Success at a Glance
- 200+ students enrolled since the partnership began
- Approximately $2 million in associated funding brought back to the district
- Kindergarten early enrollment doubled at one targeted elementary school
- Recruitment efforts expanded to two additional schools
Challenge: Reaching More Families in Duluth
Like many districts, Duluth Public Schools was navigating declining birth rates, post-pandemic enrollment pressure, and increased competition for students.
Chief Communications Officer Adelle Wellens conducted a demographic study that found approximately 67% of school-aged children living within the district attended Duluth Public Schools, below the district’s 70% market-share goal.
Duluth wanted to reach families living within its boundaries who were choosing other schools and show them the quality of education available in their local public school district.
However, building and maintaining a consistent student recruitment program presented a significant capacity challenge for Wellens.
“I’m a one-person shop in a district with 8,700 students and over 13 schools,” Wellens said. “I’m in charge of all district-wide communications, marketing campaigns, social media, and the website. I just don’t have the capacity to focus on keeping up with a year-round recruitment campaign.”
Duluth needed a recruitment partner who could turn the district’s local knowledge into targeted campaigns without adding another major responsibility to the communications department.
Solution: A Phased Marketing Approach to Student Recruitment
Duluth started work with SchoolMint initially for a six-month marketing campaign designed to reach prospective families across Duluth. The initial goal was modest and measurable: enroll 10 additional students, which would generate enough funding to cover the campaign investment and provide an additional return to the district.
SchoolMint created and managed the social media advertising, developed lead-capture forms, handled payments to Meta, and delivered family contact information directly to district staff.
The partnership removed much of the work that had previously made sustained enrollment marketing difficult for Duluth.
“SchoolMint created the social media ads and content,” Wellens said. “Not having to submit receipts from Meta constantly is a huge bonus in my book.”
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After the initial district-wide campaign, Duluth applied the same recruitment strategy to a specific school facing a more concentrated enrollment challenge.
Laura MacArthur Elementary had a market share of approximately 44%, well below the district’s target of 70%. An analysis of open-enrollment patterns showed that many families living near the school were choosing other public school options.
Kindergarten enrollment was also declining. In August 2025, with only one month remaining before the school year began, Laura MacArthur had enrolled just 12 new kindergarten students.
Duluth partnered with SchoolMint on a school-specific campaign focused on local families with preschool- and kindergarten-aged children. The campaign introduced families to Laura MacArthur Elementary and captured contact information from those interested in learning more.
Before sharing an inquiry with the school, the SchoolMint team qualified the family by confirming they lived in the area, had a child in the target age range, and were actively considering enrollment. This allowed school staff to focus their personal outreach on prospective families with a valid interest in the school.
SchoolMint developed the campaign using district-provided information and local insights, requiring little day-to-day management from Wellens. “It was easy and fluid,” she said. “SchoolMint created great campaigns, made minor adjustments when I asked for them, and their communication was great.”
Results
1. More Than 200 New Students Enrolled
Duluth’s student recruitment campaigns helped turn increased visibility and family interest into measurable enrollment growth.
“Since starting with SchoolMint, we’ve increased enrollment by more than 200 students,” Wellens said. “Families are seeing the ads, calling us, and getting their kids enrolled.”
That growth has also delivered a significant financial benefit. Superintendent John Magas estimated that the additional 200 students “brought back approximately $2 million in funding to our district.”
The first campaign alone produced seven enrollments that Duluth directly traced to SchoolMint campaigns. The continued flow of prospective-family inquiries also gave the district another channel for supporting their broader enrollment efforts.
Since we began working with SchoolMint, Duluth Public Schools has added more than 200 students, which has brought back approximately $2 million in funding to our district.
2. Early Kindergarten Enrollment Doubled at Laura MacArthur
The targeted Laura MacArthur campaign provided a clear example of how the broader recruitment strategy could translate to the school level.
Applications for the 2026–2027 school year opened on February 1. By May 14, the school had already enrolled 24 kindergarten students, twice the previous year’s total and several months earlier in the enrollment cycle.
The campaign also generated substantial interest from preschool families. Most inquiries submitted through the SchoolMint form were related to preschool, creating a pipeline of students who could eventually continue into kindergarten at Laura MacArthur.
3. Advertising Helped Duluth Respond to a Local School Closure
Duluth saw not only more leads but also stronger indications that the campaigns were reaching the intended families. “Our clerical and enrollment teams have had multiple people say they saw the ad or compliment the ad,” Wellens said.
Those conversations helped confirm that prospective families were noticing the district’s messaging and taking action after seeing it.
The digital campaigns became especially valuable when a local private school announced that it would close. Public school may not have been the first option considered by every family affected by the closure, but Duluth’s active advertising allowed the district to reach these families as they began exploring new schools.
“People are seeing those ads, calling us, and getting their kids enrolled,” Wellens said.
Rather than waiting for displaced families to discover the district on their own, Duluth proactively introduced its schools and provided a direct path for families to request information.
4. Duluth Expanded the Strategy to Additional Schools
The district-wide enrollment growth and the results at Laura MacArthur gave Duluth the confidence to expand their partnership with SchoolMint.
After the initial campaigns, Duluth added campaigns for two additional schools. This expansion further enhanced the district’s enrollment marketing strategy, using ads to:
- Strengthen district awareness
- Respond to specific school-level enrollment needs
- Reach families affected by changing conditions in the local education market.
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