Practical, Inspiring Stories
What does it look like to unify communication across an entire district? How about engaging families in today's noisy information environment? Or empowering school staff to be part of the larger district narrative?
Read on and see how school systems are making the most of their partnership with Apptegy—and imagine the impact for your own school community.
We All Belong: How Lockport City Schools Built a Brand That Became a Movement
As Lockport proves, the most powerful communications strategy isn’t about telling your community what to believe. It’s about reminding them who they already are.
You don't have to invent a message—lean into your community and reflect what already resonates.
Students can be among your most valuable storytellers when empowered to be part of your communication efforts.
Misinformation is no match for transparency and direct engagement.
Lost in the Noise: How One School Found Its Voice and Built a Waiting List
How one school in Colorado discovered that authentic storytelling, powered by the right tools, can transform enrollment, retention, and community trust.
Going from generic graphics to highlighting great moments in and out of the classroom builds the brand.
Having one streamlined platform enables storytelling at scale.
Authenticity helps generate buzz for prospective families—and teachers.
Denver Public Schools: Green with Success!
The Denver story isn’t just about communication. It’s about leadership in the age of choice. It’s about how school systems can reclaim control of their narrative, elevate their brand, and prove that public education can be as innovative, data-driven, and customer-focused as any enterprise.
A single, district-branded platform makes DPS communications unmistakably theirs.
Going all-in on telling your story is vital in a competitive school choice landscape.
In an era when districts are told to do more with less, DPS has chosen to do less with purpose: fewer tools, fewer logins, fewer barriers. More trust, more clarity, more connection.
Austin ISD: Turning Around Attendance Through Engagement
In a city defined by growth, Austin ISD’s story is one of rediscovery—not of expansion, but of connection. It’s proof that when school leaders listen deeply, design systems around families, and communicate with empathy, they can turn around more than attendance. They can turn around trust.
Every school and every family now interacts with the same consistent, trustworthy voice.
In one school year, attendance rose and chronic absenteeism fell.
By consolidating tools, building shared language, and empowering every employee to communicate with confidence, Austin ISD is strengthening the connective tissue between schools and families.
One Affton: One Team, One Communication Tool
Affton’s one-person communications office went from tools that worked against speed and simplicity to one communication platform to unify both brand and communication.
Higher parent engagement
Better inclusion for non-English-speaking families
Simplified tools allow more communication to happen
We Are Flashes! Turning Community Pride into Authentic Communications
How Franklin Township Community School Corporation built a volunteer-driven storytelling movement that united schools, strengthened its identity, and redefined what authentic communication looks like.
"We Are Flashes" is more than a tagline—the entire school community is unified behind one powerful brand.
A small comms team is bolstered by communications volunteers across the district that serve as the eyes of the district.
Consistent updates via social media share the joy taking place in classrooms every day.
“One Place, One Voice”: How Carroll County, KY Unified School Communication and Controlled the Narrative
In communities like Carroll County, where adoption is slower, caregivers are busy, and critics can be loud, the formula that works isn’t flashy. It’s discipline. One platform, one brand, lots of small communication wins, and relentless storytelling about the people who care for kids every day.
Fragmented tools = chaos for families. App hopping erodes trust, builds frustration and provides the opportunity for people to miss critical updates.
Simplicity beats feature bloat. Small communications teams need fewer places to manage and a predictable workflow.
Brand and message control matter. When messages don’t look and feel like your district everywhere, credibility suffers.
Amplifying Success, Strengthening Our Community: Durham’s Journey to One Voice
With 30,000+ students, 5,000 employees, and a politically active community, inconsistencies weren’t just inconvenient—they eroded trust. That's why Durham Public Schools turned to one unified communication platform.
District newsletters look great—and take less time to produce than ever.
All parent-teacher communication has been brought into one place, where parents already know to look for news and updates.
Principal buy-in drives adoption and unity across the district. One school system, one communications hub.
Oskaloosa Schools: Turning Tours into Enrollment Wins
In just three years, Iowa's Oskaloosa Schools reversed its downward enrollment trend by launching a student-led ambassador program, professionalizing campus tours, and using Apptegy’s website solution to put students front and center.
Students lead every campus tour for prospective families, new staff, and even community leaders.
Students feature prominently in images and branding across the district website, reinforcing authenticity and belonging.
Email, text, and social media posts link back to the website, with tracking capabilities for engagement.
Promise 2 Purpose: Empowering Staff & Parents Through Simplified Communication
Texas' Klein ISD simplified communication and increased brand consistency by going from seven communication platforms to one unified tool.
With an intuitive interface, even secretaries and veteran teachers became confident communicators and brand advocates
Klein ISD has become the single source of truth for their community
One app, one login, one consistent story.
From Crisis to Confidence: How Shelby County Schools Rebuilt Trust with Unified Communication
Shelby County unified every channel and embraced a transparent and transformational communication strategy that empowered staff, rebuilt community trust, and earned national recognition.
Every message, post, and alert reflects Shelby’s identity, not a vendor’s.
Role-based messaging, moderation, and full traceability protect both students and staff.
Principals, teachers, and secretaries can communicate directly and safely, freeing the central team to focus on strategy.
Making Their Mark Through Communications Excellence
How Dalton Public Schools streamlined communication by moving from multiple systems to one unified communications ecosystem.
"Two clicks" rule for information access
40% parent adoption of the new district app in just days
Increased reach on Instagram by 550.5%
How Etiwanda Achieved Unprecedented Parent Engagement
Streamlining Communication for Deepened Engagement
98% parent district app adoption rate
Phased implementation, not all at once.
Responsive support built immense trust.
Transforming Communications Success
Learn the "Clay Way": People-Driven, Process-Centered, Data-Powered Communications
Consolidated 43 websites to one.
125% increase in website engagement time
35% increase in web visitors
Unifying Communication and Boosting Family Engagement
How Springfield, IL moved from fragmented "wild west" teacher communications to a centralized, complete communications platform and strategy.
The importance of language translation capabilities
One-stop shop within the district's app
Clear, consistent communications have improved online chatter and reputation
From One Voice to Many: The Story of "Our Story"
How Saginaw ISD partnered with Apptegy to implement their innovative (and trademarked) "Our Story" initiative to generate 5,000+ authentic stories and fundamentally shifted organizational culture.
5,030+ unique stories shared since Jan 2023
269 unique staff authors contributing stories
72% teachers believe they improve district reputation
How Humble ISD Takes Pride in Strengthening Trust & Increasing Engagement
See how Humble ISD in Texas removed communication confusion, eliminated duplicate efforts, and empowered every school and staff member to share the great things happening across campuses.
91.5% district app usage rate
Unified web, mobile, mass communication.
How communications drove increases in enrollment and funding
The Gold Standard for Communications
For Sarasota County Schools, Apptegy has operated more like a collaborator than a vendor. "I'd call them with an innovative idea, and they'd say, 'Let’s see if we can do it.' They always found a way to do it That kind of service is rare."
84.06% bond referendum approval (highest in Florida)
30,620 district app downloads and 1.1 million app page views
9.2 million organic social impressions (70% increase)