Purposefully designed to nurture the development of kindergarten through eighth-grade learners, Alexandria Country Day School (ACDS) is committed to preparing students to thrive as well-rounded individuals in a complex world. Within a supportive and inclusive community, ACDS cultivates independent thinkers, articulate communicators, and compassionate citizens.

To carry out their school mission effectively, the ACDS team required systems that simplified their work rather than complicated it.

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Eliminating Operational Friction

“We had some challenges with our previous financial aid system – the process wasn’t smooth for our families and it caused a lot of delays on award decisions, but we were dealing with it,” shared Scott Baytosh, Head of School at Alexandria Country Day School. 

When it came to contract and tuition management, the process was equally cumbersome, making it difficult for ACDS to provide the modern experience they knew families expected.

“Building contracts, making them easy for families to understand, and customizing payment plans was all very challenging,” Baytosh explained.

“We want to be really flexible with our families, so being able to adapt and adjust payment plans quickly and easily is important to us, and we just weren’t able to do that.”

“In our previous system, billing and contracts were products that had been cobbled together, and there was always a disconnect between them. We had to do a lot of work manually, and if I needed to add a discount or a fee, or make any change, it was a lot of steps.” 

“The fact that Clarity products are built to operate as a school’s workflow requires means that our processes are now much more efficient.”

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Achieving Alignment and Reducing Appeals

“We used to second-guess the results we got from our financial aid software, and we’d have to adjust the numbers it gave us,” shared Baytosh. 

“With Clarity, we're more confident about the decisions that we’re making.”

“We have better alignment between what a parent thinks they can afford and what we think they can, and that has translated into fewer appeals,” Baytosh explained.

“When we do have a conversation with a family, we’re able to do it more effectively because we understand all the data points that are factored into the decision,” he continued. 

“Before, feeling less certain about the justification, we might have just made the adjustment.”

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Maximizing Impact With Right-Sized Awards

With greater confidence and better alignment, ACDS has been able to refine awards to ensure that their aid is distributed equitably and where it’s needed most.

“Clarity gave us the transparency we needed to confirm that some families deserved slightly larger awards, while others had been over-awarded, and we were able to make the appropriate adjustments,” Baytosh explained. 

“Our discount rate has stayed stable and the number of awards has gone down a touch. I would like to think some of that is a function of us more accurately awarding.” 

“Clarity brings consistency to our financial aid decisions. We’re able to be more generous with families who need it and a bit more conservative with families who don’t need as much.”

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Faster Payments With Fewer Barriers

That same accuracy and alignment in awarding aid has also strengthened the school’s financial operations, making tuition collection smoother and more predictable.

“We've seen contracts signed and deposits paid more quickly with Clarity.”

“And although it’s still early, tuition payments have been coming in smoothly for the past couple months,” shared Baytosh. 

“My sense is that we're getting payments faster than before, and that we have less of an accounts receivable than we’ve had in the past.” 

“I still need to do a proper analysis, but I think being able to customize payment plans so quickly and easily is having an impact.”

“Not only does it mean I can be really responsive with our families, I think it’s also helping us receive payments when we want them as opposed to people not paying and just not saying anything.” 

“There’s a connection with our financial aid process too," Baytosh explained.

"If we're awarding aid more accurately, we have fewer people not paying because it's difficult for them to. Their award is aligned with what they can afford, and that has a positive impact on everyone.”

Innovation That Inspires Confidence

“Clarity products feel modern and efficient and the company has established a reputation for being both highly responsive and thoughtfully innovative,” said Baytosh. 

“I have spoken to many schools on Clarity’s behalf because I really have tremendous confidence in the products you are building and the model of partnership that you offer.”