Sign-ups for schools and PTAs

Schools and PTAs need two different shapes. Conference night is a grid of exclusive times. A field trip is a headcount plus a few chaperone slots. A class party is a dish list. MojoSignUp can do all three. It will not talk to your student information system, send permission slips, or hide the page from a parent who has the URL. Plan around that.

Who owns the team

One team per school or PTA, not one team per teacher, unless teachers should not see each other’s events. Invite the room parent and the staff member who will answer “the link doesn’t work.” Name sign-ups with the grade or teacher plus the event: “3rd grade · Rivera · spring party.” Next year’s parent will thank you when they search email.

Conference slots

One instance for the evening. One slot per time window with capacity 1: “4:00,” “4:15,” “4:30.” That is the whole trick. If two teachers share a night, either two sign-ups or slot titles that include the teacher name. Leave public listing off. Send the URL in the classroom channel. When a slot is taken, it disappears from the chooser. There is no waitlist; a canceled conference frees the slot when the parent unregisters or you remove them.

Do not put student names in the slot title. The page is visible to anyone who has the link.

Chaperones and field trips

Use an instance for the trip date. Capacity on the instance is the student headcount if you are collecting student RSVPs. Chaperones are separate slots with a small capacity (“Chaperone · 4”). Do not mix “my child is coming” and “I can drive” as one slot. Drivers who need a background check should be a slot you fill by invitation, not a public open role.

Classroom parties and spirit nights

Same structure as a potluck: plates, drinks, allergy-friendly snack, leftover pickup. Keep listing off. If a district rule forbids public sharing of student events, the URL is still a public page in the technical sense. Do not paste it on a public Facebook group if that violates policy. Share it in the closed classroom tool you already use.

What the description should and should not say

Include time, door to use, and whether siblings may come. Do not include student last names, allergy lists, or dismissal instructions that would help a stranger. If you need allergy information, collect it on a form the organizers can read and do not echo it back onto the public page.

Recurring clubs

Chess club on Tuesdays is one sign-up and a weekly series. Parents register per date unless you decide the club is “sign up once for the term” — in which case use one instance that represents the term and take attendance elsewhere. Do not assume eight Tuesday instances equal a membership. Recurring schedules covers generation and holidays.

Start smaller than the whole school

One classroom party or one conference night. If the roster is trusted, expand. A building-wide launch on the same weekend as picture day is how you get three unofficial copies of the same event.