Kicking Off The Year

We hope you’ve had lots of opportunities to relax and recharge over the summer! As you make your final preparations for the school year, consider some of the most essential tasks that can help ensure a smooth start and a productive school year.

Spend a little bit of time clarifying what you would like to accomplish with your students—your vision and long-term goals. If you have a destination in mind from the start of the school year, it can help you take meaningful actions to reach your goals and course correct if the class is veering off course. Think about the climate you want to create for your students, yourself, and families. What does behavior look and sound like in different types of activities and transitions? What habits, attitudes, and behavioral skills would you like students to learn as a result of being in your class?

Think about whether adjustments to your Classroom Management Plan would move students closer to your vision from the start of the school year. Your Classroom Management Plan is a working document that you will change across time as you adjust to meet the needs of each group of students, but starting with a clearly defined and well-thought-through plan can help ensure that students are academically engaged and emotionally thriving. Some of the essential considerations to define include:

• Level of support needed for the group of students
• Guidelines for Success
• Classroom rules
• Attention signal
• Beginning and ending routines
• Expectations for activities and transitions
• Procedures for family contact: Click here for a sample letter that would be sent home to families on or before the first day of school*
• Procedures for managing student assignments
• Procedures for managing technology use
• Long-range goals
• Procedures for interacting positively with students
• Correction procedures for misbehavior

*Family contact sample letter:

See Chapter 1, Task 3, in CHAMPS or DSC for more information on designing your Classroom Management Plan.

A core component of your plan is clarifying the expectations you have for students during various classroom activities and transitions. Carefully plan how you will teach students to meet those expectations, and remember that teaching is not telling. Your behavioral lessons should incorporate principles of effective teaching practice, such as providing rationale; using model, lead, test formats; teaching using examples and non-examples; and having lots of active participation during lessons.

When you teach students how to behave responsibly during the first month of school, you dramatically increase the chances of having a productive year. Follow the three-step Teach–Observe–Feedback process:

1. Teach your expectations right before an activity or transition begins.
2. Observe and monitor student behavior by circulating and visually scanning during the activity or transition.
3. Provide positive and instructional corrective feedback during and at the conclusion of the activity.

When you have finalized your Classroom Management Plan, make final preparations to ensure an orderly, respectful, and comfortable first day for you and your students. You want to make a great first impression that has students thinking, “This class is going to be great!”. Plan to greet students individually at the door and introduce yourself. Outline your modified schedule for Day 1 that will help get students acclimated and give you time to convey the most important information about your class and deal with logistics. Click below for more tips on launching your management plan, planning the first day of school, and continuing to establish a positive classroom culture with clear expectations and routines across the first month of school.