Introducing Fine Point Communications
A few things to know about us from the start:
- Our company works with independent schools, and only independent schools, on their communications challenges.
- Fine Point is a communications firm, not a marketing agency nor a branding or design studio.
- We are hands-on partners in the work, counselors who both advise and assist on-campus staff in putting our recommendations to use.
Each of these distinctions matters in a crowded field of vendors, especially the last.
Schools can find plenty of options for producing a pretty PDF, but then these companies step back. They are not available to keep magazine production on track over months, to assist with the urgent late-night crisis or to run the communications office while a school identifies its next director.
Fine Point, though, is here for all of this and more.
How We Work
Since 2020, Fine Point Communications has worked with more than two dozen independent schools across the United States and in Canada. Clients typically engage us for the following assignments:
- Interim leadership of the marcom office. A school regains full directorial capacity during a search or a transitional period without taking on the commitment of a permanent hire.
- Production of magazines and other publications, responsible for writing, editing and traffic control.
- Ongoing communications support on retainer, providing extra bandwidth, skills and experience to navigate the turmoil of an academic year.
- Warm-hearted, cool-headed crisis communications, helping campus leaders inform their communities and protect institutional trust when the stakes are highest.
How We Support Our Industry
Our annual conference, the Fine Point Off-Site, brings together communications directors from schools around the country for professional development built specifically for the demands of their role.
Our monthly newsletter, Refill, has advised and informed this community for five years running — a record of consistent contribution that few school vendors can match.
Fine Point is proud to support these organizations, which lift up independent education:
- The National Association of Independent Schools
- The National Association of Episcopal Schools
- The Heads Network
- The Advancement Exchange for Independent Schools
- LeadTeam Partners
Meet Our Principal
Scott Butterworth founded Fine Point Communications in 2020 after leading communications at National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C.
The centerpiece of his tenure was an integrated communications program built around the school’s mission statement, “We believe in the power of young women.” This fueled measurable growth in admissions inquiries, annual giving and online audience, and it deepened the pride constituents felt on- and off-campus. He also worked closely with the head of school on crisis communications and represented NCS before neighborhood, educational and governmental leaders.
Scott recognized that schools gain more from ongoing partnerships that build institutional knowledge than from one-off projects. He built this awareness into Fine Point’s operations, and today we are known by clients for our emphasis on trust, candor and partnership.
Before joining NCS, Scott worked in daily journalism, including 14 years at The Washington Post as an editor. He worked with many of the best reporters in the world on deadline and earned a reputation for thorough, calm and astute editing. He has also edited two books.
Clients benefit from this background, gaining access to freelancers keen to team with Fine Point. Our network is experienced at all aspects of publications: reporting, writing, editing and project management. We especially prize storytellers — communicators who document a campus event or trend while framing the moment in a larger context.
Scott and his family live in Rockville, Md., where he keeps bees in a small backyard apiary.