We built the parent directory we wished our PTO had.
A modern alternative to DirectorySpot, designed for how PTOs and other organizations actually run today: privacy your families control, support for every kind of family, and one account, every school, every year.
Sound familiar?
You don't know who can see what.
A vendor holds your families' phone numbers and addresses. They decide what's shared, what's private, and what happens to the data when you stop paying. Parents who'd rather opt out have to email the PTO to ask.
The directory only knows one kind of family.
"Where do I put my ex's address?" "My last name isn't the same as my kid's." "We have two moms — but the form only has slots for Mom and Dad." Directories built a decade ago assume every kid has one home, two parents, and matching last names. Anyone whose family doesn't look like that has to either lie to fit the boxes or skip the directory entirely.
Every September, everyone starts over.
Last year's directory is gone. Parents who opted in have to opt in again. The PTO board exports last year's spreadsheet, cleans it up by hand, and re-uploads. Kids moving up to middle school? Their parents create new accounts at the new school. Repeat every year, forever.
What if your directory actually felt like 2026?
You decide who sees what.
Every family chooses what to share — and what to keep private — the first time they sign in. Three visibility levels: full, search-only, or opted out entirely. Privacy is enforced at the database level, not just hidden in the UI.
Built for every kind of family.
Stepparents, two moms, two dads, shared custody, grandparents raising grandkids, kids whose last names don't match their parents' — Roost handles all of it without forcing anyone into the wrong box. Each adult has their own account. Each kid can be linked to as many guardians and households as their real life requires.
One account, every school, every year.
Sign in once, and your account follows you. New school year? Same account. Kid moves from elementary to middle school? Same account, new school added. Second kid starts kindergarten while the first is in seventh grade? Same account, both schools, one login. Nothing to recreate, ever.
How it works
Schedule a 15-minute call.
We'll talk about your organization, look at your current directory, and figure out if Roost is the right fit. No commitment. No demo theater.
We import your current directory.
Send us your DirectorySpot export, your spreadsheet, your old paper list — whatever you have. We clean it up, match families, and load it into Roost. You don't lift a finger.
Your board reviews and invites members.
Take a look at the imported data, fix anything that needs fixing, and decide who gets invited first. Most PTOs start with their board, then expand to the full roster a week later.
Members claim their info and choose their privacy.
Each family signs in with a magic link, confirms what's accurate, and picks what they want to share. No passwords. No forms to fill out. Most parents are done in under a minute.
Most directories let you export everything. We don't.
Once parent contact info is on someone's laptop, it's no longer protected by the directory's privacy settings. So Roost doesn't let anyone download the directory in bulk — not boards, not admins, not us.
Instead, we built the things people actually used bulk export for:
- Message your board or a whole classwith one click. Roost generates a pre-filled email with everyone BCC'd — no copy-paste, no exposed addresses.
- Print a roster for the school office.Roost generates a watermarked, dated PDF that includes only families who've opted in.
Your data never leaves the app. That's not a feature. It's the whole point.
Honest pricing.
We bill your organization annually. No monthly plans. No per-feature add-ons. Most PTOs cover it as a small line item in dues — about the price of a couple of pizza nights.
| Organization | Per person, per year | Annual minimum | Annual cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTOs and schools | $2 / family | $300 | $1,000 |
| Adult sports leagues | $3 / member | $200 | — |
| Churches | $1.50 / household | $300 | — |
| HOAs | $4 / household | $400 | — |
Most organizations include Roost as part of their existing dues. A typical mid-sized PTO with about 250 families runs under $500 a year. We're not the cheapest directory — we're the one your families can actually trust.
Also works for...
Roost is built for any organization where people belong to a group that evolves over time:
- Adult sports leagues — players come and go each season; the team persists.
- Alumni associations— your class graduated, but you're still connected.
- HOAs — the same neighbors, year after year (and the new ones who move in).
- Churches and congregations — the membership shifts; the community continues.
If your organization has people and the people change over time, Roost probably fits. We're a 15-minute call away.
Ready to see what your directory could feel like?