Middle grades teachers want early adolescents to take responsibility for their own learning and success in school. One way to encourage this is with interactive homework, which enables students to lead conversations with a parent or family partner about something interesting they are learning in class. An exploratory study tested whether eighth graders would talk with a parent about the transition to high school and about the roles parents may play to support student success in grade 9. Studies indicate that parents make the transition to high school with their students, but many are unsure of how to sustain age-appropriate engagement in their teen’s education. We found that students were able and willing to conduct discussions on four critical issues that determine success or failure in high school: attendance, course passing, GPA, and motivation to succeed. In written comments for each assignment, students were thoughtful and hopeful about entering grade 9 and graduating from high school on time. Parents were positive about their interactions with their early adolescents. Importantly, when parents enjoyed a conversation with their students, they were significantly more likely to say that they gained insights into the importance of on-going engagement in their student’s education in high school.

District leaders have invested widely in the creation of parent portals, but have paid less attention to ensuring that they are achieving their purpose in providing information that parents can use in supporting their children’s academic success. This study, based on qualitative field note data from a larger four-year study of a continuous improvement initiative focused on improving family engagement during the transition from middle grades to high school, identifies both the challenges families face in using the online parent portal and the challenges school leaders face in: a) ensuring that the portal is a useful tool to families; and b) communicating information to families about using the portal effectively. This article suggests the need for district leaders, principals, teachers, and other school staff to reflect systematically on the design and purposes of a parent portal, and ways to make the portal a useful tool for families to monitor students’ academic progress and help to improve students’ grades. It also provides recommendations for how school leaders can apply a continuous improvement approach to increase the number of families that access the portal regularly.

The COVID-19 pandemic created major disruptions in schooling and education. This exploratory study examines state-standardized test scores in traditional and community schools between 2019 and 2023, and qualitative data from a large urban school district located on the East Coast of the United States. The findings indicate declines in test scores for all students in both English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. The 11 schools implementing a community school strategy reported slightly smaller declines than traditional schools in both ELA and math. Qualitative analysis reveals that community schools were able to pivot quickly to support student and family needs during the pandemic, which may have helped mitigate some of the negative impact of the COVID-19 learning disruptions. This exploratory study points to the potential of the community school strategy in providing holistic supports to alleviate some of the challenges associated with historically underinvested communities, and their responsiveness in times of crisis.

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