposed to one-way messages, where no response was requested. This feedback loop allows teachers to gain a better understanding of which families they are reaching, while also providing teachers with possible insight into how their students are experiencing school.
