Each year, we plan a theme for our school. We use this theme throughout the year for many things around the building: bulletin boards, locker tags, the newsletter, and individual student displays in the classroom. Some teachers are “all in” with the theme and their classrooms are completely decked out, while other teachers don’t decorate as much.

Over the years, I have found—and there is research to support this—that there is a power to a common language and common behavioral expectations across a school building. If teachers, secretaries, paras, and custodians are all on the same page when it comes to expectations for behavior, the school runs more smoothly and unwanted behaviors decrease.

Lives are busy and people are busy, so we have to make sure we plan in advance if we want parents and patrons to be engaged in our schools. Parent engagement can take on many different shapes and sizes—for all the different parents we encounter, we receive varying preferences for how they like to communicate.

As summer begins to wind down and the first week of school approaches, we often find ourselves losing sleep thinking about all of the things we need to do to get organized. Before that first week approaches, here are 18 steps to organize yourself with technology:

August, I swear, is the shortest month of the year. The 1st rolls around, and all of the sudden it hits me that I have 22 days left to get my classroom, curriculum, children, and myself ready for the new school year. Adding to the mayhem of this year, my beloved husband, who spends most of his time as a stay-at-home papa, is gallivanting off with the Marine Corps for two and a half weeks, right as the school year is set to begin.

I thought it might prove useful to you all to share some of my personal strategies and tips for getting ready for the new school year. I have had the good fortune to learn some things from some amazing teachers and moms – advice on how to stay balanced and establish smart routines in my home and classroom. These strategies help me to stay sane during the start of the school year, and I want to share 10 of my favorites with you:

School district budgets get tighter every year, leaving teachers with minimal finances for classroom supplies and for replacing old, outdated learning materials. And you know all too well what it costs to make sure your students have what they need to learn – budget or no budget!

It’s still summer, and we hope you’re taking time to relax and recharge your batteries. But if there’s a little voice in your head reminding you that another school year lies ahead – and you’ve promised yourself that you’ll be more prepared this time around – we can help you get a handle on things with this helpful checklist. It covers the pertinent categories: students, parents, curriculum, technology, organization, classroom management, and self-care, plus miscellaneous. With the checklist in hand, you can silence that nagging little voice and get back to the important work of summer: relaxation, with a bit of time spent reading, learning, and growing as a professional! 

Real teachers give you tips and tricks to be ready to go on the first day of school.

If you are an educator, you’re no doubt familiar with the feeling of anxiety that hits when summer starts to wane – that feeling that time is running short for setting up your classroom, making up class lists and schedules, getting copying done, placing orders, etc. A myriad tasks lie ahead of you, and the sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll have all your ducks in a row. But where do you start?