EdTech: Vidya Sundaram of Family Engagement Lab On How Their Technology Will Make An Important Positive Impact On Education

Set boundaries. I have to set boundaries with myself. While working on issues that have so much personal urgency, I get really absorbed in problem-solving. I find structures around my day really help me maintain a balance. But to stick to routines, I ask for a little help from my friends. For example, my friend who lives across the country will text me regularly to make sure I’m getting exercise. It helps!

In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course, many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. In this particular installment, we are talking to leaders of Education Technology companies, who share how their tech is helping to improve our educational system. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vidya Sundaram, CEO & Co-Founder of Family Engagement Lab.

Vidya is a transformational education leader, having built diverse teams in nonprofit education and technology. Vidya has an extensive background in business leadership and program strategy, and most recently led GreatSchools’ market research and social impact assessments for services used by more than half of US families. Prior to GreatSchools, she drove new investment opportunities in Internet media. Vidya has led software development at both consumer and enterprise Internet start-ups, pioneering the development of Internet postage applications and the first print-at-home boarding pass system for a major airline. She holds a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, a Master in Public Policy from UCLA and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

As the co-founder and CEO of Family Engagement Lab, my journey to leading an education technology company is rooted in my experience as a second-generation Indian-American. It wasn’t always easy to navigate between home and the schools I attended.

Growing up as the daughter of Tamil-speaking parents, I faced a unique challenge. Schools discouraged the use of my native language, aiming to assimilate students like me to be successful in school. While I don’t believe there was any harmful intent behind the practice, it did distance me from my home language and cultural traditions.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Early in my career in education technology, I had a mentor tell me that one could not study the impact of internet resources on behavior. That was not an uncommon mindset at the time, about 20 years ago. Of course, I took that as a challenge and developed multiple approaches to studying the impact of digital and internet-based resources on families and students’ behavior and outcomes. I think sometimes my best motivation comes from someone telling me that I cannot do something!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There are many people who have helped both with my career and our organization’s mission, so it is hard to name just one. But one person, Bill Jackson, founder of GreatSchools and a visionary social entrepreneur, has been a constant source of support and inspiration.

Bill was one of the few people who knew I was interested in becoming a social entrepreneur, and he very generously gave his time and support to guide me through those early days. He also opened his “Rolodex” and made so many critical connections to foundations and partners to help us get off the ground.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” ~Socrates

I love this quote because it’s a touchstone for me, reminding me to stay curious. Working on complex social change is so professionally rewarding, but the setbacks sometimes feel devastating, especially when so many children are hurt by the shortcomings of our educational systems. It helps me to get curious about those frustrations and to stay motivated when confronted with those difficult setbacks.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Empathy: When developing technology for a wide range of stakeholders, I believe it is important to identify and challenge assumptions through regular research. For example, when we began developing FASTalk, our project sponsors requested that we develop a mobile application for families. But our sponsors had not asked families directly what they wanted! We went into communities and asked families, and learned that they did not want a mobile app. Instead, they wanted a way to communicate with their child’s teacher about what was taught in school, and how they could help at home. If we had developed a mobile app, we would not have had the success in communities that we have today.

Seek help: I realized quickly that as an entrepreneur that the path to your long-term vision will carry many unfamiliar obstacles. I became an entrepreneur after a long career, but sitting in the CEO’s seat is a unique experience. Recognizing my limitations and asking for help is something that did not come naturally to me before, but a skill that I had to develop quickly when we launched Family Engagement Lab. Leaning on expertise among our board and advisors, while taking time to build new relationships has helped us sustain and grow our impact.

Persistence: For me, persistence is reframing setbacks as opportunities for personal and professional growth and inspiring my team to do so as well. Our team often spends hours on grant applications and cultivating new relationships with schools where only a subset will lead to a partnership. We have developed a culture where the “no’s” are just as important as the “yes’s” to our learning and growth process. I’m so proud that this year, in our annual team charter, our staff identified that they want to feel challenged at work because they have the support to tackle tough social problems.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive social impact on our educational systems. To begin, what problems are you aiming to solve?

Students from low-income families, students of color, and multilingual learners together comprise a majority of US students, yet are significantly underserved by public education systems. The number of people in the United States who speak a language other than English has grown to 1 in 5. Nationally, English language learners (ELs) are one of the fastest-growing student populations, comprising 10% of students. Far fewer ELs achieve proficiency in core academic skills compared to non-ELs in mathematics (14% versus 43%) and reading (9% versus 40%). ELs are also less likely to graduate from high school. Although family engagement is more important to student outcomes than their parents’ education levels or socioeconomic status, multilingual families rarely receive information about their student’s learning in a way that allows them to engage meaningfully at home — let alone respond to teachers and schools with feedback.

How do you think your technology can address this?

Our solution, FASTalk, builds partnerships between teachers and historically underserved families by sharing engaging, at-home learning activities via text messages in each family’s home language. Family engagement has been shown by research to promote many positive student outcomes, including second language learning, motivation, and academic achievement, as well as increased on-time high school completion and lower rates of high school dropout. Indeed, the home learning environment can have a greater influence than either parent education or socio-economic status. Critically, early parent engagement can start a positive cycle of continued family engagement over time, sustaining achievement gains and student motivation. A Stanford study found that sending weekly early literacy activities by text message to parents increased those parents’ involvement at home, leading to significant early literacy gains for preschool students. Through FASTalk, Family Engagement Lab promotes equitable and consistent learning-focused parent-child interactions. These family engagement behaviors accelerate student learning, and ultimately, support longer-term student success..

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about education?

I became more curious about education, and the public education system in particular, when I was in high school. More than a month before the end of my freshman year, my district declared bankruptcy, and we were told that school would end early. We even returned all of our books and expected to have a longer break! Of course, that was unconstitutional and the state bailed out the district at the eleventh hour. But I realized how fragile the education system can be, and how important it is for communities to continue to strengthen it so more students can benefit.

How do you think your technology might change the world?

Multiple research studies of FASTalk have linked FASTalk to improved student academic achievement, particularly for students furthest behind their peers and for students whose parents do not share a common language with their teacher. More FASTalk students meet literacy benchmarks, achieve greater gains on literacy assessments, and demonstrate accelerated report card growth than their peers who do not. FASTalk accelerates and improves students’ literacy achievement in grades TK-K and 3–5 compared to similar non-users, especially when families use the tool more often and when parents do not share a language with their child’s teacher.

More than three-quarters of families using FASTalk say it is the only place they receive information in their home language about what their child is learning in school and their only source of ideas for how to support that learning. Parents tell us they not only “enjoy knowing what is going on” with their child but also feel “more connected” and better able to “reiterate concepts that were presented in class in a home setting” and “turn everyday life into fun learning.” Teachers also report that FASTalk saves them time and breaks down common family-teacher communication barriers.

Keeping the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Enthusiasm for the benefits of technology can often blind us to the potential harms that are often difficult to predict.

How do you envision the landscape of education evolving over the next decade, and how does your technology fit into that future?

Family Engagement Lab envisions a K-12 school system in which students from all backgrounds — including those for whom English isn’t their family’s first or only language — achieve their full potential through authentic collaboration between their most passionate advocates: their teachers and families. In this vision:

• School systems embrace families as true partners in children’s academic learning.
• Teachers share accessible and actionable information regularly and easily with families about what students should be learning and how to help at home.
• Families — particularly families of color, low-income families, and families of multilingual learners — work actively to support learning at home.

Historically, efforts to improve family engagement have fallen short of meeting the needs of underserved students and their families. Practices such as events, newsletters, and parent-teacher conferences can be inaccessible for low-income and multilingual families due to time constraints, language barriers, and lack of comfort or familiarity with the school. FASTAlk is easy for parents to understand (text-based and translated into 100+ home languages), simple for teachers to use, seamless for curriculum providers to integrate, and cost-effective for school systems to implement at scale. In addition, FASTalk significantly increases equity in academic achievement, helping students the furthest behind catch up to their peers.

Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”?

1. Accept that taking risks is an important part of leadership. When I was early in my software career, I gave a presentation to convince my engineering colleagues to do a major refactoring of the code-base — a big change for everyone. Somehow I worked myself into a place where I didn’t feel I was worthy of giving the presentation. I gave the presentation basically staring at my notes the whole time, which is very unusual for me — I love presenting! But I was afraid of leading the team in the wrong direction. I realized afterwards that it wasn’t that big a deal, and to relax about taking a risk. It’s part of the journey.
2. Build your storytelling skills. I used to think the people I admired most at mobilizing support for their social impact initiatives were just naturally good at telling their story. Some people make it look so easy! While I’m sure some people are truly “naturals,” I have learned that preparation is key. It may seem counterintuitive, but rehearsing helps me feel more comfortable and natural. And you will be telling your story A LOT. I ask for lots of help from trusted advisors.
3. Listen, and put people’s advice in context. Recognize the range of stakeholders that may be impacted by your decisions and talk to them. People will give you all sorts of advice, but no one knows exactly what circumstances you are in. You may be the only bridge. Listen openly to everything that people tell you. Consider how the advice fits your unique contexts and the needs of the communities you are serving.
4. It’s okay to not know the answer all the time. Recognizing all that you do know (and being humble about what you don’t know) is key for a leader. The startup world is fast-paced and there are times you’ll feel very well-prepared and times that you won’t, but approaching new challenges with openness and confidence makes a huge difference.
5. Set boundaries. I have to set boundaries with myself. While working on issues that have so much personal urgency, I get really absorbed in problem-solving. I find structures around my day really help me maintain a balance. But to stick to routines, I ask for a little help from my friends. For example, my friend who lives across the country will text me regularly to make sure I’m getting exercise. It helps!

In the realm of EdTech, there’s often data collection involved. How do you ensure the ethical handling of user data, especially when it concerns students?

We have enacted comprehensive data privacy and governance policies and practices to comply with requirements from major school systems, including Baltimore City Schools, Oakland Unified, Ft. Worth ISD, and others.

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

Young people have a very strong sense of how to improve society and the environment. It may seem daunting to create change as an individual, but it only takes a few people to create change. If you can find others who care about your cause, work together. If you don’t, share what you know and you will be surprised to find others ready and eager to help you.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I would be thrilled to meet with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who has demonstrated a strong commitment to improving educational outcomes for all students, particularly those from underserved communities. His experience working with multilingual learners aligns closely with the mission of Family Engagement Lab.

I imagine us sitting down for a long chat to envision a brighter future for underserved students, their families and teachers, and to explore how FASTalk can be used to uplift these learners.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

• Family Engagement Lab Website: www.familyengagementlab.org
• Sign up for our email newsletter: Family Engagement Learning Series
• Follow Family Engagement Lab on LinkedIn
• Follow Family Engagement Lab on X

Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!