10 Things Teachers Should Not Do Over Summer Break
Real summer recovery means stepping back from anything school-related, not just leaving the building. That's the real list of things teachers should not do over summer break: work email, professional development, and education social media, plus school calls and school talk with family- all need real boundaries. The break only works if you actually take it.
Burnout can hit at any point in the year, and some educators feel especially depleted toward the end. After 20 years in education, this year has been one of the hardest and most stressful I can remember. In years past, I'd usually start dreaming about the books, professional development, podcasts, and articles I wanted to get caught up on over the summer. This year, not so much. I'm vowing to take real time off from anything "educational," and I honestly can't remember a time in my career when I've done that.
Teacher contract lengths vary by state and district, but many contracts are in the roughly 180-190-day range. Principals and other administrators often have longer work years than teachers, with contract lengths varying by district and position. I was lucky enough to work just 212 contracted school days this past year.
I've always been a "yes" person, taking on more to sharpen my skills, expand my opportunities, and grow my knowledge of the field. This summer is going to be different. I'm giving myself permission to pause.
I made a list of things I'm not doing this summer. If you're ready for a break from education, what would you add? Here's my own list of things teachers should not do over summer break, or should only do with real limits, if you actually want the time off to count.
1 - Visiting School
Most days of the summer, I go into work for a couple of hours to knock out projects, some for the coming year, some left over from the one that just ended. That includes the staff handbook, the student handbook, employee schedules, back-to-school letters, and more. Some teachers have their keys to the building taken away over the summer, mostly so it can be cleaned properly. Not setting foot in the school will be hard for me.
This summer I pledge to take a break from going into school.
2 - Attending a Professional Development Workshop
Summer might be the best time to get a workshop or training under your belt and actually dig into the content. My summers for 20 years have been full of them, and I've attended national conferences and heard from some of the top speakers in education. In my own experience, professional development done during the school year doesn't always land the way it should, since there's too much else pulling at my attention, and I've found it harder to put PD into practice once the year has already started. We're asked to do it routinely anyway, but for me, summer is usually when my brain is actually free enough to concentrate.
This summer I pledge to take a break from professional development workshops.
3 - Read an Educational Book
I probably read four educational books during the school year for every one I read in summer. Books are a great way to stay current on what's changing in the field. As research shifts our thinking, we pick them apart, connecting new ideas to what we already believe, testing whether they hold up, and figuring out how to actually put them into practice. That never-ending growth cycle keeps a lot of us going. A new title in the Hacking Learning Series, Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice by Nathan Maynard and Brad Weinstein, came out this spring. I already bought it. It's staying on the shelf until fall.
This summer I pledge to read only non-educational books.
4 - Read an Educational Magazine
A lot of us get magazines from the organizations we belong to: NEA, AFT, ASCD, and others. The ideas and policy reforms in them can be exciting to read. If you're like me, you can't wait for the next issue, and you read most of them cover to cover. I actually read mine back to front, since I like the shorter pieces near the back and save the longer ones for later.
This summer I pledge to stack these magazines aside until fall.
5 - Listen to a Podcast
Driving, walking, working out, or just relaxing by the water is a great time to listen to a podcast, and there's no shortage of good ones in education. They can turn into a full binge where you can't stop until you've reached the last episode. That happened to me with Hal Bowman, a must-listen (I'm saving the binge for this fall). Episodes can run anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour, so you have to be intentional about where the time goes.
This summer I pledge to take a break from all education podcasts until fall.
6 - Read an Article from my Twitter or Facebook Feed
This is probably where most of my reading time actually goes, chasing the nuances of education reform and theory. Scrolling, scrolling, and then, click, I'm into another article. I spend too much time on sites like Edutopia, MindShift, EdWeek, and BehaviorFlip, to name a few. We turn to these to confirm something we already believe or to change a strategy we're using. A lot of these pieces are short, 1,000 to 3,000 words, and can be read in one sitting. We get hooked on the ones with a number in the headline, like this one.
I pledge to save the best articles I see while scrolling for fall, and take a real pause from the rest.
7 - Answer School Email
Another one of my habits is answering email fast so it doesn't pile up. My thinking has always been that clearing my inbox before the school day starts frees up more time for students and teachers once I'm there. That philosophy has served me well, but I know I need a break from it. As I write this, my inbox sits at 906. Emails can get away from anyone, especially with my school's expectation of a 24-hour response during the school year. Everyone needs their own system for managing that.
I pledge not to answer emails during my non-contracted time this summer.
8 - Answer Phone Calls for School Business
A lot of us set our school voicemail or phones to an out-of-office message by the end of May or start of June. Somehow the number still gets out, and parents, colleagues, businesses, and community members find ways to reach it. The asks don't stop just because school is out, so guarding your time takes some intention. Plenty of educators have no problem taking these calls year-round, and I usually don't either since I pride myself on being reachable, but I'm limiting these conversations this summer.
I pledge to limit calls on school matters this summer.
9 - Talk About School
You know that feeling when you finish binge-watching a favorite show and the credits finally roll? Urban Dictionary calls that the "show hole," that hollow, adrift feeling once whatever had your full attention is over and you're not sure what comes next.
That same feeling can hit after the last student walks out on the last day of school. All you've done for 180 days is education, and then it's just gone.
We talk about school constantly, with friends, family, even significant others. Finding a new show to watch, or a new topic to talk about, is part of the reset. Better yet, leaning into a non-school hobby can help you reconnect with interests outside work, and with yourself. Taking care of yourself often leaves you with more to give the people around you.
I pledge to limit how much I talk about school this summer, and to lean into my hobbies instead.
10 - Start a Computer
Screen time in education can eat up more of the day than families and friends are comfortable with. A lot of us spend way too many hours on a laptop, and the people close to us notice. My phone started sending me weekly screen-time alerts this year, and the data is useful: it shows which apps I'm using most, which ones least, and which days I'm on my phone more than usual. Anyone who writes, blogs, or runs a side hustle involving a computer has to weigh reducing screen time against actually getting the work done. For some of us, that side hustle is what makes teaching sustainable in the first place.
I pledge to spend significantly less time on my computer this summer, except to keep my side hustle going.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do teachers and administrators need a real break over the summer?
The school year is a constant barrage of demands: instruction, communication, and decision-making that don't fully stop even after the bell rings. A real break, one that includes stepping back from email, professional development, and school talk, can help educators feel more rested before the next year starts.
How many days do teachers and principals typically work each year?
Teacher contract lengths vary by state and district, but many contracts are in the roughly 180-190-day range. Principals and other administrators often have longer work years than teachers, with contract lengths varying by district and position.
What are signs that a teacher or administrator is heading toward burnout?
Possible signs of work-related strain can include dreading routine parts of the job that used to feel manageable, struggling to disconnect from school even during time off, and feeling depleted rather than recharged after a break. Difficulty setting boundaries around email, calls, or after-hours work can also accompany these feelings.
How can educators set boundaries around school email and calls during break?
Start by deciding in advance which time windows are truly off-limits for school business, and let colleagues and families know what to expect. Turning off notifications, setting an out-of-office message, and resisting the urge to "just check" are simple, practical ways to hold that line.
Does skipping professional development over the summer actually hurt classroom practice?
Not necessarily. Research suggests well-designed professional development can improve teaching and student outcomes, but effectiveness varies considerably by program and implementation. There isn't strong evidence that summer PD is inherently more effective than school-year PD.
- Real rest means disconnecting fully - stepping away from school email, PD, and education social media, not just staying out of the building - which may help with recovery.
- Some educators feel it most at year's end - The cumulative demands of a full school year can leave some educators especially depleted right before summer starts, which is one reason to set boundaries early.
- Contracted days vary by district - Teacher contracts are commonly in the roughly 180-190-day range, and principals and other administrators often work longer years, with the exact length set locally.
- Boundaries protect the break - Setting limits on calls, email response times, and screen time keeps the summer from quietly turning back into the school year.
- Non-school hobbies can help you reconnect with yourself - Time spent away from anything "educational" isn't wasted time; it can help educators reconnect with interests outside work and return with more to give.
If this pause has you thinking about where your career goes next, that's worth exploring before the new year picks back up. The programs listed on this page include options for an advanced degree or a new certification, several built with online or hybrid formats for educators already working full-time.
- What the CARES Act Actually Did for K-12 Schools - April 20, 2020
- 10 Things Teachers Should Not Do Over Summer Break - June 7, 2019
