Teachers & Educators
TalkingPoints
Enabling parent-teacher engagement via a multilingual communication platform
Hear the Pitch
The Problem
Research shows that parent engagement is a critical part of a student’s academic success. Unfortunately, in underserved or marginalized communities, families face multiple barriers to actively engaging in their child’s education. Differences in educational background, language barriers, and overwhelming work schedules can cause mutual misunderstandings between parents and teachers, making it challenging to work together to support their students.
The Solution
To bridge these barriers, TalkingPoints’ intelligent messaging app uses machine learning and natural language processing to provide personalized coaching for parents and teachers. TalkingPoints’ multilingual app connects parents and teachers so they can build trusting relationships—without language, tech, or cultural barriers.
A parent can message their child’s teacher in their own language, and TalkingPoints will suggest some actionable steps they can take to help their child. Teachers go through coaching modules that help them engage with parents and students. The app personalizes educational content for parents and teachers alike, enabling them to work together to best support their students.
Market Opportunity
- In the US alone, there are 10 million low-income, diverse, immigrant, and often non-English speaking students.
- On average in OECD countries, 63 percent of first-generation immigrant students and 38 percent of second-generation immigrant students speak a language at home that is different from the language taught in their schools.
Organization Highlights
- With no marketing budget, expanded to 250,000 users through word of mouth in three years
- Entrepreneurship networks: Echoing Green, Stanford Social Innovation, Ashoka Changemaker, Uncharted, Bluhm-Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship
- Awards: General Motors Prize for Advanced Technologies, Save the Children Prize for Breakthrough Innovations for Children
- Media: NBC, Forbes, Education Week, Recode, TechCrunch, and more
Existing Partnerships
TalkingPoints currently partners with:
- More than 50 school districts in the US, e.g. NYC Department of Education
- Nonprofit organizations and education networks
- MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) for an impact evaluation study
Organization Goals
TalkingPoints seeks to achieve the following goals:
- Double the 2019 budget to account for new team members and increased activity
- Launch pilots internationally and eventually expand operations beyond the US
- Reach 3 million lives in the US and 7 million internationally in five years
Partnership Goals
To reach the goals mentioned above, TalkingPoints seeks partnerships to:
- Launch international pilots
- Acquire pro-bono services in marketing, PR, and design
- Connect to donors to meet fundraising goals
Stats
Since 2014, TalkingPoints has impacted 250,000 families across North America.
Solver Team
Organization Type:
Nonprofit
Headquarters:
San Francisco, CA, USA
Stage:
Growth
Working in:
Canada, USA, Uruguay
Employees:
6
Website:
https://talkingpts.org/
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Heejae Lim Founder and CEO, TalkingPoints
Multilingual Parent-Teacher Engagement
Solver TalkingPoints received the $25,000 General Motors Prize for Advanced Technologies from Member General Motors in 2018 to enable parent-teacher engagement via a multilingual communication platform.
Multilingual Parent-Teacher Engagement
Solver TalkingPoints received the $25,000 Save the Children Prize for Breakthrough Innovations for Children from Member Save the Children in 2018 to enable parent-teacher engagement via a multilingual communication platform.
Multilingual Parent-Teacher Engagement
Solver TalkingPoints, which enables parent-teacher engagement via a multilingual communication platform, received a $10,000 grant from Solve in 2018 for being selected as a Teachers & Educators Solver.
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