Your Student Snapshot (Parent SMS)

Your Student Snapshot is an optional Platform feature that will support the onboarding and ongoing engagement of your families with your school and Summit Learning.

This feature will send automated text messages from your school to all of your parents with students in the Summit Learning Platform (with valid cell phone numbers) about their child’s academic coursework and progress, as well as tips to support their child academically. Parents will receive, on average, 2 text messages per week based by their student’s own academic calendar and performance. The messages are available in English and Spanish. Note: Families can opt-out of receiving communications at any time.

In this article, you can find more information about Your Student Snapshot:

• Why should your school turn on Your Student Snapshot?
• How do I turn on Your Student Snapshot?
• What are the text messages that parents will receive?
• How can I see the Student Snapshot messages that parents have received? 

Why should your school turn on Your Student Snapshot?

Research studies have shown automated, push communications improve student academic and behavioral outcomes. Specifically:

• Texts to parents about missing assignments led to 1/3rd increase in letter grade (i.e., C+ to B-) and increased student attendance.
• Weekly texts with a one-sentence message about student schoolwork or behavior reduced # of students who failed to earn course credit by 41 percent (in credit recovery course).
• Weekly texts with tips to parents on improving literacy skills improved literacy test results. 

We found that Your Student Snapshot:

1. Improved communication with your families
We piloted the feature in 12 schools in ‘17-18, and parents loved being more informed about their child’s academics. Parents shared that the text messages:

• Provided a better and easier way to start a conversation with their child about school
• Helped them be informed -- more easily -- about their child’s progress, especially when they have historically felt out-of-the-loop
• Enabled them to more effectively help their child make good decisions about their schoolwork and stay on track

2. Helped families better support their children academically
Your Student Snapshot prompts parents to engage with their student about their academic coursework and progress so that they can better support their student and help improve student academic and behavioral outcomes.

How do I turn on Your Student Snapshot? 

School admins can turn on Your Student Snapshot by:

1. Click Setup 
2. Click Parents 
3. Click Edit Settings on the top right
4. Click Activate
   
   

After you activate the feature, the Parents page in Setup will show a list of your parents of students with active Platform accounts and whether the Student Snapshot is active for each parent. The Student Snapshot will be active if 1) the parent has a valid cell phone number in the Platform and 2) the parent has not unsubscribed from the Student Snapshot.

Typically, parents will receive Student Snapshot, including the first introductory message, on weekdays in the afternoon or early evening. Once you turn on the feature, all parents with valid cell phone numbers in the Platform will automatically receive the introductory message on the same or next weekday.

Welcome to Your Student Snapshot from [your school’s name in the Platform]! To support [StudentFirstName1], we’ll text you about your child's coursework & progress with tips & questions to aid in supporting your student(s). Approx 2 messages/week/child. Msg&Data rates may apply. Text HELP to learn more. Text STOP to end msgs.

Therefore, we recommend performing this activation step on a Monday - Thursday so that families receive their first message on a school day and can contact the school with any questions. Please also note that the introductory message shares to your families that these are messages from your school.

What are the text messages that parents will receive? 

Below is a sample messaging calendar; however, this is subject to change based on ongoing feedback and optimizations.

Each message includes a suggested action or question for the parent to ask the student as they are primarily intended to prompt dialogue between student and parent as well as improve parent understanding of their student’s coursework, academic progress, and how to support them.

The messages are based on our research of the information that parents are seeking to better support their children in Summit Learning schools, and that we have seen has the ones that would be most impactful to student outcomes and behaviors.

How can I see the Student Snapshot messages that parents have received? 

To see Student Snapshot messages that parents have received,

1. Click Setup
2. Click Parents
3. Find the parent whose messages you want to see and click on that parent's first name
4. You will see Your Student Snapshot message history