MONDAY MATTERS with Jen Schwanke and Will Parker – First Day of School Reminders

First Days of School Reminders

William D. Parker

This post is reprinted from an archived one we shared in 2019.

Jenny is a returning student at her high school. She has a part-time job, which keeps her up late most nights.

When she arrives late to school, she has already missed breakfast, and she’s tardy. She stands in a long line at the counseling office until she is given her class schedule. She reads it quickly: First hour, Mr. Samuels, room 125, Algebra II. She doesn’t recognize the name. Maybe he’s one of the new teachers.

She heads down the hall. She’s flush with frustration but holds her head high, turns the corner, and steps into the classroom. She finds an open seat in the back of the room. As she glances around the room, she does not see the teacher’s name anywhere.

By this time, she’s too embarrassed to ask, and the teacher is so involved in his first-day-of-school speech that he hasn’t paused to ask Jenny for her name or schedule or given her any other leads. As he talks on, she realizes this is Language Arts, not a math class. She must have entered the wrong room or misread her schedule.

Jenny endures the discomfort for the remaining minutes. Then she rushes from the class as quickly as possible, frustrated and hoping the rest of her first day of school is not this confusing.

Keeping Students in Mind

As important as it is to keep your responsibilities in mind as you start a new school year, it is even more important to keep the end goal in mind: serving students. You have students returning from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences. You also serve teachers, staff, and parents with questions and concerns. How can you be ready for all of them?

Questions Every Student Is Asking on the First Day

As you know, how we prepare for students can either help or hurt their first-day experiences. Harry Wong, author of The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher, reminds us of seven questions every student asks about his or her teachers:

1. Am I in the right room?
2. Where am I supposed to sit?
3. Who is the teacher as a person?
4. Will the teacher treat me as a human being?
5. What are the rules in this classroom?
6. What will I be doing this year?
7. How will I be graded?

Questions Every Teacher and Staff Person Asks on the First Day

But students aren’t the only ones who need clarity. Your teachers and staff also want answers to some questions that only school leaders can answer. So, I’ve rewritten Harry Wong’s questions to reflect what your teachers and staff will be asking:

1. What is my schedule?
2. What extra duties, assignments, or activities might I expect?
3. Who is my administrator as a person?
4. Will he or she treat me as a human being?
5. What are the expectations, procedures, and policies in our school?
6. What am I expected to accomplish this year?
7. How will I be evaluated, mentored, graded, or coached?

Tips for School Leaders Preparing for School

With those thoughts in mind, in this week’s Principal Matters podcast, co-host Jen Schwanke and I share six ideas to keep in mind when preparing for the start of school. Listen to the podcast version for even more stories and takeaways.

1. Build and Rebuild Relationships

As teachers, staff, or parents return to your building, how are you reconnecting with them? Whether it’s hearing about summer trips, family updates, or meaningful moments in their lives, these conversations are important for building trust. They also open questions your teammates may have that are important for you to answer before school begins.

2. Use Technology and Social Media

Jen likes to schedule several reminders to her community through social media that she posts throughout the summer. Whether you are using your school website, school-wide communication apps, or social media, share important announcements and reminders several times throughout the summer to set expectations for the new school year.

3. Organize and Manage—Remember Everything!

Obviously, no system is perfect, but as you move into a school year, it is important to keep a list of to-dos for your team and yourself. One way to do this is to maintain a list as you start the year that you can use again the following year or years. Go through last year’s calendar to see if you’re missing anything. Rely on a team—secretaries, assistants, and lead teachers—who can help you stay on track.

4. Define Responsibilities

Sometimes principals have well-defined expectations for teachers but forget about non-instructional staff. Consider working with each staff member on well-defined key responsibility areas. You can learn more and see samples in previous posts. With teachers and staff, don’t be afraid to say what is expected and provide it in writing.

5. Manage High Anxiety

Everyone is anxious, in good or bad ways, about the start of school. They are looking to the principal to set the tone. Manage the high anxiety by demonstrating a sense of calm and reassurance.

One way to do this is by including celebration in your welcome back. Provide lunch, give them a gift, communicate positivity, and reassure them again and again that it will be a great year and all will be well.

6. Host Orientation Meetings

New teachers, returning teachers, new students, returning students, and new parents—you will have several groups who need to be welcomed in orientation meetings. Each group will have different needs, but the goals are the same: communicate expectations, be positive, and be available to answer questions.

Additional Checklists for the School Leader’s First Days of School

Here are some additional questions to ask as you start the school year:

• Have you posted “Welcome Back” signage?
• Have you included maps of your school for new students?
• Is signage clear and visible throughout the building?
• Have you shared master schedules in advance with teachers?
• What are your established arrival and departure routines?
• Did you update and plan for consistently implemented policies and procedures?
• Have parents and students been invited to an orientation or open house before school?
• Is your school website updated with current calendars, a welcome-back message for parents, and key information they should know?
• Have you updated and shared duty rosters, activities, and/or game calendars for teachers?
• Does your own calendar include dates for state reports, observations, evaluations, and team meetings?

Let’s Wrap This Up

Think through your school-wide processes from the fresh perspective of a student, parent, or teacher, and then decide what steps to take moving forward so that everyone in your school or organization has clarity on what to expect.

Most importantly, remember that creating the best “first days” for students and staff also means realizing your school members need many of these questions answered every day.

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