SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
Prince of Peace Christian School
One app for clear, school-led communication
At Prince of Peace Christian School, faith and community are at the heart of everything.
Their vision, that every student is welcomed, known, connected, and prepared, is felt across campus, but serving more than 850 students and their families, from the Early Learning Center through Grade 12, also brings complexity.
Keeping every family informed, engaged, and connected across all divisions requires communication that's not only consistent but also intentional.
At a Glance
Prince of Peace Christian School & Early Learning Center, located just north of Dallas, is a faith-filled, coeducational independent school serving families with children from 6 weeks old through grade 12.
Parents wanted to feel more involved, but the communication ecosystem had become disjointed. Multiple tools, redundant messages, and informal group chats created too many unofficial channels, and instead of feeling connected, families were struggling to keep up.
"During COVID, we spoiled parents with extra visibility into the classroom,” shared Tori Rush, director of communications. “And even now, they still want that glimpse into everyday moments.”
The school needed a way to centralize communications and give families the connection they wanted, with the right oversight to keep conversations appropriate and on-brand.
“Chat has made me want to never send another email again...The one-stop shop has been the best thing.”
TORI RUSH
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
The Challenge | Too many tools, not enough control
“We were using an awful lot of different platforms,” said Tori. “Parents were constantly trying to keep up with multiple sources.”
The tipping point came after a parent survey, when it became clear that families were being inundated with emails and information on multiple platforms. GroupMe, in particular, had become a popular way for parents to connect. However, because it wasn’t officially managed by the school, communication was inconsistent and sometimes incorrect. Originally organized by the parent organization to encourage grade-level connections, these informal, unmonitored chats quickly expanded across grade levels. With multiple unmonitored chats happening across grade levels, first impressions were being shaped by chatter the school couldn't control.
“There was no oversight,” Tori said. Ultimately, the GroupMe platform wasn't helping us create the kind of welcoming and connected environment we promise families."
At the same time, inboxes were flooded. Some parents were receiving nearly 20 emails a week from different staff and systems. As Tori described it: "It was out of hand."
The school needed to:
- Replace unmoderated channels with something safer and branded
- Streamline communications across divisions
- Reduce the amount of email and redundancies
- Provide a better experience for teachers, parents, and students
The Solution | An app for real-time connection, with built-in oversight
With the Finalsite mobile app already in place, the communications team saw an opportunity to integrate Finalsite Chat with their student information system and give the school full control.
Tori and her team refreshed the app experience and launched a schoolwide rollout of Chat, replacing GroupMe and reducing divisional emails to a single weekly newsletter.
"Honestly, the chat has made me want to never send another email again," she said with a laugh. "The one-stop shop has been the best thing."
Now, Prince of Peace can:
- Welcome new families right away through grade-level chat rooms as soon as they enroll.
- Use classroom-level chats for teachers to share daily updates, photos, and reminders in one spot.
- Send one-way announcements and messages when the school needs to reach families quickly with clear, consistent updates.
- Provide coaches a platform to communicate with student-athletes and parents that allows for oversight by administrators and consistent messaging.
“This generation of parents wants to ask a question and get an answer right away, not necessarily through an email or a newsletter.”
The Results | Less email, faster answers, and more day-to-day visibility
Adoption took some effort, but the payoff came quickly. “I was nervous about it because we were forcing the switch,” Tori admitted. “But it's been really positive. Everyone, including staff and parents, likes having everything on one platform. Being able to open the app, find links to the school store and calendars, send a chat message, access the directory, and find an archive of email messages… There’s been an overwhelmingly positive response to having everything in one place.”
For parents, it’s about convenience and connection, as families can now access reminders, updates, and photos all in one spot. “The minute a family enrolls, they’re added to the grade-level chat, and it’s great to see other families welcome them right away.”
Instead of scrolling through inboxes or searching for old newsletters, parents can ask—and get answers—in real time. As Tori put it, "This generation of parents wants to ask a question and get an answer right away, not necessarily through an email or a newsletter.”
The Chat has been especially powerful in the preschool and lower school, where teachers frequently share classroom moments and give parents a window into their classrooms and their child’s day.
For the teachers who once relied on Seesaw to share these moments, they’ve found Chat to be a seamless replacement with even more flexibility, allowing them to share photos, videos, newsletters, and even things like a spelling list that didn’t make it home.
Moderation features added a level of safety and professionalism missing from other chat options. With oversight tools and the ability to flag content, the school reclaimed control over the tone and direction of communication, and off-topic chatter has been virtually eliminated.
"When we launched Chat, we emphasized that if you're not following the rules, you can get put in ‘chat jail,’” Tori laughed. "But honestly, just knowing that admins could see what was being said has really curbed a lot of the negativity and cut down on some of the misinformation, and that is a huge improvement from where we were."
Parents aren't the only ones benefiting
"We have been able to virtually eliminate all those one-off emails, reminding parents about events or last-minute information,” Tori said, adding that text messages are used strictly for emergencies or information that needs immediate attention. Teachers and front office staff are also avoiding redundant emails and last-minute phone calls.
What used to be email overload is now streamlined into:
- One division-level newsletter each week
- One school-wide newsletter per month
- Chat messages for real-time updates, reminders, and conversations
“We're saving a lot of time because we're not sending nearly as many emails anymore.”
The time savings are wonderful, but for Prince of Peace, what might be even more valuable is the community that chat has helped support.
“This absolutely ties into our vision of families being welcomed, known, and connected,” said Tori. "You see parents welcoming new families, sharing info about events, and encouraging each other to attend school parties and other events. It really does connect people."
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