Frequently Asked Questions About the School Success Web Content Service

Why is family engagement important?
Schools with the most family engagement are the most successful. All the studies say that getting parents and families involved with their children's education produces better schools, better test scores, better discipline and a better work environment for teachers.

What is the School Success Web Content Service?
The School Success Web Content Service puts family engagement ideas and articles on your school's website for your students' parents to read. It updates itself automatically with new ideas every day of the year.

What are the articles about?
The Parent Institute prides itself on being Education's #1 Source for Family Involvement Information. Each year since 1989, we've surveyed educators like you to find out what information is the "most important for parents to know to help their children do better in school." You've told us what you wish you had the chance to tell each student's parents, and we've put those ideas on our School Success Web Content Service.

I have a growing Spanish-speaking population. How can I help them?
The School Success Web Content Service is available in both English and Spanish so you can give your Spanish-speaking parents the helpful information too! Reaching your minority parents is so important to positively influence their child's achievement. Just like the English version, the Spanish version can be accessed at any time for parents' reading convenience.

What if not all my students' parents have computers?
The newsletters and flyers you send home are important, but many parents don't read everything. Today, schools must use every means available to reach as many parents as possible. Not all parents will have access to the Internet, but for many of the busiest parents you've been trying to reach, your website is likely to be the best way to reach them at work, where they may have computer access and a little time.

Will I need to make a new website for my school?
No. The School Success Web Content Service is designed to be a valuable addition to your existing site.

Will I need additional equipment, memory or staff time?
No. Once you've placed the code we provide you on your school's website once, the School Success Web Content Service buttons you've inserted will reference information stored on our computer servers, so you won't be taking up valuable memory space. The information changes daily automatically. We do the work, but it's your school's website that comes off looking very professional.

Why should I pay for a Web content service when there is so much available on the Internet for free?

  • No annoying advertising.
  • Our information is written from the school's point of view on topics selected by educators to help parents help their children do better in school.
  • You can be sure of a trusted source and can preview the information parents will read up to 30 days in advance. Since 1989, The Parent Institute has been providing accurate and reliable parent involvement information for schools to pass along to parents. Surveys show that more than 10 million parents a month read Parent Institute materials.
  • Every page of the online material is personalized with the name of your school and your name and title (or other message you choose). You get the credit for providing helpful information to parents—not some remote organization trying to produce ad revenue.
  • Most parents with Internet access will actually check their child's school website. But they may not be motivated to search out parent involvement information elsewhere.
  • Parents stay on your site and come back to it regularly.

What about school/parent privacy?
The School Success Web Content Service was designed to protect school and parent privacy. Parents reading the articles remain anonymous and you can rest assured we will never sell information about our readers. We have a more technical explanation available if you would like more detail.