Carrollton, Kentucky is a small town that once thrived on tobacco farming but now hums as a manufacturing hotspot. The small town quickly outgrew its workforce with many employees now commuting into town each day. Carroll County’s 6 public schools sit in a picturesque spot where the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers meet. Like many rural school districts, the community here values comfort and continuity. Their unique blend of being tight-knit and proudly independent shapes every decision around school communications.
Inside this 1,900 student school district, two leaders have led their communications makeover.
Jennifer Whillhoite, Public Relations Director, leads the district’s communications and is supported by building level communication liaisons. “I’m often in buildings taking photos and gathering stories. It’s a lot of hats but it matters that families hear from us in our voice.”
Zach Morris-Dean, the Director of Technology, is the district’s trusted expert on implementation, security, and support. “I joke that I’m the assistant to the public relations director,” he laughs, “but really we’re lockstep on the strategy.”
Their goal from day one was to make sure families heard the truth directly from Carroll County Schools, not the keyboard critics or third-party voices. “The superintendent’s message to me was simple,” Zach says. “We need a unified communications platform, and we need to control the narrative.”
“Too Many Apps, Too Little Trust”
When the team began evaluating solutions in early 2023, their communications varied by school. Some teachers favored social media channels, others used free classroom communication apps, some principals preferred using Facebook and many coaches relied on text messaging. Parents were frustrated and confused juggling it all.
“Before, there was no standard,” Zach explains. “Parents told us, ‘It’s just too much to keep up with.’ On paper, a single platform sounded great, but some teachers were resistant until they saw how it would actually save time.”
Those pain points map directly to what we hear from school districts again and again:
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.
“We want people to feel this is us, our schools, our voice, everywhere they see us,” Jennifer says. Choosing Apptegy solved for all three pain points: a single place to publish, built around the district’s brand, with coaching and live support built in. “The demo blew us away,” Zach recalls. “One click to get a message to every endpoint was the appeal.”
A Mandate and a Momentum Shift
In 2024, Kentucky’s SB 181 required two-way communication be implemented in all Kentucky school districts. What could have been another top-down compliance headache became a turning point: Carroll County was ahead of the game. They had already installed Rooms and were ready to eliminate the “choose-your-own-app” sprawl. Jennifer says. “Once we shut off the other options, usage followed. And with the 2025 Apptegy Back to School updates, teachers are now saying, ‘Okay, this actually helps me.’”
Apptegy’s 2025 update made Rooms dramatically simpler and more teacher-friendly:
“One room for many classes” cut duplicative work for secondary teachers. “Not having to post the same thing six times was a game changer,” Jennifer says.
Centralized messaging made it obvious where to send and find conversations. “There’s a clear home for communication now,” Zach adds. “One inbox, one workflow.”
Text-by-default delivery meant families received messages and announcements as texts, even if they hadn’t logged into the app. This was key for technology challenged grandparents and busy guardians. “Please, for the love of all things, let us reach people by text,” Jennifer laughs. “That was our #1 ask. Now we can.”
The effect inside Carroll County Schools was immediate: it was a “game changer” for improved levels of adoption, with fewer excuses to bypass the system, and far less confusion for families.
“The Apptegy product team really stepped it up,” Zach says. “We were vocal about shortcomings. With the redesign this summer, it’s a really good product.”
"One Place, One Voice"
1) A Text-First Cadence
Families in Carroll County are more likely to see a text than an email. Jennifer leaned into that preference with simultaneous text and email for all mass updates.
“A lot of our families don’t read emails,” Jennifer says. “But you send a text I know they’ll see it.”
2) District Brand Front and Center
From the website header to Alerts, everything now leads back to Carroll County School’s brand, not a third party vendor.
“It matters that messages look and feel like our district,” Jennifer says. “That consistency builds trust.”
3) Liaisons and Shared Ownership
Every school has a communications liaison creating and publishing content. This
“Our liaisons are knocking it out of the park,” Jennifer notes. “I love that those closest to the stories are helping tell them.”
4) A Tidal Wave of Positivity
When a disgruntled parent flares up online, Jennifer answers with positivity: photos, stories, and wins published in rapid succession across the district’s owned channels.
“When negativity spikes, I go to my photo folders and push out four good stories in a row,” she says. “We overwhelm the noise with what’s true.”
Outcomes that matter
1) Teachers are on board because friction dropped
The ability to post once to all sections and the simplicity of a single inbox removed the daily annoyances that drive non-adoption.
“The consolidated room option was huge,” Jennifer says. “Our teachers stopped doing things six times.”
2) Families receive more of what matters without extra steps
Because messages and announcements arrive by text automatically, the district is finally reaching the grandparents and guardians who were never going to download another app.
“I had a consistent critic tell me, ‘I love those text messages I’m getting.’ I said, ‘That’s actually from us, through our school app,’” Jennifer recalls. “Even without the app, texts are getting through and that changes everything.”
3) The brand is unified—and trust grows
Every message comes from Carroll County Schools with consistent visuals and tone.
“It’s not some third-party voice anymore,” Zach says. “It’s our brand, everywhere.”
4) The communication is safer and more sustainable
AI moderation & proactive filters catch risky content before it spreads, protecting students, staff, and the district’s reputation. Office hours help set expectations so teachers can step away without guilt and families know when to expect a reply.
“Boundaries matter,” Jennifer says. “Office hours let teachers be responsive and protect their time.”
5) A clearer path for multilingual families
With 130 automatic translations available across the Apptegy platform, the district can better serve a community that’s about one-quarter Hispanic without funneling parents into a separate, vendor-branded experience.
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.
“Our entire staff, from the superintendent to custodian, truly care about these kids. They give time after school, on weekends. They’ve earned the praise.” — Jennifer
“We are owning the narrative now. When storms hit, literally or online, we tell the real story first and best.” — Zach