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District highlights ParentSquare use and new websites but board urges better calendar and in-person outreach
Summary
District officials reported strong ParentSquare adoption and a new set of school websites, but board members raised concerns that calendars and event posting are uneven and urged more direct, in-person outreach to improve parent engagement and survey response rates.
District staff presented a family engagement update showing expanded digital reach while board members pressed for stronger on-the-ground outreach.
Family engagement staff reported reaching about 21,166 parents through ParentSquare compared with a cited enrollment of roughly 19,100 students, with a 96% contactability rate and about 98% of parents opting in for text messages. The district said about half of parents have downloaded the ParentSquare app, and staff tallied about 46,000 direct messages, 10,000 message threads and roughly 3,400 parents actively sending direct messages. The district also launched redesigned websites for 33 schools and the district, which staff said have generated about 450,000 page hits since rollout.
Board members cautioned that some school calendars lack events (citing Kamiakin and Kennewick High as examples) and told staff the calendars must be reliable if the district directs parents there for information. Dr. Miller and other trustees emphasized that face-to-face events — concerts, recitals and other in-person moments — are valuable opportunities to give parents the chance to engage and complete surveys.
Staff described Action Teams for Partnerships (ATPs) that help schools share best practices on family engagement and said the ATP focus this year includes language access, parent volunteer practices and transition support. Staff acknowledged the family engagement survey had "a little over 1,500" responses this year and said they will explore timing and on-site survey opportunities to boost participation.
Board members asked staff to follow up on specific uses of calendars and to consider timing and opportunities to collect survey responses when parents are already in school buildings. Staff accepted the feedback and said they will continue to share best practices among schools and work to improve calendar content and usage.
Ending: Staff will return with follow-up plans to bolster calendar usage and survey participation; no formal action was taken.
