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# TP - Staging

TP - Staging

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Blog](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/)
- [Building Perspectives](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/building-perspectives-3/7673/) - Exceptional education (EE) can be an academic lifeline for students with unique learning needs. From gifted and talented enrichment to special education services, EE encompasses the supports that many students need to reach their full potential. Yet navigating the world of exceptional education—with its complex terminology, assessments and services—can be challenging for families. This is especially true for families who do not speak English and are unfamiliar with U.S. school systems.
- [SNAPSHOT TEST TalkingPoints Looks Back on 2021](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-looks-back-on-2021/9514/) - Written by Heather Dooley Our team is constantly talking to our school partners to identify the barriers families and educators face in creating strong, enduring family engagement so we can build tools to overcome them. As 2021 comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the nature of some of the barriers many families face
- [4 Ways to Make Families Feel Welcome](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/4-ways-to-make-families-feel-welcome/6953/) - Here are four ways to make families feel more welcome in your school buildings and classrooms, engaging them in a positive and inclusive community that supports learning and growth.
- [TalkingPoints receives transformational gift from MacKenzie Scott](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-receives-transformational-gift-from-mackenzie-scott/9531/) - Written by Rob Bayuk San Francisco, California, March, 24, 2022 — TalkingPoints, a nonprofit dedicated to removing systemic barriers to family engagement in education, today announced it has received a $10 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The contribution, the single largest gift in the organization’s history, will allow TalkingPoints to accelerate its ambitious plans
- [Elevating Family Voices in the Classroom](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/elevating-family-voices-in-the-classroom/9536/) - Educational theorist Vygotsky saw learning as a social act, where the dialogue between teachers and students creates knowledge. People learn best through interactions with others, and then that knowledge is incorporated into the individual’s mental structure. In other words, the more collaboration the better! Not only is it important to engage students in the learning
- [TalkingPoints expands platform to full learning and well-being teams to increase effective, equitable family engagement](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-expands-platform-to-full-learning-and-well-being-teams-to-increase-effective-equitable-family-engagement/9523/) - Nurses, counselors, bus drivers and other critical staff can connect directly with families through TalkingPoints platform, increasing family engagement San Francisco, California (January 26, 2022) — TalkingPoints, a nonprofit working to remove systemic language, access, and technology barriers to effective, equitable, family engagement, announced the expansion of its platform so a student’s full learning and
- [Expanded Roles and Permissions Increase Effective, Equitable Family Engagement](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/expanded-roles-and-permissions-increase-effective-equitable-family-engagement/9547/) - TalkingPoints is just for classroom teachers, right? Wrong! TalkingPoints can actually be used by so many other people in roles across the school building—or even the district—to communicate with families in an instant. Our Expanded Roles and Permissions allow for these other staff members to play a part in the family engagement experience with ease.
- [TalkingPoints CEO Selected as a TED Fellow](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-ceo-selected-as-a-ted-fellow/9527/) - Heejae Lim is the sole education leader selected to present at TED2022 San Francisco,California (February 22, 2022) — Today, TalkingPoints, a nonprofit working to remove systemic barriers to family engagement, announced that its founder and CEO Heejae Lim has been selected as a TED Fellow. As part of the Fellowship, she will deliver a talk
- [TalkingPoints & Clearing Roadblocks to Effective Family Engagement](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-clearing-roadblocks-to-effective-family-engagement-2/7496/) - At TalkingPoints, we know that challenges to successful family engagement can loom large. But we also know the connection between home and school is more critical than ever to helping students succeed, especially across the digital divide. That’s why we’re here with tips on how to overcome family engagement roadblocks and ensure smoother sailing to student success.
- [Writing for Translation](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/writing-for-translation/5950/) - 1 in 4 schoolchildren speak a language other than English at home. This creates a language barrier to family engagement that many teachers are not equipped to overcome without support. TalkingPoints is not only here to provide translation for your messages to families, but to help you be proactive in writing messages that will translate accurately for all families in all languages.
- [Building Perspectives](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/building-perspectives-2/7633/) - At Jefferson Elementary in Boise, Idaho, it’s not uncommon for Amy Collinge and Godoidefroid Ntawuyamara to welcome students from Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, and Somalia into their classroom. Together, Ntawuyamara and Collinge have plenty of advice to offer their fellow educators on how to open those doors—and how to engage families and students from Africa during the school year in a meaningful way.
- [Building Perspectives](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/building-perspectives/7587/) - At TalkingPoints, we know that building relationships across lines of difference is some of the most critical and rewarding work that educators do. From learning about your students’ rich cultural traditions to helping families navigate homework across language barriers, your efforts make it possible to have meaningful and joyful school-to-home connections. Your work also helps
- [2021 Family Engagement Study: Insights for Building Effective School-Family Partnerships](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/2021-family-engagement-study-insights-for-building-effective-school-family-partnerships/7173/) - Research comparing COVID-19 distance learning family engagement insights from the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.
- [Summer Learning Ideas](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/summer-learning-ideas/6842/) - Little brains never stop wanting to explore and grow, and summertime is a wonderful time to nurture that curiosity, but how do we do that? TalkingPoints is here to share some ideas to foster summer learning that kids will enjoy using easy-to-find items!
- [TalkingPoints Polling Best Practices](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-polling-best-practices/6325/) - Whether you've just gained the ability to send polls to families or you're wanting to take advantage of your account's built-in features, we want to help you use polling in the best ways. Read on to learn our tips and tricks for sending TalkingPoints polls.
- [Engage All Families with Translated Video Captions](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/engage-all-families-with-translated-video-captions/6036/) - We are so excited to announce the availability of our latest feature making TalkingPoints more accessible than ever before. TalkingPoints translated video captioning makes it super easy for teachers to record and send video messages in over 100 languages. This new feature was designed specifically to further our mission of connecting educators and families--particularly those
- [Hunting for Connection](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/hunting-for-connection/5739/) - Family Engagement through Fun and Games Written by TalkingPoints TAP Member Brandee Smith My team and I feel like we have the best job on campus because we teach Newcomer Students in Katy ISD! Our students are new to the U.S. and have tested as Non-English speakers. Because the students are adjusting to a new
- [An End-of-Year Message from Our Founder](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/an-end-of-year-message-from-our-founder/5654/) - December 18, 2020 As the year comes to a close, we wanted to thank you and wish you Happy Holidays. Despite the many challenges of 2020, there have been silver linings. For me, both personally and professionally, one of those has been a recognition of the profound impact of connection and the importance of community.
- [Winter Celebrations in Culturally-Responsive Classrooms](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/winter-celebrations-in-culturally-responsive-classrooms/5521/) - With these tips, and the incredible resources and contributions of your students’ families, you’ll make this year’s holiday celebration one that students will remember, cherish, and learn from too.
- [Staying on Parents' RADAR](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/staying-on-parents-radar/5345/) - As teachers on break, we want to respect the space it affords students and their families to relax, but we also want to remain approachable to provide support until school resumes. In other words, we want to stay on families’ RADAR.
- [TalkingPoints Expands Reach 6x and Facilitates 100M Conversations!](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-expands-reach-6x-and-facilitates-100m-conversations/5461/) - TalkingPoints has expanded reach more than 6x since March 2020, connecting more than 3 million teachers and families, and enabling 100 million conversations, in 100 languages!
- [Celebrating 5 Years of Impact with TalkingPoints](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/celebrating-5-years-of-impact-with-talkingpoints/4828/) - This month we celebrate five years of driving family engagement to improve educational outcomes for some of our country’s most vulnerable students. We are so grateful for the support of the educators, administrators, funders, and partners that make our work possible. Together, we are making a difference in the lives of the 1.5 million families
- [East Garner Case Study – How TalkingPoints Serves as the Bridge Between Wake County Schools and Families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/east-garner-case-study-how-talkingpoints-serves-as-the-bridge-between-wake-county-schools-and-families/5168/) - TalkingPoints’ multilingual family engagement platform helps build relationships and increase engagement between students, teachers, and families Meet Wake County and East Garner Magnet Middle School Wake County is the largest school district in North Carolina, and one of the largest districts in the nation. East Garner Magnet Middle School is located in Garner, a farming
- [Family Engagement & Bullying Prevention](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/family-engagement-and-bullying-prevention/5207/) - Using TalkingPoints to Connect, Model and Promote Awareness With grades due and the holidays fast approaching, it’s easy to understand why educators and families are so busy this time of year--especially when you consider the added challenges of distance and hybrid learning. But no matter what new difficulties we face in helping our students this season,
- [RACING TO SCALE DURING A PANDEMIC](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/racing-to-scale-during-a-pandemic/5133/) - Tripling the reach of one’s service in just four months -- from 500,000 to 1.5 Million -- would be impressive and rewarding for anyone. But for TalkingPoints, a non-profit with a multilingual tech platform that helps teachers communicate with families in any of 100 languages, scaling rapidly was a response to an emergency situation. Without
- [Teacher Spotlight: How TalkingPoints Facilitates Family Engagement and Student Success During Distance Learning](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/teacher-spotlight-how-talkingpoints-facilitates-family-engagement-and-student-success-during-distance-learning/3213/) - Meet Jennifer Jennifer McGraner is a junior high English Learner teacher in Pickerington School District in Pickerington, Ohio. Pickerington Schools is a diverse district with over 500 ELs speaking more than 57 different languages. In her 13th year of teaching, Jennifer works with English Learner students and is responsible for screening new students for EL
- [Family engagement 2020: Silver linings and lessons learned](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/family-engagement-2020-silver-linings-lessons-learned/2081/) - Much has been written about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on education. Stay-at-home orders and the shift to distance learning exposed and exacerbated existing inequities, challenged already overworked teachers to reinvent their curriculum for distance learning, and overwhelmed parents who suddenly had to get more involved with their children’s learning. It also may have
- [Engaging Families Across Languages During Remote Learning: Translating Challenges Into Success at Academy of World Languages (AWL)](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/engaging-families-across-languages-during-remote-learning-translating-challenges-into-success-at-academy-of-world-languages-awl/3140/) - Across the country, families and educators alike faced an abrupt and challenging transition to remote learning this past school year. The staff at Academy of World Languages (AWL), a magnet school in Cincinnati, Ohio, was no exception. “One night in mid-March we got a message that we wouldn’t be returning to school the next day,”
- [The Threat of Summer Slide--and Teacher Tips on Helping Families Prevent It](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/the-threat-of-summer-slide-and-teacher-tips-on-helping-families-prevent-it/2067/) - Summer break can be a time of fun and relaxation for students, families and teachers. But it can also undo months of learning and academic achievement, and leave students behind at the beginning of the new school year.
- [How to end the school year on a high note- and help prepare students & families for summer](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/how-to-end-the-school-year-on-a-high-note-and-help-prepare-students-families-for-summer/1909/) - Class parties. Award ceremonies. Graduation and more. We know that your students and families look forward to these traditions at the end of each school year, as a way to celebrate learning, growth, and community. Here at TalkingPoints, we know that you look forward to them too! And we know you play a big role
- [Supporting high need students and families with distance learning](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/supporting-high-need-students-and-families-with-distance-learning/1812/) - All families are struggling to adapt to the “new normal” of remote learning. This is especially true for families of students with learning differences. Many have been deprived of the usual routines and supports they get at school, including adapted curriculum and support from paraprofessionals, speech pathologists, and other critical providers. That’s why exceptional learners--and their
- [Google AI Challenge](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/googlepressrelease/1/) - Heejae Lim, founder and CEO of TalkingPoints with Ms. Velasquez, an elementary school teacher from Oakland TalkingPoints announced today a grant investment round by Google.org of $1.5 million to offer personalized, real-time coaching content to parents and teachers while continuously improving the translation quality on the TalkingPoints family engagement platform
- [6 Tips for Engaging Parents Before, During, and After Back to School Night](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/6-tips-for-engaging-parents-who-didnt-attend-back-to-school-night/696/) - The beginning of the school year brings lots of new and exciting things for teachers, families, and students! One of those is always Back to School Night, where teachers get to meet the families of their new students. Here, we'll give a few tips on how to engage your families before, during, and after Back to
- [5 Tips to Jump Start Your Connections with Families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/5-tips-to-jump-start-your-connections-with-families/852/) - The beginning of a new school year can be quite a busy time for you. You're setting up a new classroom, planning your lessons, and most importantly, building connections with new students and families. Our main goal here at TalkingPoints is to support you in making those connections seamless. We have rounded up some of
- [Here to help - TalkingPoints for Schools and Districts FREE](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/here-to-help-talkingpoints-for-schools-and-districts-free/1383/) - As you know, TalkingPoints provides a family engagement platform with two-way translation, coaching and content. As a mission-driven non-profit, we're focused on what we can do to best help our educators and families — we believe that it's our responsibility to make TalkingPoints available to those who need it the most right now. For individual
- [Engaging Families in Tough Times](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/engaging-families-in-tough-times/1639/) - Families want a great education for their children. But challenging circumstances--like a job loss or sudden illness--can make it hard for families to be in touch with teachers as much as they’d like. This is especially true for families new to the U.S. and families who face systemic barriers to healthcare, food security, employment and
- [Mr. Brinson’s Daily TalkingPoints Routine](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/mr-brinsons-daily-talkingpoints-routine/394/) - Mr. Brinson teaches 2nd grade in Oakland, California. He learned about TalkingPoints from his school and decided to give it a try. He used to use emails to communicate with his parents, but now he uses TalkingPoints to send parents messages almost daily. Parents have been responsive to his text messages about daily homework assignments,
- [Reach Parents You Haven’t Been Able to Before](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/reach-parents-you-havent-been-able-to-before/399/) - Ms. Monks is an ENL teacher for grades 1-6 in Oceanside, NY. She heard about TalkingPoints through an email from a co-worker who had started using it. This was right before parent-teacher conferences, so Ms. Monks set up her account and told her parents about the new text messaging program during conferences. She showed them sample messages on her
- [TalkingPoints is Immediately Effective and Easy to Use](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-is-immediately-effective-and-easy-to-use/403/) - Ms. Cardenas is a middle school ESL teacher from Knoxville, Tennessee. She had learned about TalkingPoints from another teacher at her school who had just started using it for parent communication. She set up her class and sent a few messages to her students’ families and saw the impact it had on her students immediately.
- [Building New Partnerships with Parents through TalkingPoints](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/building-new-partnerships-with-parents-through-talkingpoints/407/) - Ms. Rufenacht is an ESOL teacher in Fayette County, Georgia. She had learned about TalkingPoints from her district’s ESOL department last fall and has actively used it to communicate and build partnerships with her students’ parents, regardless of the languages they speak. Ms. Rufenacht shares about the positive impact TalkingPoints has had on her, her students
- [Sending Positive Messages Home Improves Student & Parent Engagement](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/sending-positive-messages-home-improves-student-parent-engagement/411/) - Last year, Ms. Eganhouse was an elementary school teacher and building technology specialist in Des Moines, Iowa. She had heard about TalkingPoints from her graduate school course on building strong school communities and decided to try it out, because around 40% of her students’ families don’t speak English at home. In this blog post, Ms.
- [Mr. Khabushani – Connecting teachers and families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/mr-khabushani-connecting-teachers-and-families/420/) - Mr. Khabushani is a middle school history teacher in Los Angeles, CA. He learned about TalkingPoints from his school principal and used it communicate with families in their home languages. His goal was to send more individual messages through TalkingPoints, since the previous school year, he had sent more general announcements home.This is what he
- [Ms. Carter – Connecting teachers and families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/ms-carter-connecting-teachers-and-families/425/) - Ms. Carter is a second grade teacher in Los Angeles, CA. Two years ago, her school adopted TalkingPoints and she’s seen a complete change in her parents’ involvement.Before TalkingPoints, Ms. Carter found it difficult to reach parents and get their buy-in, due to language barriers. Parent participation was around 50%. TalkingPoints has allowed her to directly
- [TalkingPoints – WestEd Study Report: TalkingPoints Increases Parent Engagement for Student Success](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/talkingpoints-increases-parent-engagement-for-student-success/415/) - Strong parent-teacher partnerships are key to supporting students’ success in the classroom. When teachers and parents are in regular communication about students’ needs, progress and successes, students feel supported, motivated to try their best and do significantly better in school. A study by Westat and Policy Studies Associates for the U.S. Department of Education has
- [Ms. Smith - Connecting with my Multicultural Community](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/ms-smith-connecting-with-my-multicultural-community/91/) - In April 2019, Houston was named as the most diverse city in the U.S. by WalletHub. As I start each school year in Katy, Texas, a suburb in west Houston, I can attest that this is true. In the 2017-2018 school year, I had students from Turkey
- [Ms. Marsh – Fostering Two-way Communication with Parents](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/blog/ms-marsh-fostering-two-way-communication-with-parents/96/) - I am an English Language Development teacher in St. Charles, MO. For the last three years, I have been able to work with every fifth grade English Language Learner in our district. In my first year teaching, to be honest, I only communicated with families when there was a big behavior problem with a student and for Parent Teacher Conferences. There was this void in communication and partnership that was not healthy to student learning. The families didn’t fully know what their kids were learning or how they were growing. I felt helpless to communicate effectively with my students’ families because I wasn’t fluent in their home languages.

## Pages

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- [Terms of service](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/terms-of-service/) - Terms of Service Agreement Welcome to TalkingPoints, the website and online service of TalkingPoints (“Site”). This page explains the terms by which you may use the Site, mobile services, and software, including Mobile Software (defined below), provided on or in connection with the Site (collectively the “Service”). By accessing or using the Service, you signify
- [Security Overview](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/security-overview/) - TalkingPoints Security Overview Overview Educators and families trust TalkingPoints with important and sensitive information. Our security approach consists of five critical components that allow us to maintain data security and integrity for entry, transfer, storage, and access. Corporate governance Physical security Environmental security Software security Regulatory compliance Each of these will be described in more
- [Privacy policy](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/privacy-policy/) - TalkingPoints Privacy Policy Last modified: August 27, 2021 Welcome to TalkingPoints, the online and mobile service of TalkingPoints (“TalkingPoints,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). TalkingPoints understands that privacy is important to our Users. This Privacy Policy explains how TalkingPoints collects, uses, and shares information provided to us by and about users and visitors of, and others
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- [Translator](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/translator/) - Translator About TalkingPoints TalkingPoints is an award-winning education technology non-profit organization whose mission is to empower low-income, underserved families to support their children’s learning by partnering with their children’s schools. The COVID-19 remote learning environment has made our mission ever more urgent and important. We're building a one-of-a-kind product in the market, a multilingual family engagement
- [Partner Success Manager](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/partner-success-manager/) - Partner Success Manager About TalkingPoints TalkingPoints (talkingpts.org) is an award-winning education technology non-profit on a mission to make it easy for any parent to be engaged in their children’s education, especially in low-income, diverse communities. Parent engagement can drive student success twice as much as a family’s socioeconomic status, yet underserved, diverse families struggle to

## Events

- [Ryan's Test Event](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/event/ryans-test-event-2/2025-10-20/)
- [Ryan's Test Event](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/event/ryans-test-event/2023-05-01/)
- [image test](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/event/image-test/) - image test
- [test 2](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/event/test-2/)
- [test event 1](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/event/test-event-1/)

## Case Studies

- [Oakland Unified School District Pilot Program](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/case-study/oakland-unified-school-district-pilot-program/) - Oakland Unified School District is one of the most diverse districts in California, with 50% of students speaking a language other than English...
- [Independence High School](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/case-study/independence-high-school/) - In just six months, administrators, teachers, and families sent over 120,000 messages. Principal David Legrand nearly tripled response to a food giveaway event...
- [Elk Grove Unified School District](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/case-study/elk-grove-unified-school-district/) - Teachers in California’s fifth-largest district succeeded in engaging previously unreachable families to show up for meetings and conferences during the pandemic...

## Team

- [Dan Braga](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/dan-braga/) - Dan Braga is a Partner at The Zaf Group, a family office investment firm. He leads the direct investing activities and serves on the Board of all Zaf Group companies. Previously, Dan was with McKinsey & Company for 17 years, serving as Partner in the Chicago Office. He holds a BA from the University of
- [Dr. Sharon Contreras](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/dr-sharon-contreras/) - Dr. Contreras is passionate about providing a high-quality education to each child. She is a teacher at heart, a transformational leader and a passionate advocate for children and education. Growing up in Uniondale, New York, with nine brothers and sisters, she learned early to advocate for her right to an excellent education. Over the course
- [Dr. Karen L. Mapp](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/dr-karen-l-mapp/) - Dr. Mapp is a leading expert in the field of family engagement, and her 2010 book, Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships, is considered a foundational text in the field. She created the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, the research and practitioner framework that TalkingPoints bases itself on and has
- [Kumar Garg](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/kumar-garg/) - Kumar is a passionate champion of education reform and started his career working on behalf of parents and children as an education lawyer and advocate. Kumar led the Obama Administration’s efforts to bolster federal STEM education initiatives, and led Schmidt Futures, working with Eric Schmidt to design and launch moonshot initiatives in education, provided early
- [Greg Gunn](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/greg-gunn/) - Greg Gunn is a leader in using technology, innovation, and venture capital investing to promote progress in education. As co-founder of Lingo Ventures, he makes early-stage investments in education and workforce technologies. In 2000, Greg co-founded Wireless Generation (now called Amplify), a leading educational software company serving millions of students annually with groundbreaking assessment and
- [Jeff Livingston](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/jeff-livingston/) - After a long career at McGraw-Hill Education that included roles in sales, marketing, education policy and general management, Jeff formed EdSolutions, LLC in 2015 as a vehicle for focusing education innovation, investment and philanthropy on underserved students, scaling proven innovations to reach the students who will benefit most from them. Today, EdSolutions help organizations to
- [Bob Runcie](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/bob-runcie/) - Bob is the chief executive officer of Chiefs for Change, and previously served as superintendent of Broward County Public Schools – the sixth-largest district in the United States. Under his leadership, Chiefs for Change has increased its technical assistance for members and expanded leadership development initiatives to build the pipeline of diverse, talented educators ready
- [Santiago Espada](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/santiago-espada/) - Santiago is an IT professional with over a decade of experience in DevOps, release management, and development work. He has also helped many organizations adopt DevOps and agile practices. Growing up in a family of educators, Santiago understands the importance of education and advocates for bridging the gap in education and technology. Santiago has a
- [Jamie Paulsen](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/jamie-paulsen/) - With over 12 years of experience in marketing, Jamie loves everything about education and truly believes in the power of family engagement to promote student success. She began her career as an elementary teacher and technology coach in a public school in Tennessee before moving into EdTech marketing aimed at making classroom experiences more impactful
- [Stephanie Kaufman](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/stephanie-kaufman/) - Stephanie is all-in to help move the needle for social change. Closing the equity gap in education can have an immediate and drastic social impact in the US. Stephanie believes that the intersection of education and technology will make this possible. She is excited about the opportunities that TalkingPoints provides for students and families who face equity gaps
- [Ramiro Moreira](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/ramiro-moreira/) - Ramiro enjoys facing challenges and developing technological solutions that bring social impact. He believes education is the best way to provide equal opportunities and finds pleasure in developing software for educational purposes. Ramiro has a degree in computer analysis from the University of the Republic Uruguay. He is continuing his education in Robotics and Artificial
- [Kevin Fosnacht](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/kevin-fosnacht/) - Kevin aims to improve student success in education through discovering new and innovative practices. Kevin is a quantitative education researcher who uses various methodologies to identify best practices through analyzing large amounts of data. Kevin received a Ph.D. and M.A. in Education from UCLA and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining
- [Juan Pablo Gonzalez](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/juan-pablo-gonzalez/) - Juan Pablo is passionate about using data and technology to help families and students. He brings more than 15 years of experience working with databases like Microsoft SQL Server and Snowflake and is proficient with business intelligence tools such as Power BI and Tableau. Juan Pablo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Systems Analysis from ORT
- [David Zhong](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/david-zhong/) - David is inspired by the positive impact that nonprofit organizations bring to our world. He has been working as an accounting professional in nonprofit organizations since the start of his career. David graduated from the University of Houston and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting. As a former ESL student, he understands the importance of
- [Crystal Lee](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/crystal-lee/) - Crystal brings six years of experience collaborating with teachers and providing academic support that helped make classrooms more inclusive and seven years providing language instruction for ELL students while building and nurturing relationships with their families. She has witnessed firsthand the value of regular, effective parent-teacher communication and how together, they can positively contribute to
- [Ángel Alvarado](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/angel-alvarado/) - Ángel has extensive experience in back-end development and data stream and batch processing using Ruby, Python, and SQL. He started his career in full-stack web development and has knowledge in DevOps and DataOps focused on Infrastructure as Code. Ángel holds a Computer Engineering degree from The National Autonomous University of Mexico.
- [Tyler Coats](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/tyler-coats/) - Tyler Coats is the CEO of Falcon Critical Care Transport, a $20m revenue business employing over 250 personnel in the SF Bay Area. Formerly Tyler was the Managing Partner of Cascadian Capital. Tyler also served in the US Navy aboard the USS Henry M. Jackson, a strategic nuclear submarine, where he led over 70 personnel
- [Michele Hughes](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/michele-hughes/) - With 13 years of experience as an educator, Michele shifted to the educational technology field after seeing the positive impact that it can have on student achievement and growth. Throughout her career, she has been an advocate for students, and is excited to be part of the TalkingPoints team to break down barriers between teachers
- [Heejae Lim](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/heejae-lim/) - Heejae Lim is the Founder and CEO of TalkingPoints. Previously, Heejae worked on education reform for public schools in the Middle East. She also served as chief of staff to a special advisor to the Secretary of Education in the UK. As a consultant at McKinsey, she advised the Gates Foundation and Teach First UK.
- [Adam Carruthers](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/adam-carruthers/) - Adam has witnessed firsthand primary and secondary education in Europe and higher education in the United States. This enlightening journey has led to an appreciation regarding the importance of reliable, accurate, and unlimited communication between students, families, and teachers. He is an avid devotee to sharing the positive message of change that comes with accessible
- [Amy Bean](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/amy-bean/) - Amy brings over 15 years of experience to her role as Senior Director of Philanthropy. She has dedicated her career to supporting education and workforce-development focused organizations and has seen first hand the life-trajectory changing power that education can have for young people. As a fundraising professional, Amy has led annual development efforts, major growth
- [Andrew Unrein](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/andrew-unrein/) - Andrew spent the first 14 years of his career having a direct impact on student learning as a classroom teacher, coach, and building administrator. In 2015, he made the decision to take his knowledge of the education space to the private sector. Andrew brings with him a wealth of knowledge related to the decision-making structure and process within
- [Anke Weiss](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/anke-weiss/) - As a parent in the public school system, Anke has experienced first hand the challenges teachers and parents of all backgrounds have to overcome to ensure an equitable education for all kids. Anke brings almost 20 years of experience as a product designer to her role at TalkingPoints. One of her greatest joys and motivators
- [Antonio Bracco](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/antonio-bracco/) - Antonio is passionate about evidence-based work that can be used to help others. As TalkingPoints’ Technical Implementation Specialist, Antonio develops new solutions and software for TalkingPoints’ partners. Antonio has a degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus on telecommunications from the Republic University in Uruguay.
- [Aram Gugusian](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/aram-gugusian/) - Aram is a full stack developer with over 10 years of experience developing software. He has extensive experience on Web infrastructure and Networking and has architected the TalkingPoints web and mobile app. Aram has a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Catholic University in Uruguay.
- [Ariadna Candir](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/ariadna-candir/) - As a former teacher, Ariadna witnessed the struggles families in the US faced when their home world language was not English. After she moved on to become a District Translator in one of the nation’s most diverse school districts, she advocated for parents and students, created resources and provided professional development to teachers and administrators
- [Brett Wheeler](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/brett-wheeler/) - Brett has spent his career partnering with school districts across the country beginning with supporting curricular programs and most recently working with districts to help support equity and diversity via their literacy programs. Brett holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Northern Illinois University. Brett is passionate about helping reduce barriers for
- [Chris Dudak](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/chris-dudak/) - Chris is passionate about bringing people together across language barriers. As a parent who changed school districts during the Covid pandemic, he has seen firsthand the importance of establishing communication between schools and families, and the trust that follows when this level of communication is maintained. Chris has an M.A. in Translation (Spanish > English)
- [Claudine Ryan](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/claudine-ryan/) - As a first-generation college go-er, Claudine personally experienced how invaluable education can be. As a parent and community member, Claudine believes that parents, regardless of their own backgrounds, can be tremendous champions in their children’s educational success. Claudine has worked in technology her entire career, primarily focused on consumer digital media, in business development, product
- [Dimetri Duckrey](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/dimetri-duckrey/) - Dimetri is passionate about improving outcomes for all students – regardless of what languages they speak at home or the zip code in which they live. During his time as a secondary teacher and in the ed tech space, he has seen what is possible when families are engaged and advocating for their scholars. He enjoys
- [Emily Wilkinson](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/emily-wilkinson/) - Emily is passionate about education’s ability to open doors, open minds, and spark curiosity. She is excited by the endless possibilities that exist at the intersection of technology and social impact. At TalkingPoints, she manages finance and administration functions to help the team and its impact grow and thrive. Emily has led financial strategy and
- [Emma Berry](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/emma-berry/) - Emma is driven by student success — and knows that starts when schools and families work as a team. As a former English teacher in rural and urban multilingual communities, she grounded her instruction in the power of language and voice. Emma sees her role at TalkingPoints as a natural extension of her classroom experience to
- [Erin Murray](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/erin-murray/)
- [Gabriel Castiglioni](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/gabriel-castiglioni/) - Gabriel is our lead iOS developer and designer with extensive experience in both areas. He studied Computer Science at Republic University in Uruguay and is passionate about building products that address social problems.
- [Guillermo Siriani](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/guillermo-siriani/) - Guillermo is passionate about using technology to improve education and helping parents stay engaged in their children’s education. After years working for financial institutions, he felt the need to move to a more fulfilling path and joined TalkingPoints so that he could use his skills to support teachers, families and students. As our lead AI
- [Heather Dooley](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/heather-dooley/) - Heather is inspired by how education can empower students to reach their potential and help build productive healthy communities. As a public school parent in a diverse district, she’s seen how fostering positive connections between schools and families can make a big difference in student learning and the important role that access and inclusion play
- [Ivan Solomon](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/ivan-solomon/) - At a young age, Ivan’s mother, a middle school ESL teacher, instilled in him the value of education. Since then, he has viewed academics as a means for social advancement, and worked to include others in that vision. During college, he served as director of Young Men’s Circle, Pomona College’s only youth mentorship program, and founded
- [Jeremías Casteglione](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/jeremias-casteglione/) - Jeremías is passionate about using his technical skillset to build operating systems that help students and their families. Jeremías has worked in IT infrastructure since 2003, and is a natural born nomad who likes to try to understand how things work while traveling the world.
- [José Soarez](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/jose-soarez/) - José enjoys learning new technologies and using them to improve education for children. José brings over four years of experience as a full-stack engineer to TalkingPoints and worked in QA before becoming a developer. José has a Programmer Analyst degree from ORT University.
- [Kara Davis](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/kara-davis/) - Kara is passionate about human rights issues and believes language access and human rights go hand-in-hand — access to information in your preferred language is critical to your livelihood, happiness, and success. That’s what inspired her to join TalkingPoints and drives her role as Institutional Philanthropy Manager. She brings nearly a decade of development experience
- [Kate Pechacek](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/kate-pechacek/) - Kate has over 20 years experience in education. She taught secondary math for 15 years in Iowa, Oregon, Texas, and Minnesota along with about 10 years of experience working at the district level in curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development and MTSS. Her most recent role prior to moving to ed tech was as Director of
- [Kevin Chavez](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/kevin-chavez/) - Kevin is passionate about giving a voice to families who speak English as a second language. As a child of two immigrants, Kevin grew up acting as an interpreter for his parents and teachers. As a Customer Success Associate, Kevin brings over six years of experience and is dedicated to helping teachers and families connect
- [Lauren Fogel](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/lauren-fogel/) - Lauren is dedicated to driving impact and social change by working at the intersection of technology and social service – she is excited to bring that focus to TalkingPoints. For over 20 years, Lauren held product development leadership positions in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. She led the expansion of a resource information and referral
- [Lucia Alfaya](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/lucia-alfaya/) - As an academic researcher, Lucia has learned to be proactive and apply her analytical skills when facing challenges. Her work experience has also taught her to be inquisitive and adapt to different situations. She has seen how education impacts and opens doors and is excited to share this experience with others. Lucia has a BA
- [Maria Nazarova](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/maria-nazarova/) - Maria is passionate about empowering youth in their education and believes that family engagement is a huge stepping stone towards doing just that. Moving to the US from Russia with her family as a young child, she was aware of the role she had to play as an interpreter between her family and teachers. She
- [Martín Calcagno](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/martin-calcagno/) - Martin leads Android app development and works with AI that are integral to TalkingPoints 2.0. He studied Computer Science at Republic University in Uruguay and is passionate about mathematics.
- [Nancy Lee Bromberger](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/nancy-lee-bromberger/) - Nancy brings over fifteen years of experience in education to her role as Head of Partnerships. As a classroom teacher in Anacostia, Washington DC and head of a literacy program for low-income students in San Francisco, she witnessed the power of partnering with parents in their children’s education to support student success. At TalkingPoints, Nancy
- [Nelson Campos](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/nelson-campos/) - Nelson is our lead backend developer. He has extensive knowledge on SQL and Mongo databases and has worked on TalkingPoints SMS infrastructure and push notifications. He studied Computer Science at Republic University in Uruguay.
- [Pablo Márquez](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/pablo-marquez/) - Pablo is passionate about using his technology background to improve education. Pablo studied Biochemistry at the Science University of Uruguay and computer science in the private sector. His academic work included combining biology and programming as a bioinformatician, and he tried to find key genes that help combat diseases caused by parasites, like Toxoplasmosis. In
- [Paige DeLozier](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/paige-delozier/) - Paige has a passion for education that ranges from classroom instruction to student and family engagement and teacher advocacy. She finds great purpose and satisfaction in participating in the development and distribution of resources that benefit all stakeholders in the world of education. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a BS
- [Rina Park](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/rina-park/) - Rina is passionate about aligning education technology to improving student learning. Rina is a quantitative education researcher who specializes in using data-driven methods to answer causal inference questions. At TalkingPoints, Rina helps teachers and parents communicate better and collaboratively work towards effective student learning. Rina received a Ph.D in Economics and Education from Columbia University
- [Selina Macias](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/selina-macias/) - Selina is passionate about removing barriers through yielding the power of communication to people. As someone who has worked closely with students from multicultural backgrounds and an avid language learner herself, she understands the importance of understanding one another to bring about engagement and understanding. She is a graduate from the College of Mount Saint
- [Simón Miera](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/simon-miera/) - Simón has been in education for over 20 years. He has a passion for providing a voice for students as they learn to navigate their journey and discover their place in the world. He has served as a middle school and high school English and Social Studies teacher for 15 years in New Mexico and
- [Sujeiry Gonzalez](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/sujeiry-gonzalez/) - A former teacher and Parent Liason, Sujeiry believes in empowering multilingual families by equipping them with information and providing them with access. Born in NYC to Dominican parents, Sujeiry knows first-hand the importance of family advocacy and engagement. She has a passion for bridging the communication gap between multilingual families and school administrators. Sujeiry is a graduate of Rowan University
- [Veronica Tappe](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/our-team/veronica-tappe/) - Veronica cares deeply about improving education and student outcomes in America. Education played a positive role in Veronica’s life and she has dedicated her career to working on mission-driven nonprofit teams. Veronica has experience in operations, human resources, and development. Veronica studied Sociology at Southern Oregon University and received a certificate in Human Resources from California

## News

- [Straight Up Conversation: TalkingPoints Founder Heejae Lim](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/straight-up-conversation-talkingpoints-founder-heejae-lim-opinion/) - Today, I chat with Heejae Lim, founder of TalkingPoints, a messaging app used by 150,000 families and teachers in over 3,000 schools that aims to improve parent-teacher communication—especially for parents who are non-English speakers.
- [“The Pandemic Has Made Our Mission More Critical Than Ever”](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/stanford-gsb/) - With TalkingPoints, Heejae Lim, MBA ’15, bridges language barriers between teachers and parents.
- [$140,000 in Prizes Awarded to Early-Stage Education Entrepreneurs](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/140000-in-prizes-awarded-to-early-stage-education-entrepreneurs/) - As the largest competition of its kind, the EBPC features multiple cash prizes totaling $140,000, and awards prizes in two categories – one aimed at Idea-stage companies that are just getting started and Ventures, which already have revenues, grants, customers, or investments.
- [AT&T Aspire Accelerator Selects Second Class of Edtech Startups](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/att-aspire-accelerator-selects-second-class-of-edtech-startups/) - STEM is high on the mind of the folks over at AT&T Aspire Accelerator. Three of the six teams selected to participate in its second six-month accelerator program aim to help students code and explore science careers.
- [Best Tools for Virtual and Distance Learning | Common Sense Education](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/common-sense-media/) - Tools to build great learning experiences for remote students. Explore this Best Tools for Virtual and Distance Learning Top Picks list of 18 tools curated by Common Sense Education editors to find relevant and engaging edtech solutions for your classroom.
- [The untapped parent potential: How COVID has activated families and why schools should take heed - Christensen Institute](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/the-untapped-parent-potential-how-covid-has-activated-families-and-why-schools-should-take-heed-christensen-institute/) - How can schools redesign parent and family engagement so that students continue to be engaged and successful in their learning both during and post-COVID?
- [How Is COVID-19 Impacting Education for Children From Multilingual Communities?](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/how-is-covid-19-impacting-education-for-children-from-multilingual-communities/) - Talking Points CEO Heejae Lim explains how her organization is bridging communication gaps between families and teachers.
- [2021 Best Overall Family Communication Platform for Teachers and Schools | Common Sense Education](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/common-sense-media-2/) - After dozens of hours of testing, Common Sense Media chooses TalkingPoints as the standout messaging tool for families, teachers, and students.
- [Our once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in a better future for all students](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/our-once-in-a-generation-opportunity-to-invest-in-a-better-future-for-all-students/) - The past year and a half have transformed home-school connections; we need to build on this foundation.
- [EdTech Tools Receive Recognition for Helping ELLs Learn](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/edtech-tools-receive-recognition-for-helping-ells-learn/) - Last week, The NewSchools Venture Fund announced the winners of a funding competition designed to find the best edtech tools that are helping English Language Learners (ELLs) learn.
- [TalkingPoints platform will provide personalized, real-time coaching for underserved students’ parents and teachers with support from Google.org](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/talkingpoints-platform-will-provide-personalized-real-time-coaching-for-underserved-students-parents-and-teachers-with-support-from-google-org/) - Education technology non-profit will break down barriers to parent engagement by using AI to enable personalized coaching and improve two-way translated communication on its multilingual family engagement platform
- [Using Evidence to Effectively Support Education During COVID-19](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/cep-center-for-effective-philantrophy/) - In light of school closures caused by COVID-19, millions of students are home for the remainder of the academic year. Philanthropy will play a vital role in the response to this crisis. But how can education funders and donors ensure that they are allocating their resources effectively?
- [Kapur & Srinivasan: Pandemic Is Strengthening the Home-School Connection. How Education Nonprofits Are Boosting Family Engagement to Help Kids Succeed](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/the-74-million/) - Correction appended Oct. 19 As of the first weeks of the school year, parents and teachers at 35,000 schools nationwide have been communicating via text messages translated into 108 languages. The platform they use, created by the education technology nonprofit TalkingPoints, has seen a fifteen-fold...
- [How teachers are trying to reach English language learners during pandemic](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/pbs-newshour/) - Many teachers say they are struggling to connect with English-language learners at home, but are using high- and low-tech methods in an attempt to overcome the digital divide and other challenges.
- [Pandemic impacting thousands of Syracuse students learning English as new language](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/cny-central/) - Jay Subedi has been a contributing Syracuse community member for about 12 years. Now, Subedi runs his own home health care business and serves on various Syracuse boards and committees. English is Subedi's second language after Nepali. It's also the second language for his wife and two children. Fiv...
- [Whether Through Texts or Apps, Schools Are Using Technology to Get the Message Out to Students’ Families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/whether-through-texts-or-apps-schools-are-using-technology-to-get-the-message-out-to-students-families/) - Heejae Lim, founder of TalkingPoints, an app that translates text messages from educators into a parent’s home language, likes to tell a story of a San Francisco middle school principal. The administrator wanted to connect with the parents of a Spanish-speaking student at risk of failing. He tried visiting the family at home twice, to no avail.
- [Twilio.org Announces $1.4M in Grants to 15 Nonprofits](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/twilio-org-announces-1-4m-in-grants-to-15-nonprofits/) - Enabling a young mother to access essential nutrition benefits over text. Activating a high schooler’s passion for voting rights through digital engagement campaigns. Every day, nonprofit organizations create innovative communication solutions to reach people where they are and deliver services central to their programs. Twilio.org partners with social impact organizations around the world to build and scale these life changing communications.
- [Meet the Edtech Grantees of Google’s $25 Million AI Impact Challenge](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/meet-the-edtech-grantees-of-googles-25-million-ai-impact-challenge/) - Seven years ago, Google’s artificial intelligence technology was barely able to identify cat videos with passable precision. So what can its AI do today when it comes to tackling actual problems—say, famine, flooding, pollution and parent engagement?
- [New research partnership evaluates innovation in family engagement](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/new-research-partnership-evaluates-innovation-in-family-engagement/) - Randomized evaluation of the TalkingPoints multilingual family engagement platform will assess the intervention's impact on student achievement.
- [Moving from Communication to Engagement: Unlocking the Potential of Underserved, Diverse Families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/moving-from-communication-to-engagement-unlocking-the-potential-of-underserved-diverse-families/) - Communication, conversation, and relationships are the underpinnings of strong family-school partnerships. Yet, with over 350 languages spoken in U.S. homes today
- [Korean Venture “TalkingPoints” Chosen as Top 10 Google Impact Challenge](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/korean-venture-talkingpoints-chosen-as-top-10-google-impact-challenge/) - As one of the top 10 projects on Google Impact Challenge, TalkingPoints, a one-man venture established by a Korean CEO Hee Jae Lim, competed against other firms for votes to win the challenge. Through the Google Impact Challenge with 800 firms competing, $5 million grant has been given out to Bay Area nonprofits. If selected as Google Impact Challenge top projects, the firms would get an opportunity to work with Google’s resources to further drive the firm to the next stage in addition to grants.
- [The Race to Translate: Which Parent Communication Tool Will Reign Supreme?](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/the-race-to-translate-which-parent-communication-tool-will-reign-supreme/) - First, it was parent-teacher communication by texting. Now, ClassDojo and Remind seem to be in a race to share information with parents in whatever native language they speak.
- [Tech Startups Chase Something Other Than Profits](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/tech-startups-chase-something-other-than-profits/) - At a demo day in San Francisco on Wednesday, Joyce Kim’s presentation of her financial tech startup sounded a lot like a tech startup pitching venture capitalists for funding. She scrolled through a slide deck and stood at a podium, sporting a t-shirt of her startup.
- [TalkingPoints Uses Code As Universal Language To Connect Parents and Teachers](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/talkingpoints-uses-code-as-universal-language-to-connect-parents-and-teachers/) - Language barriers don’t exist in a vacuum. Let’s say a parent can’t communicate in English with their kid’s teacher, and that teacher only speaks English. The problem at hand isn’t just a translation issue. It’s a language barrier that limits the parent’s ability to participate in their child’s education, and limits the child’s development.
- [Three ways tech is reinventing a surprising sector](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/three-ways-tech-is-reinventing-a-surprising-sector/) - More than 1 million users. Sixteen billion monthly page views. Ninety-nine percent user engagement. If these sound like stats from tech companies, you’re right. Except these tech companies are nonprofits.
- [Multilingual Texting Platform Aims to Help Schools Engage All Families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/multilingual-texting-platform-aims-to-help-schools-engage-all-families/) - San Francisco-based nonprofit TalkingPoints announced yesterday the launch of a centralized school-wide platform designed to help school officials communicate with all of the families they serve, regardless of language barriers.
- [Can You Translate That? New App Allows Parents, Teachers to Bridge Language Divide](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/can-you-translate-that-new-app-allows-parents-teachers-to-bridge-language-divide/) - Parental engagement is twice as likely to influence a student’s long-term success as socioeconomic status, some studies say, but when parents struggle to engage because of language limitations, it creates a big barrier between home and school.
- [Parent-Teacher Communication Tool TalkingPoints Helps Immigrant Parents Connect with Schools](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/parent-teacher-communication-tool-talkingpoints-helps-immigrant-parents-connect-with-schools/) - From an early age, Heejae Lim recognized her parents’ ability to speak English allowed them to engage with her school life in a way that non-English-speaking parents could not.
- [NewSchools Ignite Announces ELL Challenge Winners](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/newschools-ignite-announces-ell-challenge-winners/) - Last year, in several separate conversations with educators, the subject of tools for English Language Learners (ELLs) came up. We discussed it as a team, and wondered if it was a trend we should be paying closer attention to.
- [App helps parents, teachers communicate](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/app-helps-parents-teachers-communicate/) - Amanda Roman, an English as a second language teacher in Elmsford, used to have to translate handwritten Spanish notes from students’ parents for her colleagues.
- [6 New Companies Solving Education’s Biggest Problems](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/6-new-companies-solving-educations-biggest-problems/) - We’ve all heard the theory that the most successful businesses have one thing in common: They identify a problem that people have and they solve it. If only it were that simple.
- [Startups and nonprofits set sights on closing the achievement gap through internet access](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/startups-and-nonprofits-set-sights-on-closing-the-achievement-gap-through-internet-access/) - Kids growing up in low-income neighborhoods have always faced extra challenges when it comes to keeping up with their middle- to high-income peers. And with the dawning of the digital age, low-income students now face a new, unprecedented challenge: access to high-speed internet.
- [Nonprofits, not Silicon Valley startups, are creating AI apps for the greater good](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/nonprofits-not-silicon-valley-startups-are-creating-ai-apps-for-the-greater-good/) - Predictions for the potential of artificial intelligence wax poetic — solutions from climate change to curing disease — but the everyday applications make it seem far more mundane, like a glorified clock radio.
- [Bridging the Language Barrier with TalkingPoints](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/bridging-the-language-barrier-with-talkingpoints/) - As a parent, I can’t even begin to describe how important I think home to school/school to home communication is for my sanity and my child’s success. My son is a bit of a mad scientist, which is all well and good, but have you seen the inside of a mad scientist’s backpack?
- [A must-have tool for Back-to-School!](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/a-must-have-tool-for-back-to-school/) - The following piece is based on a conversation we recently had with Heejae Lim, Founder and Executive Director of TalkingPoints. As a Korean immigrant student, Heejae saw first-hand the difference between her friends with English-speaking parents who were deeply engaged in their education versus non-English speaking parents who struggled to be involved.
- [A Great Way To Use Tech To Help Teachers Meaningfully Engage With Families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/a-great-way-to-use-tech-to-help-teachers-meaningfully-engage-with-families/) - Strong parent-teacher partnerships are key to student success in the classroom. In fact, parental engagement is very effective at predicting student achievement. When teachers and parents are in regular contact about students’ needs, progress, and successes, students feel supported and motivated to try their best in school.
- [Straight Up Conversation: TalkingPoints Founder Heejae Lim](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/straight-up-conversation-talkingpoints-founder-heejae-lim/) - TalkingPoints is an education technology nonprofit working to make it easy for any parent to be engaged in their children’s education—especially in low-income, diverse communities. Through a parent education platform with human- and AI-powered translation, we help teachers and parents communicate, build relationships, and understand what effective parent engagement looks like.
- [Breaking Down Barriers Between Educators and Families Through Technology](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/breaking-down-barriers-between-educators-and-families-through-technology/) - One in four children in the United States is born to an immigrant family, according to the Casey Foundation, and there will be 40 million children born to immigrant or underserved families by 2030. These children are becoming one of the fastest growing student demographics, with states in the South and Southeast seeing the number of English Language Learner students double year after year. Yet school systems, educators, and communities are not adequately prepared or resourced for this pace of change.
- [Is Your Startup Really Helping Save the World? These Companies Are](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/is-your-startup-really-helping-save-the-world-these-companies-are/) - Utah-based Pluralsight’s Create the Future Awards recognize companies changing the world for the better. We met two of them: one teaches tech skills to human-trafficking victims, while another helps bridge language barriers between parents and teachers.
- [TalkingPoints on Asian Pacific America](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/talkingpoints-on-asian-pacific-america/) - TalkingPoints is a nonprofit, and our mission is to unlock the potential of low-income, immigrant families in the U.S. to be able to support their children’s learning.
- [Three Languages You Must Master As A Social Entrepreneur](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/three-languages-you-must-master-as-a-social-entrepreneur/) - Language and cultural barriers are familiar ground to me. As a Korean who grew up in England and then moved to the US, I’ve encountered plenty of challenges in cultural and language translation. But today I’m becoming less and less of an anomaly. Minorities will make up more than 50% of the United States population by 2020.
- [Google to Bay Area: Vote for boldest nonprofit ideas](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news/google-to-bay-area-vote-for-boldest-nonprofit-ideas/) - Google wants Bay Area residents to pick the groups with the best ideas for transforming local lives. Google.org, the search giant’s philanthropic arm, is seeking public input on its Google Impact Challenge grants to “change-makers and forward-thinkers who challenge the status quo … with big ideas for an even better Bay Area,” as it says on its website.

## Series

- [Ryan's Test Event](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/series/ryans-test-event/)

## Categories

- [Blog](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/cat/blog/)
- [Featured](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/cat/featured/)

## Tags

- [remote learning](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/remote-learning/)
- [online learning](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/online-learning/)
- [family engagement](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/family-engagement/)
- [covidclassroom](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/covidclassroom/)
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- [teachers](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/teachers/)
- [parents](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/parents/)
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- [christmas](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/christmas/)
- [hanukkah](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/hanukkah/)
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- [break](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/break/)
- [fammily engagement](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/fammily-engagement/)
- [translation](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/translation/)
- [parent app](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/parent-app/)
- [teacher app](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/teacher-app/)
- [writing for translation](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/writing-for-translation/)
- [tips for writing](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/tips-for-writing/)
- [video](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/video/)
- [caption](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/caption/)
- [closed caption](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/closed-caption/)
- [parent](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/parent/)
- [ed tech](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/ed-tech/)
- [ed equity](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/ed-equity/)
- [poll](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/poll/)
- [polling](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/polling/)
- [data](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/data/)
- [best practices](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/best-practices/)
- [parent communication](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/parent-communication/)
- [data analysis](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/data-analysis/)
- [messaging app](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/messaging-app/)
- [fun](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/fun/)
- [activity](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/activity/)
- [welcome](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/welcome/)
- [back to school](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/back-to-school/)
- [representation in school](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/representation-in-school/)
- [language](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/language/)
- [community](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/community/)
- [latinx](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/latinx/)
- [hispanic](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/hispanic/)
- [educational equity](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/educational-equity/)
- [african](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/african/)
- [african american](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/african-american/)
- [black families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/black-families/)
- [special education](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/special-education/)
- [exceptional education](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/exceptional-education/)
- [english as a second language](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/english-as-a-second-language/)
- [english language learner](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/english-language-learner/)
- [esol](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/esol/)
- [featured](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/tag/featured/)

## Tags

- [featured](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/case-studies-tags/featured/)

## Categories

- [Homepage](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/testimonials-cats/homepage/)
- [Impact](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/testimonials-cats/impact/)
- [Families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/testimonials-cats/families/)
- [Translations](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/testimonials-cats/translations/)
- [Schools](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/testimonials-cats/schools/)
- [Trusted by schools & districts](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/testimonials-cats/trusted/)
- [Preferred by teachers](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/testimonials-cats/preferred/)
- [Beloved by families](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/testimonials-cats/beloved/)

## Categories

- [General](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/team-cats/general/)
- [Board of Directors](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/team-cats/board/)
- [Advisory Board](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/team-cats/advisory/)

## Types

- [Collateral](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-cats/collateral/)
- [Research Report](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-cats/research-report/)
- [Success Story](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-cats/success-story/)
- [Webinar](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-cats/webinar/)
- [Video](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-cats/video/)

## Topics

- [Expansion](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-topics/expansion/)
- [Awareness](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-topics/awareness/)
- [Attendance](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-topics/attendance/)
- [Equity](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-topics/equity/)
- [Translation](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/resources-topics/translation/)

## Tags

- [featured](https://web-staging.talkingpts.org/news-tags/featured/)