At The Hawthorn School in Bedford, New York, education is a holistic journey. Through a classical liberal arts curriculum in an intentionally technology-free environment, Hawthorn cultivates love for the truth, a sense of wonder, and a spirit of service.

Founded in 2022 with 29 students, Hawthorn has grown to 170 in four years. Scaling a new school in Westchester County is no small task, and as enrollment grew, the enrollment operations that connected families to the school needed to keep pace.

Misaligned Awarding From Unreliable Methodology

"For two years we tried to use our previous platform to fairly evaluate the financial capacity of families," explained James Finnegan, Chief Financial Officer at The Hawthorn School. "I had probably the worst two years of my life denying families that qualified for aid and granting aid to families that didn't need it."

"We couldn't understand the logic behind the system’s recommendations, or why we were awarding a disproportionate amount of aid compared to our peer schools,” he continued. “And our families felt the same disconnect — they didn't feel they were being evaluated fairly.”

"It was sold to me as an all-in-one solution that would simplify my life and it ended up being a complete disaster," shared Finnegan. "The writing was on the wall that this company is not investing in tech in a way that families in the New York metro area are going to be impressed by."

Better Data, Right-Sized Awards, and a Path to Break Even

With complete financial data behind every award, Hawthorn has been able to right-size aid and close the gap between tuition revenue and operating costs.

“Every year that we've used Clarity, we've reduced the school's financial aid outlays by at least 10% and we've increased net tuition revenue by allocating aid more proportional to what families can actually pay."

"This year alone, NTR increased 6.3%, positioning Hawthorn to operate at break-even for the first time in our history."

"When you're dealing with hundreds of applicants, there's rarely an ability to speak to each one, so you’re making aid decisions based on the information you have available,” Finnegan shared. “Under our previous system, we just didn't have the information. Having better data quality makes all the difference," he shared

Reducing Contract Friction to Accelerate Recommitment

"Last year I didn't have our community locked in until April," Finnegan shared. This year, the timeline looked completely different.”

“Hawthorn achieved 91% retention by the end of January, which is an unworldly accomplishment compared to the prior year.  We had maybe 10% recommitment at the same time last year.”

"The automated reminders, the one-click payment authorization, the ability to do it all from your mobile phone, I think all of those features contributed to a dramatically increased completion rate," he explained. "The lead time has shrunk from about three months to basically three days."

Cash Flow That Keeps a School Running

“I tell every startup I know that when you get paid matters a lot more than how you get paid.”

"Our previous system would hold our money for up to fourteen business days. Clarity pays within two to three days, plus there's no fee for ACH," Finnegan shared. "That has been transformational in terms of access to money.”

“The improved cash flow is a lifeline for schools that are less capitalized than some of their peers. That's a tremendous service to educational institutions.”

Board Reporting Without the Manual Build

"With our previous system, there was the same level of demand for information from leadership and the board, but there was no access to it," Finnegan explained. "I had to build it with Power BI or Excel or some clunky manual tool."

"The ability to go to your contracts and have immediate access to your committed tuition and financial aid is a huge boon to those of us that report to boards.” 

"Stakeholders across the governance spectrum have real-time information, and real-time access to the admission cycle as it matures.” 

“Conservatively, you've saved me at least a week of administrative overhead.”

When Efficiency Creates Room to Grow

"I'm now managing two schools instead of one. From a human capacity standpoint, it would not have been possible before Clarity for me to take over the finances of a second school," Finnegan explained.

Beyond scalability, Clarity helps schools support families in the moments that matter most. "The flexibility embedded in the billing system allows us to compassionately respond to families' developing life circumstances," he shared. "That kind of responsiveness matters.”

“Clarity has truly transformed the experience for parents and does a tremendous service to administrators with the embedded flexibility, enhanced transparency, and reduced manual workloads.”

“Every school should be asking for this from their systems, but it's rare that you actually see products deliver on that promise.”