School Family Media

What School Family Media does

School Family Media is a private Wrentham, Massachusetts-based company that operates a portfolio of digital platforms and service modules connecting consumer brands with K-12 school communities in the United States. The company's core properties are TeacherLists (a school supply list platform used by teachers and accessed by parents), PTO Today (a resource, magazine, and events platform for parent-teacher organization leaders), EduKit and School Tool Box (prepackaged school supply kit e-commerce businesses, the latter acquired March 2026), and College Checklists (college preparation tools). The company monetizes through a diversified mix including product sampling programs, digital advertising and sponsored content, lead generation for brands, high-touch experiential events, PR and cause marketing (including a 10-year partnership with Kids In Need Foundation), print advertising via PTO Today Magazine, and market research services. Customers include major CPG advertisers (Crayola, Paper Mate, Play-Doh, Kleenex, Staples, Target, Walmart, Ocean Spray, Stonyfield, Elmer's, Ziploc) and agencies (Digitas, Ketchum, Coyne PR, Legend PR).

School Family Media functions as a B2B2C intermediary rather than a direct-to-consumer business: brands and agencies pay for integrated programs that activate school communities through multiple touchpoints—digital platforms, sampled products, sponsored content, events, and cause-marketing tie-ins. The TeacherLists platform is the most differentiated asset, generating proprietary supply list data at scale across K-12 schools and serving as the data backbone for cross-property behavioral tracking via a multi-site cookie infrastructure spanning ptotoday.com, teacherlists.com, edukitinc.com, ptomanager.com, and schoolfamilymedia.com. The company is led by founder and CEO Charles Field and COO Brian Cabezud, operates with 11-50 employees, has no disclosed outside institutional investors, and serves only the U.S. market.

The business is structurally seasonal (concentrated around back-to-school) and relationship-driven (built on PTO/PTA leader networks functioning as nano-influencers). The March 2026 acquisition of School Tool Box represents the most significant recent strategic action, consolidating prepackaged kit fulfillment and expanding the company's physical-product revenue surface alongside its digital services core. The company holds registered trademarks for School Family Media®, TeacherLists™, and PTO Today®, and operates under COPPA, CCPA, and GDPR-aligned privacy frameworks.

Name

School Family Media

Legal name

School Family Media, LLC

Website

https://schoolfamilymedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

School Family Media is a U.S.-based B2B2C media and marketing services company that connects consumer brands and agencies with K-12 school communities—parents, teachers, PTO/PTA leaders, and school staff—through digital platforms (TeacherLists, PTO Today, College Checklists), prepackaged supply kits (EduKit, School Tool Box), product sampling, advertising, events, and cause marketing programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Public Relations Agencies (54182), Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Retailers (4594)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Communications, Parent/Guardian Engagement & Notification Systems (EDAJAHAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

School Supplies Distribution (CRAOALAK)

Keywords

• K-12 marketing services
• School community activation
• Education media advertising
• Teacher supply lists
• PTO PTA engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Wrentham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sampling: Distribution of product samples to school communities through sampling programs
2. Digital Advertising & Sponsored Content: Sponsored content and digital advertising placements across platform network reaching parents, teachers, and school staff
3. Lead Generation: Lead generation services for brands targeting K-12 school communities
4. Experiential Events: High-touch experiential events including PTO Today Events for brand activation within school communities
5. Prepackaged School Supply Kits: Sale of prepackaged school supply kits through EduKit and School Tool Box acquisitions
6. Cause Marketing & Donations: PR and cause marketing programs where brands donate $1 per supply list to Kids In Need Foundation, creating social impact engagement

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

School Family Media connects consumer brands with K-12 school communities (parents, teachers, PTO/PTA leaders, and school staff) through a portfolio of digital platforms, marketing services, and prepackaged supply kits. The company operates the TeacherLists supply list platform, the PTO Today media and events property, EduKit and School Tool Box supply kit businesses, and the College Checklists tool, layered with services including product sampling, digital advertising, sponsored content, lead generation, experiential events, PR and cause marketing, print advertising, and market research.

Product overview

School Family Media operates as a platform-plus-services company that activates school communities by connecting brands with PTO/PTA leaders, teachers, school staff, and parents. The core platform consists of TeacherLists (school supply list management), PTO Today (PTO/PTA resources and events), EduKit (prepackaged supply kits), School Tool Box (acquired supply kit brand), and College Checklists (college preparation tools). Supporting these products are service modules including Sampling, Digital marketing/advertising, Back-to-School Supply Lists coordination, Experiential Events, PR & Cause Marketing, Print Advertising via PTO Today Magazine, and Market Research. The ecosystem is unified by connecting K-12 school communities with brands for back-to-school and ongoing engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TeacherLists School supply list platform that allows teachers to upload supply lists, opt into Teacher-Trusted brand partnerships, and enables parents to find and purchase supplies. Connects schools, families, and brands.
• PTO Today Resource, content, and event platform for PTO and PTA groups, providing tools, editorial content, print magazine, and experiential events to support parent-teacher organization leaders.
• EduKit Prepackaged school supply kits that consolidate essential materials into ready-to-use bundles for K-12 students, sold direct-to-consumer.
• School Tool Box Provider of prepackaged school supply kits serving K-12 schools and communities, acquired by School Family Media to expand its educational resource ecosystem.
• College Checklists Checklist tool for college preparation and planning, extending the company's community activation model beyond K-12.
• Product Sampling Services Product sampling services enabling brands to distribute samples to school communities, parents, and teachers.
• Digital Advertising and Sponsored Content Digital marketing and advertising services including sponsored content, lead generation, and brand activation across digital platforms targeting school communities.
• Back-to-School Supply Lists Service Platform and services for managing and distributing school supply lists during back-to-school season.
• Experiential School Family Events High-touch experiential events that engage school communities, parents, and families in brand experiences.
• PR & Cause Marketing Public relations and cause marketing services connecting brands with school communities through social impact initiatives, including the $1-per-list donation program with Kids In Need Foundation.
• PTO Today Magazine Print Advertising

Quantifiable outcome

• 58% of students arrive without required supplies on first day of school
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kids In Need FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 April 2026TeacherLists, a platform operated by School Family Media, has partnered with Kids In Need Foundation for 10 consecutive years. When teachers upload supply lists and opt into Teacher-Trusted brand partnerships (Crayola, Paper Mate, Play-Doh, Kleenex), TeacherLists donates $1 per list to KINF, which delivers free supplies to under-resourced schools. Survey data reveals 58% of students arrive without supplies, 100% of teachers spend personal funds on classroom materials, and three-quarters of donated supplies are depleted before winter break.
• School Tool BoxcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2026School Family Media announced the acquisition of School Tool Box, a provider of school supply kits, to strengthen its support for K-12 schools and communities. The acquisition aims to maintain operational stability while enhancing logistics, technology, and local community investment. The integration builds on previous acquisitions and consolidates a broad ecosystem of educational resources.
• CrayolaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTeacher-Trusted brand partner on TeacherLists platform. When teachers opt into brand partnerships while uploading supply lists, donations are generated for Kids In Need Foundation.
• Paper MateminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTeacher-Trusted brand partner on TeacherLists platform. When teachers opt into brand partnerships while uploading supply lists, donations are generated for Kids In Need Foundation.
• Play-DohminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTeacher-Trusted brand partner on TeacherLists platform. When teachers opt into brand partnerships while uploading supply lists, donations are generated for Kids In Need Foundation.
• KleenexminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTeacher-Trusted brand partner on TeacherLists platform. When teachers opt into brand partnerships while uploading supply lists, donations are generated for Kids In Need Foundation.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ParentSquare: ParentSquare is a unified K-12 parent-engagement and mass-communication platform serving schools, teachers, and PTO/PTA leaders — directly overlapping School Family Media's parent and school-staff communication layer, though ParentSquare is app-native and more SIS-integrated.
• Bloomz: Bloomz is a parent-teacher communication and classroom-management app used by K-12 schools; it overlaps with SFM's PTO Today community-engagement play but is delivered primarily through a mobile-first app.
• ClassTag: ClassTag is a K-12 parent-communication platform competing for the same PTO/PTA leader and teacher attention that SFM's PTO Today targets, with a similar mix of messaging, event coordination, and parent engagement.
• School Specialty: School Specialty is one of the largest U.S. distributors of school supplies, classroom furniture, and educational materials to K-12 schools and districts — directly comparable to SFM's EduKit and School Tool Box kit-distribution and supply-list business.
• Really Good Stuff: Really Good Stuff sells classroom and teacher supplies direct to educators, overlapping with the supply-kit and teacher-purchasing channels that TeacherLists, EduKit, and School Tool Box monetize.

Emerging players

• Finalsite: Finalsite provides school-marketing, website, and communications software to K-12 private and independent schools, overlapping with SFM's communications and parent-engagement surface but with a stronger website-CMS focus.
• SchoolMint: SchoolMint offers K-12 enrollment, registration, and family-engagement tools targeting the same school-district and parent buyer that SFM serves, with stronger SIS/workflow integration and a narrower product surface.
• Smore: Smore is a newsletter and communication platform widely adopted by K-12 teachers and PTO/PTA leaders — comparable to PTO Today Magazine's editorial role but as a SaaS newsletter builder rather than a print publication.

Broad incumbents

• Varsity Brands: Varsity Brands owns BSN Sports, Varsity Spirit, and Herff Jones and monetizes K-12 schools through spirit wear, yearbooks, and school-event sponsorships — a broader incumbent in the school-community brand-activation space where SFM operates.
• SproutLoud: SproutLoud is a distributed-marketing platform that helps brands manage local-marketing programs through resellers and partners — comparable in providing turnkey marketing infrastructure to CPG brands, though SFM's niche is school-community channels specifically.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/school-family-media
• Xx.com/schoolfamily

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about School Family Media