Advancement · Communications

Every family hears,
in a way that reaches them.

A school message that goes out in the wrong language, to one household of two or by a channel nobody checks has not been sent at all. Record each family’s language, interpreter need, channels and households. The manager counts the languages and interpreter needs across families and flags the gaps between what the family needs and what the school is doing.

Add a familyWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Development and giving kit, $39 for 27 items.

Families

The worked example is made up: a Spanish-speaking family who prefers evening texts but gets English notices, a family in two households where only one gets messages and a Vietnamese-speaking family who needs large print. Family codes, not names. Saved on this device only.

Loading the family form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · Communications$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per family: code, language, interpreter need, households, channels, best time, format needs and five record checks. Counts families by language, families needing interpreters and two-household families; flags untranslated notices for families who need another language, interpreter needs missing from the student system, second households not set up, texting without consent and families with no working channel.
Who it is for
Front office staff, family engagement coordinators, communications staff and principals.
Format
Browser manager with a saved record per family. Prints one family, every family in a table or a blank preference form for enrollment; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Development and giving kit ($39) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Communications space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Ask every family at enrollment, in their language.
  2. Enter the language and interpreter need in the student system too.
  3. Set up both households where they apply.
  4. Record consent before automated texts.
  5. Confirm contacts each fall.

Add a family

Language, channel, household

Reaching every familyLanguageAsk once, record it, useit.Translate what mattersmost.Offer an interpreter formeetings.ChannelUse what the familyuses.Get consent beforeautomated texts.Paper still reaches somehomes.HouseholdsBoth parents, unless acourt order limits it.Check after custodychanges.Reaching every familyLanguageAsk once, record it, use it.Translate what matters most.Offer an interpreter for meetings.ChannelUse what the family uses.Get consent before automated texts.Paper still reaches some homes.HouseholdsBoth parents, unless a court order limitsit.Check after custody changes.
School staff should not ask students to interpret for their own families in meetings about the student.

The federal expectation

Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice expect schools to communicate essential information, such as enrollment, discipline, special education and report cards, to parents with limited English in a language they understand, through translation or a qualified interpreter, and not through students.

Two households

Under FERPA, a parent generally keeps the right to their child’s education records whether or not they have custody, unless a court order or legal document says otherwise. Ask for any such order and set up both households when none applies.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice (2015). Dear Colleague letter: English learner students and limited English proficient parents, Title VI (ed.gov).
  2. U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office. FERPA rights of non-custodial parents (studentprivacy.ed.gov).
  3. Federal Communications Commission (2016). Declaratory ruling on school informational calls and texts under the TCPA (fcc.gov).
  4. National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement. Family communication practice (nafsce.org).

The worked example is made up. This manager keeps preferences; it is not legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.