Strong Relationships Need Strong Systems

The Every Child and Family is Known (ECFIK) initiative is built around the power of trusted connections between students, families, and Caring Adults in schools. Through regular check-ins, resource coordination, and ongoing support, Caring Adults help ensure students and families are seen, known, and connected to the services they need.

But as New Visions Chief Technology Officer Brad Gunton writes in a new op-ed in The 74, relationships alone are not enough. Effective support also requires the systems and infrastructure that help educators coordinate care, respond quickly to changing needs, and maintain a shared understanding of how students are doing.

As a partner in ECFIK, New Visions enhanced the Portal by New Visions to support the work of Caring Adults and school teams. The Portal brings together student information, allows staff to document check-ins and needs, coordinate support, and monitor progress over time—all within the same platform schools already use to understand attendance, academic performance, and other indicators of student success.

Since the program launch, over 1,400 Caring Adults and Program Points have used the Portal to document more than 102,500 check-ins with families. A program evaluation from the NYC Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence found that elementary students benefitting from the program were 20 percentage points less likely to transfer schools mid-year and experienced an 8.8 percentage point gain in math proficiency.

The Portal puts relationships front and center, making it easier for Caring Adults to spend less time navigating systems and more time supporting students and families.

In his op-ed, Brad reflects on what this work has taught us about the essential role of thoughtful technology in allowing dignity, coordination, and trust to take root.

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