Breakwater School's educational philosophy is organized around three Cs — curiosity, character, and community. Its toddler-through-eighth continuum is the school's signature: a child who enters at two will move through the same hallways, alongside the same families and faculty, for the next decade.

That continuity is the educational asset Breakwater is built around, but it also raises the stakes on the enrollment relationship. Families are not making a one-year decision; they are signing up for a ten-year partnership. When the operational side of that partnership creates confusion or friction, it doesn't just slow a single contract — it cracks something the school has spent years building.

When Software Costs You Trust

Before Clarity, Breakwater was running the financial side of enrollment on pieces strung together: contracts built in Word, sent through DocuSign, with billing managed through a separate platform that didn't give families visibility into what they owed or when.

"The time burden on our staff really drew away from achieving growth and our goals,” shared Molly Tucker, Director of Enrollment at Breakwater School.

"There were also so many gaps that caused confusion for families. That led to frustration, which led to a lack of trust in the relationship."

Need-Based Awarding That Drives Growth

"Our previous platform didn't have any space for families to add narrative context. They also weren’t using verified income, so you had to make a lot of guesses. You can’t build a picture of financial health that way.”

"Clarity has been life changing. Being a small school trying to support families with dynamic financial backgrounds, it allows us to ask better questions and make adjustments while staying objective."

The change has shown up in the most consequential metric a school like Breakwater tracks: who is able to enroll.

"We've increased our enrollment by 20% in the past two years, and a lot of that has been with families with financial aid.” 

“Because the tools we’re using are so detailed and fast, families are staying in the process whereas in the past I think they would have been scared off, or just left in frustration."

"In a climate where accessibility to independent schools is so large, we have to keep returning to the tone of need-based. I don't see us being able to grow in the way we need to sustain as a school without using that need-based component."

Rebuilding Trust With Families

Financial aid wasn't the only place Breakwater families were getting lost. The contract process carried the same shape of problem — manual work on Tucker's side and opacity on the family's side.

“Contracts needed to be manually edited and there was no visibility into the billing process for our families, so I was on the phone a lot answering questions.”

“With Clarity I turned a three-week contract release and follow-up process into a one-week process.”

“The faster and more transparent process for families to view, track, and complete their contracts is night and day. They have ownership from the moment they click on their contract.” 

“It’s also incredible how much less manual work there is for me to manage, which means I’m providing better support to families,” shared Tucker. 

“We're rebuilding that trust. Families are taking a deep breath as much as our team is taking a deep breath.”

“And just like our families are feeling supported, I’m getting a partnership with Clarity that actually supports us in doing our best work.”