The Three Most Important Things To Do To Prepare For A New School Year

When you read this you probably thought I was going to say lesson planning but that’s not where we are heading with this type of planning (that type of planning is a given). There is so much to do before the start of the school and again, with all the things required of us as educators (especially if you are in your first year), as soon as you get back to school I would encourage you to be sure to find out how much time you have for the following:

• Classroom Set-Up
• Meetings (district, whole-school, department, team)
• Content Planning (long-term, unit, lesson)
• Classroom Culture Prep
• Professional Development
• Student/ Family Contact and Outreach
• Other outside of classroom expectations (open house, orientation, meet the teacher, etc.)

The above list is not exhaustive but there are so many things we have to consider for our back to school experience beyond our classrooms and these are things that not only take us out of classrooms but are often required of us. Below are a few steps to support in how you can plan your time:

• When returning (if you are up for it I would recommend doing this before you return) be sure you are given a schedule that allows you to see when and where you are expected and the time commitment required/ provided for all the things listed above.
• Get all of these things on your calendar.
• Once these are on your calendar, it is time to fill in the gaps and prioritize your time (which is on the next page).