8 Things to Think About As You Start the School Year
The best back-to-school tips for teachers cover more than classroom setup: professional development tied to your career goals, a self-care routine you'll actually keep, and time spent learning who your students are before they walk in. Plan your first day, set a theme, and arrange your room with purpose.
As you start school this year, do you feel you are more efficient than last year? What makes us feel better after we get more years under our belt?
Starting my second decade of education…I can't believe it. Many of you have been around longer than that, but most of you are in years 1-15. In the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey from the National Center for Educational Statistics, only 39% of the teachers had 15 or more years of teaching experience. That was the last year NCES compiled that survey.
What types of things do veteran teachers spend time on before the year starts? The following eight things are worthy of your time before you start the school year. What else would you put on this list?
1 - Professional Development For Your Personal Goals
What do you see yourself doing next year, five years from now, or 10 years from now? These questions should help spark your professional development plan. Tying your professional development plan to your long-term goals can be beneficial for you down the road. Too many times, teachers start their master's degrees without a plan for future job tracks. For example, a regular education teacher earns their master's of arts in teaching. Where a district's salary schedule recognizes a graduate degree, that degree may move a teacher across it, but it may not set them up for a future position. Whether a master's affects your pay at all depends on the employer, the state, the salary schedule in force, and any collective bargaining agreement. I am a huge proponent of getting your master's degree as soon as you can possibly handle the load…many start before they are even tenured. What aspirations do you have? Here are some examples of specializations that may support a move into a different role, and that in some districts also carry recognition on the salary schedule:
| Master's degree | Roles the degree may help prepare you for, depending on state and employer requirements |
|---|---|
| Masters of Literacy | Literacy Teacher, Instruction Coach |
| Masters of Science | Science Instructional Coach |
| Masters of Mathematics | Math Instructional Coach |
| Masters of Technology | Technology Coach, Director of Technology |
| Master's in Leadership | Instructional Coach, Assistant Principal, Principal, Assistant Superintendent |
| Master's in Special Education | Special Education Coach, Special Education Administrator, Supervisor of Special Education |
None of these degrees is a credential by itself. Reading and literacy specialist roles, special education positions, and school administration each carry their own state requirements, which can include a separate endorsement or license, completion of an approved preparation program, supervised internship or fieldwork, a minimum number of years of experience, and one or more assessments. The leadership pathway varies the most. Principal, assistant principal, and superintendent credentials differ substantially from state to state, and a master's in leadership on its own should not be read as opening those roles. Verify the applicable state administrator certification or licensure requirements with your state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency before you commit to a program.
Another pathway to feed your growth mindset is to find professional development that fills one of these two niches: personal weaknesses or current teaching assignment. Many teachers are apprehensive to take professional development in areas in which they are not proficient. Teachers with strong growth mindsets search out professional development in the areas they understand are their weaknesses. For example, I know I am not the best writer, but I have continually found more and more professional development in writing and reading strategies. These were my two most hated subject areas as a student…to much of my teacher mother's chagrin! Another pathway is when teachers find professional development that is specific to the subjects and courses they teach. Becoming exemplary in our instructional areas increases what we bring to the table with students each day during instruction, as we can go deeper with our knowledge.
2 - Professional Development For the School or District's Goals
A teacher who is engaged in their school and district will follow the plans set out by their superintendent and principal. In my experience, the districts that handle this well research professional development against the needs of the majority of students in their district. For example, a district is noticing a deficiency in mathematics. They set goals to meet specific needs and then find professional development that meets those needs. The teachers I have watched get the most out of it are the ones who actively implement the professional development they receive. These teachers are constantly deciding on how they can connect what they are doing throughout the school year back to these goals. They set their own personal goals that connect to these district goals. The goals are visible in their classroom, as well as visible in the work produced by students. Some schools use a mantra or theme to build support throughout the district. My own view is that working toward a common goal helps.
3 - Self-Care Plan
Before the school year starts, hopefully you have started a routine for your self-care plan. The plan should be put in place in order to maintain balance. Some teachers get so engrained into their jobs that they do not take time for themselves and their families. When this occurs, stress levels increase, and it can negatively affect your job performance. Many of us highly engaged employees have a difficult time turning off our education machines…our brains. If we can train ourselves to put more emphasis on self-care time, we may find we have more to give to our students, families, and colleagues in education. This may sound counterproductive, but it has held up for me. In my experience, staying on top of food, exercise, and family time makes it easier to give of ourselves to others.
Eating right can be difficult for teachers. Many times we pick up food or eat out because it fits our schedule, as well as not wanting to cook when we get home. Food is a necessity for the proper energy we need to maintain the highest level of engagement! Preplanning meals, cooking ahead, or even purchasing meal plans from a company can decrease the cook time, as well as the time spent shopping. During the busy school schedule, every minute is valuable.
Setting up regular times to exercise will help. Using a calendar system where you can schedule workouts just like meetings is one more reason to continue your self-care plan. Getting someone else to work out with you can make it easier to follow through on your self-care plan.
Family time, being present, can never be replicated in another fashion. We must cherish the relationships and the time we commit in our house. When our children grow up or move away, we will miss the time we spent when they were younger. We definitely do not want regrets that we should have played more games, read more books, or hung out more with our family. When our family is healthy, we too are healthier to handle stressful situations when they arise. Finding that balance is our goal.
4 - Learn About Your Students
When we learn about our students before they set foot in our classrooms, the more we can plan for their success. We learn about their likes, dislikes, strengths, and weaknesses. When we do this, we are teaching more effectively and efficiently.
Students come to us from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences. Recently, more school districts are finding ways to support students dealing with trauma and anxiety. Not every difficulty a student brings to class is an adverse childhood experience, and identifying trauma or anxiety is not something a teacher can do from a file or from classroom behavior. What we can do is work from the information we are authorized to see, follow the plans already in place, and involve counselors, school psychologists, and other qualified staff when a student needs more than we are equipped to give. A strong relationship built on trust helps a great deal, and it is not enough on its own to carry a student through the most difficult situations they will face. Being a strong child advocate means we take time to listen, support, and act on what is best for these students.
Review the student records you are authorized to access and need for your own educational responsibilities, following FERPA, your state's privacy requirements, and your district's procedures. That is a narrower thing than reading everything on file. Achievement data and the plans that govern your instruction usually sit squarely inside it. Health records, behavioral reports, and anecdotal notes are not material to page through simply to learn more about a student. Previous teachers can be a useful resource within those same limits, and it is worth staying cautious and not being afraid to form your own opinions about the students seated in front of you.
Take time to learn about your students within those limits. You will find IEPs, RTI/MTSS plans or supports, 504 plans, or health care plans that need attention as students enter your classroom. Be the first advocate for these students each year by using the access your role gives you to learn about them.
5 - Plan Your First Day and Beyond
This past year at my school, we used a hashtag, #BestDayEver, for our day one theme. First impressions matter, and when we put relationships first with our students, everyone wins. We had a local radio station broadcasting live on the front lawn of our school. They played music, conducted interviews, played games, and had fun with students as they entered school.
Plan your first day so that it is memorable for students, and so they want to come back the next day, and the next day. Creating a theme, finding engaging activities, and celebrating students are just a few ways to get parents and students wanting more of your school and classroom. The more prepared you are, the richer the learning experiences will be for students.
Take the time to decide what you want students to hear first, next, and last throughout the day. Chunk your day into these types of segments. I plan on the assumption that the opening and closing of a lesson carry the most weight, so I build those parts of the day systematically.
6 - Set Your Theme or School's Theme for the Year
Having a theme for your school or classroom can be fun and engaging. A theme helps students connect all their learning around a common mantra or idea. These rich experiences do not have to be expensive, but when well connected to learner outcomes, they can make learning fun. The book Wild Card, by Hope and Wade King, talks about how setting up a theme and engaging environment can change the way you teach… "Be the Wild Card." This powerful concept is a game changer for many educators.
One teacher in our school created a jungle in her classroom. Everything in the classroom is connected to this jungle environment…from writing station areas to school supplies. Students are immersed in a jungle atmosphere where they are on a safari from day one until day 180. I expect her students will remember the experiences she creates with this theme.
Our school's theme this year is #GotGrit. We chose it after reading Angela Duckworth's work on grit. Grit is our theme, not our explanation for why students succeed, and Duckworth's research is one strand in a much larger picture. We are teaching our students what "Grit" is and how to find it around our school. Students are celebrating others who show grit over time, as well as teachers finding "Grit Students of the Week." In addition, we have partnered with another elementary school that has chosen the same theme. We will be exchanging students, working on leadership, and finding grit in each other's schools. We will bring that information back to our schools to share.
7 - Set Up Social Media and Ways to Connect with Students and Families
Social media can change a school, especially if you believe in the saying, "Tell your story so someone else doesn't tell the wrong one." We are in the day and age of social media where schools and teachers can push out their own news and materials. Parents and community members can stay connected with pictures, stories, and video more than ever.
There are a multitude of social media tools that can help tell your story. Some of the most popular communication tools are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Class Dojo, Seesaw, Remind, class/school websites, and more. Each of these gives daily access to parents and community members. Celebrating positives and continually showcasing learning can create a vast fan base.
Your school may have its own social media accounts. Before you set one up yourself, or post anything involving students, work through your district's social-media policy, its approved-platform rules, and its media-release and consent procedures, and follow FERPA along with any applicable state privacy law. Generic permission is not the same as a signed media release on file. Sharing a student's picture, work, story, or video without the right consent is the mistake to avoid here.
8 - Set Your Room Up Before Day 1
The physical arrangement of your room can have a large impact on how your classroom runs. Where you place desks, tables, chairs, or even if you only use flexible seating and no desks, you must think about how your students are going to be successful learners. How will you set up procedures and routines in your classroom?
One of the best professional development opportunities I have found recently is Angela Watson's 40 Hour Work Week. She has some great resources for you to set up your room. You can start this program with a cohort of other teachers and have access to people, ideas, and strategies that connect to what you are currently working on in your classroom. If you have not researched this program, I highly recommend it.
Function and effectiveness are two things most teachers do not think about when setting up their rooms. Many just set up their rooms in the same fashion as when they were attending…rows and columns. Some people call this the "cemetery format." The negative connotation refers to students having to sit at their desks away from others with the expectation that they do not talk.
At the beginning of the school year, a teacher needs to put time into several areas for successful setup of his or her classroom. Teachers can decide where lines will be, what technology they will have access to and where, where the most used supplies will be located, as well as where assignments will be turned in. Setting specific routines and procedures will need to be devised to determine what is most effective and efficient.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should teachers do first when getting ready for a new school year?
Most back-to-school tips for teachers start with the classroom. Start instead with the things that shape everything else. Read your class list and, within what your role authorizes you to access, any IEPs, RTI/MTSS supports, or 504 plans already on file, then look back at last year's lesson plans to see what worked and what needs rebuilding. Bulletin boards and desk arrangement can wait a week. Knowing who is walking through your door cannot.
What supplies should teachers restock before the first day?
The basics that get used daily: paper, pencils, dry-erase markers, chart paper, glue, and folders or binders for student work. Ask about your school's supply budget and any district allotment before spending your own money, and check whether your PTO or a local business runs a donation drive.
What are good first-day icebreakers?
Pick activities that get you students' names plus something useful about each kid. Two truths and a lie, a scavenger hunt built around your classroom procedures, or an index card asking for a favorite subject and one thing they want you to know all do the job. Keep the first one short so there is still time to walk the class through routines.
Should teachers write emergency sub plans before school starts?
Yes, and it is the task most often put off. Build a folder with your seating chart, daily schedule, attendance and dismissal procedures, and two or three lessons that require no prep. For anything about individual students, include only what a substitute is authorized and needs to know, and use your school's approved procedure for handling confidential student information rather than leaving health details in a general folder. You will not want to assemble any of it from a sick bed in February.
How should teachers reach out to families before the year begins?
A short welcome message ahead of day one sets the tone. A postcard, an email, or a class introduction letter naming one thing you are looking forward to lands better than a list of rules. Save detailed policies for back-to-school night, and set up your ongoing communication tool at the same time so families know where to look.
- Tie your degree to a job track - Pick a master's specialization with the role you want next in mind, and check what that role requires for state certification before you enroll.
- Self-care is a plan, not a mood - Scheduled meals, workouts, and family time hold up better than good intentions once the year gets busy.
- Read your students before you meet them - The records you are authorized to review, including IEPs, RTI/MTSS supports, and 504 plans, tell you what day one needs to look like.
- Plan the first day as it matters - First impressions set the tone, and a memorable start makes students want to come back tomorrow.
- Set the room up for how you actually teach - Desk arrangement, supply placement, and turn-in routines decide how smoothly the day runs.
Deciding which master's to pursue is the slowest item on this list, because state credential requirements and employer qualifications determine eligibility for many education roles, and the specialization you choose affects which of them you are positioned for. The sponsored programs on this page include literacy, leadership, special education, and instructional technology tracks, and many are built for teachers taking coursework around a full teaching schedule. Before enrolling, verify whether the program meets any certification, endorsement, or administrator-licensure requirements for the role and state where you intend to work.
As a 5th grade teacher, in 2010 Jon won the Presidential Award for Elementary Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). As a principal, his school won the 2012 Blue Ribbon Award. In 2018, he won the National Distinguished Principal Award (NDP). In 2019 he won the National No Kid Hungry Breakfast Hero Award.
Jon is the author of three guides published on teacher.org: An Educator's Guide to Combat Bullying & Bully Prevention; Teacher Evaluation: A Transition Guide to Exemplary Performance; and You are the Wild Card: Infusing Fun Back into Curriculum. He has authored a children's picture book that was released January 2019 titled Benjamin’s Visit to Principal Reads Office…again! (available at www.archwaypublishing.com)
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