How EMKS Gets 98 Percent of Re-Enrollment Replies Within 24 Hours

Q: How does EMKS get 98 percent of re-enrollment replies within 24 hours?

EMKS runs re-enrollment campaigns by text and asks families to reply “yes” or “no.” Smart Messages handle the follow-up, and 98 percent of replies arrive within 24 hours.

Q: How does texting help with school attendance outreach?

EMKS texts families about every absence, every day, with messages like “We noticed your student is absent. Is everything okay?” The replies also help staff see which families may need more outreach.

Q: How does a shared inbox help a school front office?

Any staff member, including remote staff, can answer family texts from a shared inbox. Bailey Page says she can answer texts from anywhere in the 15 minutes between meetings instead of sitting at the front desk.

Q: What does EMKS use texting for?

Attendance follow-ups, bus delay notifications and day-of logistics, event RSVPs and reminders, re-enrollment campaigns, quick confirmations about early dismissals or absences, and College Access outreach to alumni for up to six years after high school.

Q: Has texting improved family satisfaction at EMKS?

Yes. Bailey Page says Mongoose helps a ton with family satisfaction and that staff don’t have to spend as much time managing frustration.

Woman helping a child use a desktop computer in a home setting

TL;DR

Families answer a yes-or-no text faster than they return a phone call, and a front office can share a text inbox in a way it can’t share a phone line. Ewing Marion Kauffman School (EMKS), a Kansas City charter school with more than 1,000 students in grades 5 through 12, moved family communication to Mongoose two-way texting. Now 98 percent of re-enrollment replies arrive within 24 hours, every absence gets a text, and staff can answer families from anywhere.

98% of replies within 24 hours
A text for every absence
Staff answer from anywhere
Alumni support for six years

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When a student at Ewing Marion Kauffman School misses class, the family gets a text: “We noticed your student is absent. Is everything okay?” It goes out for every absence, and it’s one of the ways EMKS has made family communication faster for families and easier for staff.

“It just helps a ton with family satisfaction. We don’t have to spend as much time managing frustration.”

Bailey Page, Director of Operations, Ewing Marion Kauffman School

EMKS is a single-site charter school in Kansas City, Missouri, serving more than 1,000 students in grades 5 through 12. It adopted Mongoose for two-way texting to ease front office call volume, and texting is now a daily tool for attendance, re-enrollment, family satisfaction, and support after graduation.

Why the Front Office Phone Line Couldn’t Keep Up

Before Mongoose, every parent call went through the front office line, which meant constant voicemails, long hold times, and unanswered questions. EMKS had two front office coordinators, call volume kept rising, and they couldn’t keep up.

Updates about absences, early pickups, and bus delays were often delayed or missed. High-touch work like re-enrollment confirmations and attendance outreach took significant staff time.

“We always had more calls than we could reasonably answer, even when the info didn’t really require a conversation.”

Bailey Page

How EMKS Moved Family Communication to Text

Mongoose gave EMKS one shared inbox staff can use from anywhere, including remotely. The Operations team handles attendance and back-to-school logistics by text, and the College Access team uses the same platform to support alumni with FAFSA help, college check-ins, and life planning for up to six years after high school.

EMKS uses texting for:

Attendance follow-ups with Smart Messages, like “We noticed your student is absent. Is everything okay?”
Bus delay notifications and day-of logistics.
Event RSVPs and reminders for nights like back-to-school.
Re-enrollment campaigns with automated yes-or-no replies.
Quick confirmations for family messages about early dismissals or absences.
Post-graduation outreach from the College Access team.

“The ability to text from a shared inbox changed everything. Now, anyone on the team can jump in, even our remote staff.”

Bailey Page

What Changed for EMKS Families and Staff

98 Percent of Re-Enrollment Replies Within 24 Hours

For campaigns like annual re-enrollment, 98 percent of family replies now arrive within 24 hours. Families only need to text back “yes” or “no,” and Smart Messages handle the follow-up. That fits what we see across Mongoose data: asking a question roughly doubles reply rates.

“The barrier to responding is so low. Asking families to reply ‘yes’ or ‘no’ by text means we can get information fast, and act on it.”

Bailey Page

Fewer Calls, Shared Work

Texting cuts phone volume and makes it easy to divide communication across the team, so the front desk isn’t the only place families can get an answer.

“I don’t need to sit at the front desk to help anymore. If I have 15 minutes between meetings, I can answer texts from anywhere.”

Bailey Page

Attendance Outreach That Shows Care

Attendance has been a major concern across K-12 since the pandemic, and EMKS texts families about every absence, every day. The point is care, not only compliance. The replies also help staff see which families may need more outreach, so they can spend their time on higher-need situations.

“Texting every time a student is absent communicates something important: We notice. We care. And we’re here.”

Bailey Page

Visibility Into How Families Feel

Campaign reporting tracks engagement on initiatives like re-enrollment, which gives the team immediate visibility into family sentiment.

What Other Schools Can Take From EMKS

Start with the messages that don’t need a phone call, like absences, bus delays, and confirmations, and move them to a shared text inbox so any staff member can answer. When you need information back, ask a yes-or-no question. For more on why that works, see the less obvious power of Smart Messages and why two-way messaging matters.

Other schools have built strong family and community engagement by text, too. Frostburg State University texts families of first-generation students and cut summer melt 3 percent, and St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute lifted alumni event attendance 50 percent with personal invitations by text.

Looking Ahead

EMKS plans to scale texting across its strategic priorities: recruiting and retaining students, improving daily attendance, streamlining re-enrollment and back-to-school planning, and providing consistent wraparound support after graduation.

“It’s a great way to meet families where they are, using tools they already know and are most likely to respond to.”

Bailey Page

“I truly don’t know how other schools are doing it. If they’re not using something like Mongoose, I’d love to know what they’re using, because I haven’t seen anything else like it.”

Bailey Page