I'm a teacher and I'm happy to let kids hand out invitations as long as everyone is getting one. Sorry your teacher isn't so accommodating. Our PTA also does a directory, but it also takes a long time. We don't have a lot of mobility, so most kids are in the directory from the previous year.

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA does it, but it takes FOREVER to get it done. Here it is February and the directory is still not published. We won't get it before March. I know it is a big project, but what's the point if you don't get it until March?

March is pretty ridiculous. Our PTA made ours available in October. (They use "A to Z Directory" but I'm sure there are other services out there.)

Our PTA does it, but it takes FOREVER to get it done. Here it is February and the directory is still not published. We won't get it before March. I know it is a big project, but what's the point if you don't get it until March?

Our PTA does it, have you considered offering to do one? It isn't all the time consuming since the office can give you the info, and like others said, if you do it as a PDF it's cheap

We brought our child's invites to the teacher and they went home in the weekly folder to each child. It was no big deal. We got a class list and a PTA directory. Doesn't sound like your school or PTA is too into creating a sense of community. What a shame. This is one the big benefits of being at your local public school.

My kids have attended five different schools in FCPS and we have always had a directory published by the PTA available. The middle and high schools some times charge a small fee or require PTA membership for the directory, but that is fair enough since the money goes for the benefit of the students.

I would have thought all the schools would do this.

OP here-thanks, i just emailed the room mom to see if she had an email list. Not sure why the idea didn't occur to me.

We are similar to the above posts.

The PTA had always done the directory in the past, but it was time consuming and costly. Last year they didn't do one at all. This year it was done, but strictly as an electronic file, they didn't provide printed copies in order to save money.

I am the room parent for both my kids classes. At the beginning of the year the teacher sent home a note asking the parents if they wanted to be added to a class directory. Those that did filled out the form and returned it to the teacher. Then the teacher passed them along to me and I complied the list and printed it out for the parents. It was sent home in the Tuesday folders and I emailed the file to the parents that provided email addresses.

You could always ask your teacher to do something similar if you are the one willing to compile and print it out. I am sure they would appreciate it.

Anonymous wrote:We have a directory that's published by the PTA, not the school. I only just received a class list from the teacher (first names only) so parents could make sure that they sent in a valentine for every child.

Same here.

I have emailed the (FCPS) teacher to ask for a class listing of first names for birthday party invitations and she has sent one home for me. She also allows us to send invitations into school since we invite the entire class. We have done this with different teachers over the past six years without any issues.

The policy at our FCPS is that the teacher will ask the parents at the beginning of the year if they want their child's name, phone, and/or email included in the class directory. Some people don't include phone or email, others do. But, the teacher publishes the directory after the parents have consented.

Our school (FCPS) does a PDF directory. The PTA does it. OP, that does stink. Sounds like they are being purposely difficult.

i would send out an evite for the birthday party. maybe you have some of the email addresses of the kids. if not ask the class parent to send you a list or recopy them from a distribution list you are on.

We have a directory that's published by the PTA, not the school. I only just received a class list from the teacher (first names only) so parents could make sure that they sent in a valentine for every child.

We have neither and I find it unusual (moved here from Wisconsin, where we always received a class list with addresses, other parent phone number as well as a whole-school directory). DD's birthday is coming up and she would like to invite the whole class. Her teacher says no invitations can be sent home via the school, but how do we find her classmates otherwise? We have had a few playdates but that was after I stalked a few other moms after school to exchange numbers.