The Guide to Award-Winning School-Home Communications

Why this guide 

Communications leaders carry a heavy load, especially those with limited resources, and the pressure they face often increases in the moments that matter most. 

This guide distills the critical work of four NSPRA award-winning districts into a quick, practical read. Their challenges look different on the surface, from a high-stakes levy vote to equity gaps, reluctant staff, and families overwhelmed by too many apps. But underneath, each district was working on the same problem of making sure that no family slipped through the cracks, whether that meant informing every voter under strict rules, providing support for every student, winning over thousands of staff, or lifting contactability across an entire district. 

Instead of asking whether the message went out, the districts featured in this guide started asking whether every family actually received it. In the sections that follow, you’ll find each district’s story, including a takeaway you can apply to your own school community, as well as a checklist of actions you can begin implementing today.

Highline Public Schools 

Burien, Washington

Recognized by NSPRA for: The 2025 Educational Programs and Operations Levy, a fact-based informational campaign 

When your community trusts you, factual communication is enough.

The challenge 

Highline Public Schools asked voters to renew a local levy that provides approximately 15% of the district’s operating budget. Like all Washington school districts, Highline was required to provide factual, non-advocacy information about the ballot measure. Following a previous Public Disclosure Commission citation, the communications team also implemented additional internal review processes to ensure every communication met evolving compliance expectations, all while serving a multilingual community representing 89 languages.

The approach 

The team embraced a straightforward, fact-based communication strategy. Messages were written in plain language, reviewed for compliance, and translated into English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Rather than relying on a single tactic, Highline delivered consistent information through the channels residents already trusted, including direct mail, email, ParentSquare, social media, the district website, and school communications. School leaders also received a communications toolkit that helped ensure accurate, consistent information across the district.

The outcome 

The levy passed with 63.37% voter approval—Highline’s strongest educational programs and operations levy result in 20 years and above the district’s 60% goal. The campaign concluded with no Public Disclosure Commission complaints, the leader toolkit exceeded its usage goal, and approximately $71,000 in communications supported approval of roughly $333 million in local funding for students.

Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 

Flossmoor, Illinois

Recognized by NSPRA for: Your Path. Your Future. Career Pathways for All Vikings

A student’s future can be shaped by whether their family understands the options in front of them. 

The challenge

Homewood-Flossmoor High School District developed state-approved Career Pathways, or structured routes that connect a student’s coursework to specific college and career options, and aimed to enroll all of the district’s 700 rising juniors in a Career Pathway regardless of background or circumstances. However, the district was expanding from two state-approved career pathways and had no student enrollment in the previous year, and there was nothing in place to convince staff, students, and families to get on board with the program. 

The approach

The campaign made Career Pathways the organizing framework for the entire student experience. First, Homewood-Flossmoor aligned staff, counselors, and the school board on one clear story, giving staff and counselors a consistent way to explain the program. Families saw the same key messages across their school communication channels, including ParentSquare notifications, the district website, and in-person sessions, all with translation for English Learner families. For students, Pathway selection was built into the normal registration process instead of being offered as an optional add-on. Students also saw their peers featured in testimonial videos that helped normalize the program.

The outcome

Internally, stakeholders were fully aligned behind the program, with 100% of the board, administrators, and counselors in support. This alignment paid off: Each of the district’s 700 rising juniors enrolled in a Career Pathway. Families showed up as well, with 500 attendees at a single town hall, hundreds more joining webinars and events, and nearly 6,800 views on a student-made video on Facebook and Instagram. 

Clovis Unified School District

Clovis, California 

Recognized by NSPRA for: Come Together! An Internal Change Management Initiative for the Roll-Out of a Single-Source Communication Platform

When communication lives in different apps, families don’t know where to look—and staff don’t know what to use.

The challenge

For years, parent and staff surveys at Clovis Unified pointed to the same issue: too many communication tools, resulting in increased confusion, missed messages, and family disengagement. To simplify communication, the district decided to move all 56 schools and nearly 43,500 students onto ParentSquare. Success depended on changing the daily habits of nearly 7,000 employees, many of whom already preferred other tools.

The approach

Clovis approached adoption as a districtwide change-management effort instead of a software rollout. Years of survey data and staff focus groups shaped the communication plan, which centered on a simple message: families had asked for one consistent place to receive school communication. Training was tailored for employee adoption. Staff could choose from webinars for different experience levels, attend more than 60 in-person sessions, or learn from campus Super Users who became local champions. District leaders also shared usage reports with principals, creating visibility into progress and encouraging schools to learn from one another.

The outcome

By the end of the first year, staff adoption exceeded 73%, while contactability reached 99.67% across 82,000 contacts. ParentSquare recognized Clovis as a model district, nearly every request for alternative communication tools disappeared, and staff satisfaction with the transition reached 94.8%. Instead of managing multiple disconnected platforms, the district established one trusted place for school-home communication.

Orange County Public Schools 

Orlando, Florida

Recognized by NSPRA for: Connecting Every Family: A Districtwide Unified Communications Platform

Reaching every family starts with removing barriers, not adding more communication tools. 

The challenge

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) serves more than 200,000 students across 214 schools. Families were receiving communication through multiple platforms, including SchoolMessenger, Remind, ClassDojo, and TalkingPoints, while an opt-in text messaging model meant that many never received important updates at all. The district also needed to support a large multilingual community, with 78% of families preferring information in Spanish.

The approach

After gathering feedback through stakeholder surveys, 44 community meetings, and a communications audit, OCPS consolidated district communication into ParentSquare before the new school year. Families could now receive messages through their preferred channels, including text, email, app, and web, with automatic translation into more than 190 languages. Staff also received training before launch, while families were moved to an opt-out model supported by FAQs, tutorials, and multilingual registration resources to make the transition as smooth as possible. 

The outcome

Within months, OCPS exceeded both of its primary goals, reaching 98.6% contactability against a target of 95% and 48% engagement against a target of 40%. Families exchanged more than 9.2 million direct messages with teachers, while the district saved an estimated $96,000 annually by replacing multiple communication systems with one unified platform.

Make the shift from sending to reaching

Four districts, four challenges, and one common lesson. Successful communication isn’t measured by how many messages you send; it’s measured by whether you’re reaching every family.

Here’s how to apply this approach in your own district.

• ☐Consolidate your tools. Reduce the number of apps that staff and families need to manage, and establish one trusted source for school-home communication.
• ☐Set a contactability target. Track how many families you can actually reach, not how many messages you can send.
• ☐Reach families by default. Use opt-out communication whenever possible, and support every family with translation and channel preferences.
• ☐Align your team first. Give staff, school leaders, and district leaders one shared message before launching any major initiative.
• ☐Equip trusted messengers. Provide principals, teachers, and PTA leaders with consistent resources they can share as ambassadors.
• ☐Plan before you need it. Create communication playbooks for major campaigns, initiatives, and urgent situations before they happen.

Congratulations to this year’s NSPRA award winners

We’re proud to celebrate the 2026 NSPRA award winners who partner with ParentSquare