Do we need a separate number for each campus?

You can run one number for the whole center or a dedicated number per campus, both are supported, and either way groups keep each location’s families separate for sending.

How long does 10DLC approval take for an education business?

Registration is handled as part of onboarding, and education campaigns typically clear in a few business days. The full checklist of what carriers want to see is on the A2P 10DLC approval page.

What happens to unused credits over the summer?

Nothing. Credits stay on the account for as long as it is active (at least one group message in the last six months), so a quiet June between spring and fall enrollment costs the center exactly nothing.

Can front-desk staff see replies without seeing every family’s conversation at once?

Replies land in a shared inbox the whole desk can see, but each family’s thread is its own conversation. There is no reply-all, and no family sees another’s number.

How do parents actually opt in?

Most centers put a keyword on the intake form and enrollment sheet, something like "Text MATH to 55555," so parents add themselves at sign-up and consent is recorded automatically. Existing lists can also be imported.

Tutoring & learning centers

Text your families, not their inbox.

A center lives or dies on attendance and re-enrollment, and both come down to whether a parent saw something in time. Send reminders, chase no-shows and fill next term from your own dedicated number, with no monthly subscription to justify to the board.

Start with 100 free texts See what it costs

SMS open rate: 98%
Read within: 3 sec
From: 1.99¢ / text

Waybill № 4182 Rate 1 credit / SMS

From: (415) 555-0134 · your number
To: 214 recipients · “Tuesday 4pm cohort”

Reminder: Emma has Algebra tutoring tomorrow at 4pm with Mr. Diaz. Reply STOP to opt out.

Sent 214 Delivered 213 Cost $4.26

The three messages a learning center actually needs

Email newsletters to parents open at around a fifth of the list. A text is read within minutes, by nearly everyone, with no app for anyone to install.

Session reminder

Reminder: Emma has Algebra tutoring tomorrow at 4pm with Mr. Diaz. Reply STOP to opt out.

89 chars 1 credit

No-show recovery

We missed you at 4pm today, no charge. Want to grab the 5:30 slot instead? Reply YES and we will hold it.

105 chars 1 credit

Re-enrollment window

Fall registration opens Monday. Families who re-enroll by Friday keep their current time slot. Reply INFO for the link.

119 chars 1 credit

Examples of what learning center directors send. One credit per 160-character segment; STOP and HELP are handled automatically on every message.

Built for how a center is actually staffed

There is no marketing department. The person sending is usually the center director between sessions, so the tooling has to survive being picked up cold.

One number for the center

Your own dedicated local number, so replies land in a shared inbox the whole front desk can see instead of one director’s personal cell phone.
Groups by session, grade or campus

Text just the Tuesday 4pm cohort, just the families whose term ends this month, or every campus at once. Groups are unlimited.
Keyword opt-in at the front desk

Put "Text MATH to 55555" on the intake form and the enrollment sheet. Parents add themselves, and consent is recorded for you automatically.
Replies without a reply-all

Every parent gets your message as its own conversation. Nobody sees another family’s number or reply.
STOP handled automatically

Opt-outs are honored at the platform level, which is what keeps a center out of TCPA trouble without anyone having to track it by hand.
No marketing department required

Built to survive being picked up cold by whoever is at the desk between sessions: no campaign builder to learn, no send calendar to maintain.

Waybill № 4183 Rate 1 credit / SMS

From: (415) 555-0134 · your number
To: 1 recipient · Priya M.

We missed you at 4pm today, no charge. Want to grab the 5:30 slot instead? Reply YES and we will hold it.

Sent 1 Delivered 1 Cost $0.02

Franchise centers already run on this

Two Mathnasium franchise locations have sent their parent communication through Pony Express since 2020. Tutoring is a text-shaped business: recurring appointments, seasonal enrollment pushes, and a parent audience that answers a text and ignores a newsletter.

Station log Jan–Jul 2026

Franchise locations

Both on Pony Express since 2020

Messages sent

~15,000

First seven months of 2026 alone

Monthly seat fee

Pay per message sent, nothing between

Pricing that matches an enrollment calendar

Center volume is not flat. August and January are heavy, and June is quiet. Every other platform bills a monthly seat fee through the quiet months anyway.

Pony Express is pay as you go. Credits stay while your account is active*, so a summer with no sends costs nothing at all. There is no contract to cancel between terms and no per-recipient cap to work around when the whole family list needs the same notice.

Start with 100 free texts Ask about multi-campus

Credit bundles

No subscription

Bundle	Price	Per text
250 credits	$13.00	5.2¢
500 credits	$24.00	4.8¢
1,000 credits	$43.00	4.3¢
2,000 credits	$79.00	3.95¢
5,000 credits	$179.00	3.58¢

Bundles continue to 250,000 credits. See the full rate card.

Dedicated local or toll-free number Included
Keywords Unlimited
Team members Unlimited
Groups and contacts Unlimited
Two-way replies and MMS 2 credits per MMS
Monthly subscription None
Contract None
Credit expiry None while active*

100 free credits when you sign up, no card required. Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits get 1,000. Credits stay on your account for as long as it is active*. Rates from 1.99¢ per text.

Getting started before your next session

01
Claim your number

Sign up and claim a dedicated local or toll-free number for the center. Takes a few minutes, no card required to start.
02
Import your parent list

Bring in contacts from your CRM export or a spreadsheet, or let families opt in themselves by texting your keyword at intake.
03
Build one group per session

A group for the Tuesday 4pm cohort, one for families whose term ends this month. Groups and keywords are unlimited.
04
Send tomorrow’s reminder

Write once, send to the group. Replies come back to your shared inbox, and STOP is handled for you on every message.

Registration for a 10DLC campaign is handled as part of onboarding, and the approval checklist covers what carriers want to see from an education business.

Questions centers ask before signing up

Do we need a separate number for each campus?: You can run one number for the whole center or a dedicated number per campus, both are supported, and either way groups keep each location’s families separate for sending.
How long does 10DLC approval take for an education business?: Registration is handled as part of onboarding, and education campaigns typically clear in a few business days. The full checklist of what carriers want to see is on the A2P 10DLC approval page .
What happens to unused credits over the summer?: Nothing. Credits stay on the account for as long as it is active (at least one group message in the last six months), so a quiet June between spring and fall enrollment costs the center exactly nothing.
Can front-desk staff see replies without seeing every family’s conversation at once?: Replies land in a shared inbox the whole desk can see, but each family’s thread is its own conversation. There is no reply-all, and no family sees another’s number.
How do parents actually opt in?: Most centers put a keyword on the intake form and enrollment sheet, something like "Text MATH to 55555," so parents add themselves at sign-up and consent is recorded automatically. Existing lists can also be imported.

Send tomorrow’s reminder tonight

100 credits when you sign up. No card, no contract, no monthly plan to justify to the board.

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