Where do your students’ parents go when seeking information about a new school or how to help their children? Like most parents, they likely Google the school’s name or their question and hope for the best. The result, however, can be far from helpful. Google results often provide links to only basic information about a school or an assortment of answers to questions from various bloggers. It’s challenging to navigate through all the weeds to get valuable and helpful information. That’s where ThinKTank comes in. ThinKTank positions your school as the source of content designed to inform them about your school and to help them become more engaged in their child’s education.
What is ThinKTank?
ThinKTank includes a collection of short articles, typically taking about three minutes to read, on a wide variety of topics, including enrollment, family engagement, technology, and more. These articles give your parents short bursts of information when they need it. But these articles aren’t from random bloggers. Instead, parents will search for and find these articles on your website, making your school the trusted site for accurate and timely information.
How Does ThinKTank Work?
Parents can access articles in ThinKTank in three ways. First, they can view a specific article shared directly with them. For example, you may send an email with a link to an article about helping your students prepare for standardized testing a few days before that big test. Then, parents simply click the link on any web-enabled device, and it takes them directly to the article. This can also be helpful for school counselors when specific students may be struggling.
Parents may also find articles by going into the ThinK-12 Family Engagement Hub (known on your site as ThinK-[School Name]) and clicking ThinKTank. Then they can scroll through the articles or search by topic and grade.
Sometimes, the Family Service Center chat feature on the ThinK-12 home page may direct parents to a specific article. For example, if a parent asks a question about annual testing, they may receive a response that links to the article “Preparing Your Child for Annual Testing.”
What About Parents Who Don’t Read English?
All ThinKTank articles can be adapted to ensure they are accessible to all families. In addition, articles can easily be translated into more than 100 languages with a click of the mouse or read aloud for families who prefer or need to listen instead.
What If I Want Parents to Read About Something That’s Not in ThinKTank?
No problem. ThinK-12 staff will work with you to create articles for ThinKTank on topics that may interest many families, or we can work with you to create custom articles that highlight specific qualities and characteristics of your school.
ThinKTank places your school as the first and best source of information for your families. With hundreds of articles, more on the way, and custom content, its uses are endless!