We include the class lists, the teacher list (phone and e-mail), and the family information. It's done on 8-1/2 x 11 and is printed by the school district (and bound with tape). This costs about $600 for approx 400 books. Our PTO dues are $10/family a year, and this entitles each family to a directory.
Last year we tried selling ad space and actually made about $1,000 over the cost of printing. But it was very time consuming...I know because I pounded the pavement all summer trying to drum up ad sales, so I don't know if we'll do that again this year.
Lastly, I wouldn't go paperless yet. We've just gone paperless with our PTO flyers that come home and while the response was good, we're still trying to get everyone used to the idea that they need to check their e-mail. One of the selling points we used for ad sales was that people kept them from year to year and rarely threw them away. I know that's the case for me.
Our school does not charge for the directory. We do charge a membership fee for the year, $10 per family and every family gets a copy of one, so I guess, in a round about way, that we do charge.
I list each classroom by grade, teacher and note every student in the class in alpha order. This makes it easy for birthday parties and valentines day. I include every teacher and their phone extentions. Again, an easy reference for those without computers. I also put the PTO information in, committees, chairpersons and meeting dates for general meeting. I would not run contests for cover art as it was just too much trouble. Many other schools do this and if you have a committee that can coordinate it, it works out well.
Do you charge for your directory??? or is it free??
I love the idea of this-- especially for kids that want to invite kids from the school to a birthday party-- where the teacher has a problem bringing in invitations to pass out-- the parent can look up the address and send them out directly to the parents. And the contest is a great way to get the kids involved in the process as well.-- what do you give as a prize for the contest??
Jmus25---it is not expensive for the printing with our locally owned print shop, they give us a great discounted price. We charge $2 for each directory and more than earn our $ back. We have everything set up on computer so we can email it to them. They size it to fit the half page and do all of the copies, stapiling, folding. We use white paper with a cardstock cover that is folded in half so the book is a reasonable size. They put their business name and info on the inside back cover for a little advertising and we also include their donation on our newsletter. I have not priced this at a chain type copy center but it would be worth asking for a donation. We also have a parent who works at a print shop and they do free color fliers for us, maybe you have a parent with a print company association? Maybe with volunteers you could run it on the school copier? Good luck--they really do come in handy at home and in the car!
