Are you ready to engage families in your community this year? Connecting families in your school to high-quality learning experiences is a great way to support your school community. Outside of the walls of the classroom, families are ready to jump into opportunities to increase their own expertise in a variety of areas.
As a classroom teacher, I taught in a community where many of my students spoke a language other than English at home. Although many schools offer translation supports for a school newsletter, family conferences or school events, you can reach parents who are interested in learning English in a new way!
Help Families Learn English
The folks at Jump into English reached out to me earlier this year. I’m always interested in learning about new ways to leverage the power of digital tools for learning – both inside and outside of the classroom. Their web-based and mobile app can help adults learn English. It is an excellent choice for schools looking to support the families in their community in new ways.
How does it work?
The Jump Into English app provides an opportunity for families to take part in a parent engagement curriculum. It is designed to build confidence and participation in the school community. Parents will also learn to use technology to access the easy-to-use Jump into English App. The focus of this app is English Language development and can help families in your community build their communication skills.
Families can access the Jump Into English app on Android tablets and through web access. There are three program levels and pre- and post-assessments to measure progress. Program leaders can also access a data summary report, and there is also a parent feedback survey.
The Jump Into English App also goes hand in hand with interactive classroom experience. Families become part of a community of learners as they learn how to transfer this new learning into real-world situations.
Parent Engagement
Parent engagement can take many forms, and often we think simply about the communication tools we use to share information with families. In my book #FormativeTech: Meaningful, Sustainable, and Scalable Formative Assessment with Technology, I discuss the importance of family communication throughout the school year, beyond parent-teacher conferences. Here’s an excerpt:
“It is essential that families understand the important role they play in their child’s education. Teachers can make it easier for families to check in on their child’s progress at school and take action. Just like teachers provide feedback to students that is relevant and actionable, sharing student success or struggles should include a reference to next steps.” (p. 92)
You might already provide language support to families to help them interpret their child’s progress throughout the school year. With Jump Into English, you can certainly empower parents beyond a parent-teacher conference. They can be an advocate for their children outside of school hours too.
Increase Opportunities for Parents
When you empower families with a chance to learn a new language, you increase the opportunities to participate fully in your school community. From support their children with school work to volunteering for special events, the possibilities are truly endless.
Leveraging Technology
In addition to providing new learning opportunities for parents, the Jump Into English app can also help the adults in your community build technology skills. As they work within the mobile app or web-based space, they can practice navigating this type of technology. These technology skills also cross language barriers to support families in many ways.
Are you ready to empower your parent community with a mobile app? Get started today with Jump into English – a new app for language learning!
