SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
Altus Schools
A Website Redesign Built for Growth and Community Impact
Altus Schools, a diverse network of nonprofit public charter schools throughout Southern California, is known for its student-centered, innovative approach to education.
For a school system built on personalized learning and community connections, it was important that its website reflect the same values. However, as Altus expanded to serve communities at more than 30 locations, the existing site no longer accurately reflected that commitment and scope of programming that began more than three decades ago.
At a Glance
Altus Schools are innovative, tuition-free public schools serving students from TK through 12th grade in San Diego.
The Challenge: Outgrowing an Old Platform
"As our school continued to grow and evolve, it became clear that we had outgrown the capabilities of our current website," said Trevor Golledge, communications coordinator at Altus Schools. The charter’s older platform lacked the flexibility and structure to keep pace with the evolving needs of its community. More than anything, though, Altus needed a solution that could:
- Reflect their brand identity across a network of individual schools
- Improve navigation and access to essential information like enrollment, academic programs, and events
- Be mobile-friendly and accessible to all users
- Reduce the burden on staff with easier content updates and maintenance
Trevor underscored that the website needed to look good, but also support Altus’ mission: "We needed a sleek, modern design that reflected the heart behind our brand. It was important for us to work with a team of experts who would not only bring creative vision and technical skill, but who would also take the time to understand our story."
“Families are finding information more easily, which has led to an uptick in online inquiries and enrollment interest—directly supporting our outreach and recruitment goals.”
TREVOR GOLLEDGE
COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
The Solution: A Collaborative Redesign
Recognizing these challenges, Altus turned to Finalsite to bring structure, strategy, and long-term sustainability to their messaging. From the very first planning session, the Finalsite team focused on understanding Altus' story, audience, and priorities.
"Our team played a hands-on role throughout the website redesign process,” Trevor shared. “From layout to functionality, we were deeply involved. We wanted to make sure the site served the needs of our students, families, and staff."
Preparing the Vision
To prepare for the redesign, the Altus team:
- Audited and restructured content to align with current goals and messaging
- Rewrote key pages to improve clarity and consistency
- Gathered new visuals, refreshed staff bios, and developed content that better told the Altus story
"The platform was designed with user-friendly tools,” Trevor said, and “the self-guided training materials made it easy for our team to learn how to make updates and manage content confidently from day one."
Altus Schools
15%
Increase
in engagement
61%
Rise
in active users
75%
More
new users
The flexibility of Finalsite's tools, especially the content management system, Composer, and the shared elements feature, was a major win. "Since we operate several different school websites, having consistent, reusable components—like banners, navigation menus, footers, and news sections—has been a game changer," added Trevor.
"It not only ensures brand consistency but also saves our team a significant amount of time. When we need to make updates, we can do it once and have the changes reflected across all relevant sites instantly."
The Results: A Stronger Presence and Measurable Impact
The redesign made an immediate difference for Altus Schools. Website traffic increased, engagement grew, and online inquiries rose steadily.
- Within six months of launching, there was a 61% increase in active users and the number of new users increased by 75%.
- Engagement on the site climbed 15% higher while the bounce rates declined.
Trevor explained that these improvements were directly tied to clearer content and easier navigation, which helped families find what they needed without frustration.
"We’ve seen a measurable rise in both new and returning users, indicating that the site is not only attracting more visitors but also encouraging them to explore and return. Families are finding information more easily, which has led to an uptick in online inquiries and enrollment interest—directly supporting our outreach and recruitment goals."
Operationally, the new platform delivered meaningful ROI. The use of shared elements and streamlined workflows reduced staff time spent on repetitive tasks and helped maintain a consistent user experience across multiple schools. Trevor shared that "the efficiencies gained through shared elements and streamlined content management have saved staff hours and reduced redundancy."
Community feedback was overwhelmingly positive as well. Parents appreciated being able to find information faster, staff felt confident directing families to a site that was accurate, attractive, and easy to navigate, and even students had something to say. "They’ve commented on how modern and 'cool' the new site looks,” Trevor shared, adding that they think it’s much easier to use on their phones.
What stood out most to Trevor and the team, though, was how accurately the new site reflected their identity. "It captures the heart of our mission, the strength of our programs, and the diversity of the students and families we serve."
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