Hope Elementary is still a young school. Now in its fifth year, the campus continues to establish its identity.

“We’re still building our presence,” Principal Christina Upshaw explains. “Families are moving into our area all the time, and they’re researching schools before they ever enroll.”

For Upshaw, communication wasn’t optional. It was foundational. But reaching families proved more complicated than it should have been. Parents had different preferences. Some followed the school on Facebook. Others avoided social media entirely. Many relied on text messages or app notifications instead.

Before adopting Apptegy’s unified platform, meeting those preferences meant duplicating work across many platforms. Posting the same update multiple times. Logging into different tools. Remembering passwords. And often, finishing the job at night.

“It felt unsustainable,” Upshaw says. “You’re making choices between being present in classrooms or being a full-time communications manager.”

Across Hope, Hines, and Buckalew elementaries, the most immediate shift came from embracing a core Apptegy concept: create once, publish everywhere.

Using the Apptegy platform as their central hub, principals and staff now draft a single message and distribute it simultaneously through the school’s live feed, mobile app notifications, email, and connected social channels.

For Erin Mathe at Hines Elementary, that shift was echoed directly by her families.

“I sent out a survey asking parents how they actually want to receive communication,” Mathe says. “I knew preferences varied, but I didn’t realize how wide the range was.”

Some families wanted app notifications. Others preferred text messages. A significant number didn’t want to engage with social media at all.

“What surprised me was how many families said, ‘Please don’t make me check Facebook,’” Mathe recalls.

By publishing once and distributing everywhere, Hines Elementary could honor those preferences without increasing staff workload. Families received the same message, in the format that worked best for them.

“That’s when communication started to feel fair,” Mathe says. “No one is missing information just because they don’t use a certain platform.

From Solo to Shared Storytelling

At Buckalew Elementary, Principal Jill Price was wrestling with a different problem. She believed deeply in telling the school’s story, but she also knew she couldn’t do it alone.

“For years, I felt like I was missing most of what was happening,” Price says. “You can’t be everywhere, and I always worried we weren’t capturing the best moments.”

The burden wasn’t just emotional. It was practical. Evenings spent sorting photos, drafting posts, and managing multiple channels had quietly become part of the job.

That changed when Price leaned into another Apptegy feature: the shared storytelling model.

Today, 15 staff members at Buckalew Elementary contribute to the school’s storytelling. Eight have permission to publish directly. Seven submit content for approval. Instructional coaches highlight classroom learning. Special subject teachers share their programs. Administrators support and guide the process.

“We gave people lanes,” Price explains. “Everyone knows what they’re responsible for sharing.”

The impact was immediate.

“This is the first year I feel like we’re actually telling our full story,” Price says. “I’m not missing 85% of it anymore.”

Just as importantly, the shift redistributed ownership.

“It stopped being ‘the principal’s job,’” Price adds. “It became something we do together.”

Apptegy Gives Staff Time Back

For all three principals, the benefits weren’t only strategic. They were personal.

Before, communication tasks often followed them home. Posting updates after dinner. Managing messages late at night. Reviewing content when their attention was already stretched thin.

“My husband used to joke that after the kids went to bed, I started my second job,” Upshaw says.

Now, most communication happens during the school day. Staff post directly from classrooms and events. Principals review and approve without re-creating content from scratch.

“It’s still part of the job,” Upshaw says. “But it’s no longer consuming our evenings.”

That reclaimed time matters. Not just for work-life balance, but for leadership capacity.

“When you’re not exhausted from managing platforms, you’re more present for your staff and students,” Mathe adds.

Being Louder Than the Negative

In politically vocal communities, silence creates space for speculation.

All three principals shared the same philosophy when it comes to criticism or misinformation: don’t argue—publish the truth.

“Our goal is to be louder than the negative,” Price says.

That doesn’t mean responding to every comment. It means consistently sharing what’s happening inside classrooms. Highlighting student learning. Celebrating staff. Showing families what a typical day actually looks like.

When positive stories are visible and frequent, they shape the narrative long before controversy has a chance to take hold.

“Families don’t have to guess what we’re about,” Mathe says. “They can see it every day in our communication.”

Communication as Recruitment

The impact of that visibility extends beyond current families.

All three principals reported hearing the same refrain from job candidates and substitutes: “We saw your school online.”

“People tell us they chose to apply because of what they saw,” Upshaw says. “They saw how we celebrate kids and staff.”

In a competitive hiring landscape, culture is often the deciding factor. Storytelling makes that culture tangible.

“You can say you’re a supportive school,” Price notes. “Or you can show it.”

One of the clearest lessons across the three campuses is that families are not a monolith.

Some want push notifications. Others rely on text messages. Many still read email. Some prefer none of the above.

By centering communication in a district-branded app experience and distributing across channels automatically, principals reduced friction for families juggling multiple children and multiple schools.

“As a parent, being able to toggle between schools in one place makes a huge difference,” Mathe says.

That simplicity builds trust. Not by adding more communication, but by making communication easier to navigate.

The experience of these three Conroe ISD principals reinforces several lessons echoed in our SchoolCEO research:

• Simplicity builds trust. Fragmented tools create confusion. Clear systems reduce it.

• Your staff is your greatest storytelling asset. Shared storytelling captures more truth than any single voice.

• Proactive communication shapes reputation. Positive stories told consistently leave little room for misinformation.

• Sustainable communication protects leaders. If it only works at night, it won’t last.

A System That Supports Leadership

For Upshaw, Mathe, and Price, effective communication is no longer a side project. It’s infrastructure.

It allows them to lead visibly without burning out. They are now able to empower staff without losing control of the message and to build trust in communities where trust must be earned daily.

“We’re finally telling our story the way it deserves to be told,” Price says.

In a district where voices are loud and expectations are high, that clarity makes all the difference.