Today we're excited to bring you part one of a series from Family Engagement Lab. Co-founders Vidya Sundaram and Elisabeth O'Bryan join us to discuss:

• How the common idea of “family engagement” differs from what families actually need
• The “missing instructional layer” in school-home communication
• The difference between communication that informs families and communication that actually supports learning
• How this shift changes the role of teachers, school leaders, and the system
• If schools got this right, what would families experience differently day to day?

Learn more about Family Engagement Lab: https://www.familyengagementlab.org

About the guests
Vidya Sundaram is co-founder and CEO of Family Engagement Lab. Over her nearly 20-year career in family engagement, Vidya has managed development, research, and strategy for digital resources used by more than half of US families with school-aged children. Before founding Family Engagement Lab, Vidya led research and insights at GreatSchools, championing a test and learn culture across the organization. Vidya also has an extensive background in software engineering and technology project management to engage diverse partners, and implement and study digital programs. She holds a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, a Masters in Public Policy from UCLA and her MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Vidya is mom to two kids and proud to be part of a lively multigenerational household.​

Elisabeth O'Bryon is co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Family Engagement Lab. Elisabeth was previously the Director of Research and Evaluation at GreatSchools where she worked to design and implement evaluation projects, with a particular focus on rapid-cycle research approaches. Before GreatSchools, Elisabeth was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence where she contributed to the development and evaluation of school-based social and emotional learning programming for children, teachers, and families. Elisabeth has a doctorate in psychology and experience providing school psychological services to preschool through high school-age students in both English and Spanish. Elisabeth recently co-authored 45 Strategies that Support Young Dual Language Learners, a resource that provides practical, developmentally appropriate strategies for supporting children and families from diverse backgrounds and creating inclusive early childhood classrooms that foster the success of young DLLs. Elisabeth is enjoying the many adventures of parenthood with her husband and sons.

About the host
Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and host of The Authority Podcast.

• Listen to The Authority at https://authoritypodcast.net
• Learn about more shows at https://bepodcastnetwork.com

In this episode of the EdTech Startup Podcast, host Jeff Bradbury interviews Mike Cronley, co-founder and CEO of Class Composer and former third-grade teacher. Mike shares his journey from the classroom to entrepreneurship, sparked by a casual conversation with his school's music teacher about students being incorrectly placed together. This "aha moment" led him to develop Class Composer, a software solution that helps elementary schools create balanced, equitable classroom rosters. Over seven years, Mike transitioned from teaching while developing his idea as a side project to fully committing to his startup. The conversation explores the challenges of the traditional paper-based class placement process, the importance of listening to customers, and advice for educators considering entrepreneurship.

In this EdTech Startup Showcase episode, host Jethro Jones interviews Vidya Sundaram (CEO) and Elisabeth O'Bryon (Chief Impact Officer) from Family Engagement Lab. The conversation explores how their platform bridges the gap between classroom learning and home support through bite-sized, actionable text messages that help families understand what their children are learning and how to reinforce those skills at home. The founders share their personal motivations—Elizabeth's experience as a bilingual school psychologist working with diverse families, and Vidya's childhood experience of disconnect between her immigrant family's educational values and school communication. They discuss their FAST Talk model (Families and Schools Talk), which has supported over 70,000 students across 50+ districts, and their new AI learning coach that provides personalized support for parents' questions.

Key Takeaways

• Family engagement works best when it's accessible and actionable
  • Short text messages (160 characters) with specific, grade-level appropriate activities are more effective than lengthy emails
• The impact is greatest for underserved students
  • Research shows the most pronounced learning gains for students whose families don't share a common language with teachers and those who started the year behind academically
• Parents want to help but need the right information
  • Families have passion and interest in supporting learning but often lack insight into what's happening in the classroom and how to help at the right developmental level
• Sustainable implementation requires cross-functional coordination
  • Success comes from communications experts working alongside curriculum teams to create a shared responsibility for family engagement
• AI can personalize family support
  • Their new AI learning coach allows parents to ask specific questions about their child's needs and build their own confidence in supporting learning at home