An open house is the afternoon that fills seats — if you know who came and follow up. This guide sets up the whole flow in TeachHero: sign-ups on your website, a capacity you control, and a follow-up list that's ready the moment the last family leaves.
Step 1: Create the event
- Go to Website & Portal → Calendar and click New event.
- Enter the title and choose type General — only General events can take sign-ups.
- Set the date and times, and add the Location and a description on the Description tab.
- Leave Published off until the sign-up setup below is done.
Running tours every Saturday morning instead of one big day? Use the Repeats tab and TeachHero generates the whole series.
Deep dive: Events & Event Registration
Step 2: Turn on sign-ups — and learn who's coming
- On the event's Registration tab, turn on Allow sign-ups and set a Capacity if space is limited — registration closes automatically when full.
- Attach a short registration form so you capture more than a name: build one under Enrollment → Family forms (the Event RSVP template is a good start — name, email, attending, headcount, and notes). Then open the event's Forms tab and click Attach to select it; Required is on by default.
Deep dive: Creating Custom Forms
Step 3: Put it in front of families
- Publish the event — it gets its own public sign-up page on your school's website.
- Show it on your site — add an Events calendar block to a page in the Pages builder if you don't have one; see Building Your School Website.
- Tell your network — email your community and ask them to forward it; word of mouth is your best channel. Current families make great ambassadors.
Step 4: Run the day
The event's Registrations tab is your check-in list — each row shows the registrant, how many attendees they're bringing, and their form answers are on the form's responses. Print nothing; just open it on a laptop at the door.
Step 5: Follow up while you're still fresh in their minds
This is the step most schools skip, and it's the one that turns visits into applications:
- Within a day or two, go to Communication → Emails → New email, click + Add audience → Build an audience, choose Attendees, and pick your open house under Events — every registrant, no list-building.
- Say thank you, answer the common questions from the day, and link them to your application:
yourschool.teachhero.com/portal/application. - Applications land under Enrollment → Applications — from here, the admissions guide takes over.
Deep dive: Choosing Email Recipients