School House Rock
The student council officers, our advisor (center), and I discuss the dance. Discuss The Dance 
Clare and I met several times to work on details.
You'll need a good bit of time for this first meeting, so if you can't meet during school, get together after.
Be sure to take a notebook and a pen or pencil because you'll want to write down the ideas that you discuss.
Close Does your school need new lockers? Is the gym equipment old and worn out?
Maybe your class is going on a field trip or your math books are outdated.
Your school could probably use some extra cash. The solution: have a school dance!
Organizing a school dance is not only an easy money maker, it's also a way to meet new people, and learn new skills.
Meet New People, Learn New SkillsYou'll get to meet new people and form new friendships with students from other schools who come to your dance—and they WILL come!
The students who are planning it will learn a lot about managing money.
Close All you have to do is follow a few easy steps.
Keep a checklist. Plan Your Dance
First, meet with a group of students, or the student council.
Since I was the student council president, I met with the council members to discuss the details of having a dance.
Here are some of the things you'll want to discuss:
Date and Location. Make sure that your local schools aren't having other events that night or even that weekend.
Date and LocationHave a second date in mind in case the weather is severe or other last-minute problems show up—like the DJ getting sick.
Renting a hall or gym can be cool, but gets expensive. If you have the space, it's best to have the dance on school grounds. Student Council has dances in our school cafeteria for free.
Close Theme. Decide if your dance is going to be casual or special like a winter formal.
Theme If it's going to be special, your guests will need to be able to plan for special dress.
Plan for a few extra things like photo shoots, a king and queen, or more food and decorations.
Close Music. You want a DJ or band that can fit your theme, and that the students enjoy.
Music To find a good band, call around to other schools. They may let you know of a group or DJ that they especially liked.
Also, attend other school dances. This can give you a preview of different bands and let you know what to expect.
Another great thing to do is to create a list of your favorite local bands, then call the ones that are in your committee's price range and will fit your theme.
We picked a DJ who was an alumnus of our school, so we got a discount. Have a few backup choices, in case your DJ is booked.
Close Admission. Decide which grade levels you'll invite, and how much you'll charge.
Admission Try not to overprice. If you're having a special dance you may want to consider including food and drinks with a ticket.
As far as pricing goes, $3.00 - $4.00 is a good range for tickets to a regular dance.
If you are having a formal, tickets should fall somewhere between $5.00 and $10.00.
Close 
Three 8th graders sign up for the dance in the school office. Food. Decide what you will have to eat and drink. Soda, punch, and water could be some choices for drinks. Pizza and candy are great for snacks.
Food Find ways to save money so you can charge your guests $2.00 or less on food and drinks.
Buy frozen pizza, or making you own pizza and snacks. That's a good way to save a few bucks.
Our planning committee talked to local businesses and got a good deal on pizza.
By gaining community support for our dance in that way, we were able to cut prices.
Close Sign up. Determine if you want students to sign up ahead of time or pay at the door.
Sign UpOur Planning Committee decided to have students who were interested sign up at their school, and receive a ticket.
This eliminated the confusion of paying at the door. It can also give you an idea of how much food to have available.
Close Decorations. Plan your decorations according to your theme. You don't need to overdo it, and school students can even make their own decorations to help lower the cost.
Volunteers and chaperones. Get an idea of how many chaperones and volunteers you'll need. You can ask parents, teachers, and older siblings or relatives.
Volunteers and Chaperones 
Chaperones are a very important part of a dance!
Ask people if they would be interested in chaperoning. You can even send papers home to parents.
Remember to ask for volunteers to sign up to stay and help clean up afterwards—make sure that you have all areas covered, and have a few backup plans.
On the day of the dance, we asked chaperones and set-up volunteers to arrive about an hour early.
The time you'll need to get ready will depend on how much you have to do.
Close When you finish writing down all your ideas, present them to your principal for approval. Now it's time for the second step...
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