How KCKPS Is Reimagining Service: Five-Star Support for Every Family

In public education, success often starts with a simple question: How easy is it for families to get help, answers, and the resources they need? 

Dr. Anna Stubblefield, superintendent of Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS), shared how her district is setting the standard for five-star customer service in schools—and doing so at an impressive scale.

From Siloed Systems to One Digital “Front Door”

Like many urban school districts, the legacy of fragmented systems was holding KCKPS back. Information was trapped in email inboxes, spreadsheets, and disparate department silos. Important questions sometimes slipped through the cracks, and each request risked getting lost in the shuffle.

“We recognized that to raise our level of service and ensure every question and concern reached the right person, we needed to eliminate these silos and move toward a unified, districtwide service desk,” Stubblefield said.

KCKPS used Onflo (formerly Let’s Talk) to create a unified, digital “front door” for every question and concern. The phased rollout began with a Welcome Center and quickly expanded to other departments, all while collecting real-time feedback and building buy-in among internal champions.

“Since centralizing operations with Onflo, we’ve streamlined communication, boosted accountability, and provided families with responsive support,” Stubblefield shared. “Onflo’s platform is simple to expand, allowing us to work quickly with department leaders to provide families with straightforward access to the answers they need most often.”

The system’s trending topics feature lets families get information on urgent issues like bullying or open enrollment easily, while also giving leaders a real-time view of community concerns so they can respond proactively, not just reactively.

“These trending topics aren’t just popular search items—they represent real, urgent concerns expressed by families in our district,” she said. “In fast-changing environments, quick answers on hot issues like these build community confidence.”

Breaking Down Barriers With Multilingual, Multichannel Service

With 22,000 students and nearly 4,000 staff, spread across 50 campuses, KCKPS is the largest school district in Wyandotte County. Its diversity is both its greatest strength and most complex challenge. With more than 65 home languages spoken, families encounter daily challenges navigating communications, resources, and departments.

“For many, this might be the first time navigating an American school system, and language differences can easily become barriers to engagement or understanding critical information about their child’s education,” Stubblefield explained.

For Stubblefield, building trust in a diverse district means meeting families on their terms. Whether speaking Spanish, Swahili, Burmese, or English, every parent deserves fast, accurate support in a language they can understand.

With Onflo, communication is available in four languages via chatbot and by email in thirteen.

“This transformation is a game-changer for accessibility and equity,” she said. “It means that whether a parent’s first language is Spanish, Swahili, or Burmese, they can get real answers and support in a language they understand—without waiting days for a callback, or relying on their child to translate.

Empowering Staff and Lifting the Burden With Automation

Stubblefield shared the platform’s effect on staff during the busy back-to-school season.

“Onflo seamlessly routes complex concerns directly to the person best equipped to help, so every staff member operates in their area of expertise rather than juggling unnecessary tasks,” she said. “With routine questions managed by automation and escalations going directly to the right staff, my office was able to focus on leadership and strategic planning for the new year.”

KCKPS’s chatbot is more than a basic help tool; it answers over 87% of inquiries instantly.

“It’s a reflection of both the tool’s capability and our community’s willingness to reach out digitally,” she said. “When a question can’t be answered, the chatbot instantly escalates it to the right staff member, ensuring that no request goes unresolved and that each issue is tracked for follow-up and improvement. Our chatbot frees up staff time for deeper, more complex issues.”

Harnessing Data for Continuous Improvement and Accountability

Digitizing service isn’t just about ease and access — it’s about using data to create measurable change. With Onflo, every dialogue is tracked, categorized, and rated for resolution time and satisfaction.

Stubblefield emphasized how these insights drive smarter leadership-board collaboration, highlight professional development needs, and help allocate resources where they’re most needed. With themes and trends now transparent, attention can shift upstream — addressing pain points before they become problems.

“The real-time data we gather through Onflo gives us actionable insights that drive accountability and continuous improvement,” she said. “Accountability is now visible at every level — meaning staff know how they’re doing, leaders can see improvement, and boards have concrete data.”

Creating a Culture of Five-Star Service

Customer service excellence is a culture, not a department. Unifying channels, empowering people, and rigorously tracking results sets the stage for lasting transformation — and ensures that every student and family gets the support they deserve, every single day.

Want to deliver “five-star” service in your school district? Reach out to our team to learn how Let’s Talk can help your district improve operations and service with consistency, clarity, and confidence.