Feature

The school newsletter builder built for teachers

Slash commands. AI draft. MJML inline delivery. School branding locked in. First newsletter done in under 5 minutes.

Design decisions

Built around 7 fixed principles

#1

Template-first entry, always

You never start from a blank page. Every new newsletter begins from a template or last week's issue.

#2

Slash command is the only insert method

Type /, filter by name, press Enter. No panel to browse. No menu to navigate. The block appears at your cursor.

#3

Zero marketing vocabulary

The UI says "parents" not "subscribers." It says "send newsletter" not "launch campaign." Teachers should not need a glossary.

#4

First send under 5 minutes

This is a hard product constraint, not a marketing claim. If it takes longer, something is broken.

#5

Mobile-responsive is the default

The editor defaults to mobile-width view. What you see is what parents see on their phones. There is no separate mobile preview step.

#6

Start from last week, first-class

The dashboard puts your most recent newsletter first. One click duplicates it. The school header and footer are already there.

#7

AI that speaks teacher

One field. Describe what happened this week. The AI writes a full draft. No tone sliders, no 3-version choosers, no AI mode portal.

8 block types, accessible via slash command

Every block type a school newsletter needs. None that it does not.

ΒΆ

Text

Paragraph with bold, italic, and links

H

Heading

Section title

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List

Bullet points for announcements

πŸ“…

Event date

Date + title + location card

πŸ–Ό

Image

Upload or paste a URL

β†’

Button

Call-to-action link

β€”

Divider

Visual separator

⬍

Spacer

Vertical breathing room

How it works

1

Set up your school profile once

Enter your school name, upload your logo, and pick your brand color. Every newsletter you create inherits this automatically. You never set it up again.

2

Start from last week or a template

The dashboard shows your recent newsletters. Duplicate one and update the content. Or pick a starter template for the beginning of the year. No blank page.

3

Write with slash commands or AI

Type your update. Press / to add a block: event card, image, bullet list, button. Or open AI Draft, describe what you want to say, and get a complete first draft in seconds.

4

Send to your parent list

Import your parent email list from a CSV in under 2 minutes. When you hit send, every parent gets an inline email that looks great in Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail.

Inbox delivery

Real email, not a link to a webpage

Most newsletter tools send parents a link. Parents open the email, see a link, and have to tap it to read the newsletter in a browser. Half of them do not bother.

Daystage uses MJML to compile every newsletter into a full inline-CSS HTML email. Parents open the email. The newsletter is right there. No extra click. No browser. Fully formatted, fully readable, looks right in Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail.

The difference shows up in your open rate. When the email is the newsletter, reading it takes zero friction.

βœ“

Daystage

Inline HTML email. Opens directly.

πŸ”—

Most other tools

Email contains a link. Requires a tap to read.

Questions

What makes Daystage different from Smore?

The biggest difference is email delivery. Smore sends parents a link to a webpage. Daystage sends a real inline HTML email that opens directly in the inbox without clicking any links. On the free plan, Daystage also gives 40 newsletters per year vs Smore's 3.

Do I need to know how to code or design?

No. The editor uses slash commands (you type /, pick a block, and it appears) and pre-locked header and footer sections. Your school branding is always consistent without any design decisions from you.

What is MJML and why does it matter?

MJML is an email markup language that compiles to inline CSS HTML. Every major email client (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Samsung Mail) renders inline CSS differently. MJML handles those differences automatically. The result: your newsletter looks right everywhere, without you testing it in 12 clients.

Can I embed the newsletter on my school website?

Yes. Every published newsletter has a public web page. Copy the embed code from the share menu and paste it into your school site. The embed auto-updates when you publish a new issue. No IT request needed after the first setup.

How does AI Draft work?

Click AI Draft in the editor toolbar, describe what you want to say this week (upcoming events, reminders, highlights), and Daystage generates a complete newsletter using that context. You edit, then send. Available on Teacher plan and above.

Start your first newsletter today

Free plan includes 40 newsletters per school year. No credit card required.

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