How Do I Sign Up?
You can start the signup process by clicking the ClassList.Online link at the top of the right-hand navigation pane. You will need to create a Subscriber account, and you should use your personal email address for this account. The Subscriber account lets us know who to contact about your directory this year, and next year’s coordinator can create a new Subscriber account to renew your directory if you do not continue as the coordinator.
Next, we’ll ask some questions about your school so we can customize your directory. We have grouped the questions on a series of short forms so you can easily save your progress and finish at a later time if you need to locate some of the answers. We will need to know the school address and phone number and the name and email address of the person responsible for the directory invoice. We will also ask about your school logo and color scheme for different parts of the directory, but you can opt to skip these questions for now and accept the default color scheme — we can always change the colors later. Finally, we will need to know who to designate as data administrators and fundraising administrators for your directory, and who to contact to connect your directory with your PayPal account. Many of these questions are only necessary for your initial setup and can be skipped when you renew your directory in future years.
The most important thing we will ask for is your directory data. There are two required files. The first will contain information about your classroom teachers and the second will contain information about your students and parents. Three additional files can be uploaded to provide more information for your families: a list of school personnel who are not classroom teachers, a list of school committee members (PTA, CSC, school leadership team, etc.), and calendar events (district calendar, class field trips, fundraising events, holidays, etc.). These three files are optional, and your data administrators can create these entries in your directory at any time. Providing the files for upload is just a faster and easier way to get the information in your directory. An information sheet with all of the required fields for each spreadsheet and spreadsheet templates will be provided to help you format your data.
Once we have your subscription order, we will build your custom directory with your school’s branding. We will contact your PayPal account manager and work together to connect your new directory to your organization’s PayPal account so all funds raised are paid directly to you. We will process your data to be sure that we have all of the required information and to match up family groups so they can be linked together in the directory. Your data will be uploaded and spot-checked for accuracy, then you will receive confirmation that it is ready and the URL you need to access it. Your users will receive an email to let them know where to find the directory and a second email with login information. A printable file with login information for parents without email addresses will be sent to the subscriber to be distributed by the school.
You will need to reach out to your directory sponsors to let them know they can advertise in your new online directory. Sponsors can create an account and purchase their ads through the Sponsors page of your directory. Paid ads will appear in the directory immediately (and notification will be sent to your directory administrators to review the content of the ad). All ads are sold as subscriptions that expire on the same date as the directory subscription (September 30 of the following year). Data administrators can adjust the ad prices during the year to reflect the shorter subscription time remaining. Schools that renew their directories early (beginning August 1) can encourage their sponsors to renew their ads before September 30 for uninterrupted coverage. Ads on the Directory Homepage are always listed by Sponsorship Type then by date purchased, so sponsors who renew earlier will be listed first.