Foxcroft School

Nestled in the rolling hills of Virginia horse country, this all-girls boarding and day school has a deep sense of identity and a strong tradition of storytelling.

“We all back each other up and work well together,” shared Director of Communications and Marketing Bethany Stotler, but for her three-person marcom team, keeping pace with the growing demands of internal newsletters, family updates, admissions emails, and school-wide communications wasn’t always easy. 

They wanted to do more, but sought a tool that would allow them to do this effectively and efficiently. 

Current families still needed regular updates, admissions still needed support at every stage of the funnel with prospective families, and matching that level of outreach meant walking a fine line between quality and capacity.The team looked for a way to keep everything moving seamlessly and automatically.

Finalsite’s email automation tool, Workflows, helped turn what could have been a mountain of manual emails into a streamlined, scalable system that supported admissions, reduced last-minute stress, and brought Foxcroft’s values to inboxes across the country.

“While this is our ideal schedule, we do often find ourselves finalizing content the day before or even the day of a newsletter being sent. We try to be flexible, especially when we’re receiving content from folks outside of our department.” 

Foxcroft’s admissions funnel required more frequent, personalized communication. As families inquired, applied, accepted, and enrolled, the strategy for clear, consistent touch points became an even greater priority. 

But manually sending messages for each phase of the funnel—on top of the regular newsletter cycle—wasn’t sustainable, especially when each message needed to feel personalized to a prospect’s stage in their journey, match the school’s brand voice, and provide meaningful content in addition to transactional reminders.

Even with a solid process in place, the team knew finding the right tool was the key to launching this strategic communications campaign.

Bethany reused their newsletter template to build a mid-summer message, using Finalsite’s Post modules and Collections to streamline updates. The final result was clean, mobile-friendly, and familiar, exactly what families had come to expect. Though many of these messages had existed in Foxcroft’s summer communications plan prior to launching Workflows, the automation and design capabilities the marcom team gained allowed them to make sure each newly enrolled family didn’t miss a message, and to redesign and rethink content in new, well-organized, vibrant formats.

Every Message with a Purpose

Each email in the workflow series was created with the reader’s experience in mind. From subject lines to visuals to calls to action, the tones were warm, welcoming, and specific to where families were in their journey.

They started with a core question: What would feel helpful, timely, and personal to a parent or student receiving this message?

Some of the content highlights included:

• Segmented videos showing a day in the life of a boarding student vs. a day student, helping families see themselves in the school experience
• Local tips like getting coffee in downtown Middleburg—a small detail, but one that brought campus life to life
• Bethany even shared how one message celebrated the school year theme, “All Girls Can Be,” using a repurposed video from advancement to reinforce Foxcroft’s values and energy.

And these touches mattered. Whether it was a parent recognizing a familiar face in a video or a student discovering a tradition they couldn’t wait to be part of, the experience Foxcroft delivered through Workflows focused on connections.

The Results: Confidence, Clarity, and Connection

For Foxcroft, Workflows were about the right content, at the right time, in a way that built confidence across the board. A packing list, a reminder to sign up for fall sports, or a look at campus life through a student’s eyes—each email reinforced the school’s care and attention.

And when the content was sent, it got noticed. 

Foxcroft’s monthly newsletters to prospective families and the extended community of over 3,000, sees about a 59% open rate and over 500 clicks with strong engagement. Over 80% of families regularly open their weekly newsletter packed with videos, photo galleries, and key school moments.

And with Workflow’s stats and activity dashboards, the team could easily see how audiences were engaging with their messaging and content. For instance, the Application Started to Application Compete workflow was seeing an impressive +63% completion rate, and at the user level, Foxcroft could see which users were clicking and engaging more.

Consistency and Clarity for Families

Workflows helped establish a rhythm to communications that families came to recognize and rely on, too. By setting expectations and following through, the school helped reduce email fatigue and confusion, especially during moments when timing mattered, like application deadlines or orientation planning.

Empowering the MarCom Team

With structured outlines, reusable templates, and dynamic content blocks, the marcom team didn’t need to reinvent the wheel every time. They could focus on quality and creativity, not chasing down content or troubleshooting.

And one of the biggest wins was giving admissions a strong partner in communication. Rather than having to send every update manually, the admissions team could use the automated workflows to nurture families while they focused on relationships and interviews.

Foxcroft’s results weren’t driven by size or budget. They came from focus, care, and a willingness to communicate with purpose.

That mindset, paired with the right tools, made all the difference.