5 Key Ways to Set Up Your School Year for Success
One of my favourite aspects of teaching is that every year you have the chance to start fresh. It is always filled with so much opportunity (alongside a slight pang of dread that the holidays are coming to an end). It’s the time to implement some things you never had a chance to last year, to refine and improve your skills, the time to get to know a beautiful new group of children and of course time to design and set up your new classroom. Enjoy these last few days before the school year starts because it truly is the calm before the storm. The truth is that no matter how much you plan beforehand once your new students step foot into the classroom, you will hit the ground running.
In my experience, I don’t even get half of what I plan to have prepared ready BUT… I have learned to focus on what matters most in those first weeks of school. By following these 5 tips, you will be well on your way to having your most successful school year yet!
1. Go in with high expectations
I cannot stress this enough. Special Education is plagued with low expectations, much to the detriment of our students. Never assume what a child is capable of. Differentiating and being empathetic to a students’ needs does not equate to lowering your expectations of what they can achieve. One way I do this is to assume “maybe this student has not been taught ____ skill yet” and go from there.
2. Focus on classroom routines & expectations
Be very purposeful in your classroom routines and expectations, and focus your time in those first weeks explicitly teaching and reinforcing them. Yes- I know, you have such exciting lessons in mind and there is so much content to get through however those can wait. Spending your time teaching students where to line up, where to sit, how to pack their bags, what to do when they’ve finished, etc., is key to an effective classroom. You’ll never get to those exciting lessons if you’re too busy putting out fires all day.
3. BUILD. RAPPORT.
In the words of all star teacher and speaker Rita Pierson, “You know, kids don’t learn from people they don’t like” (#sorrynotsorry). Think back to the teachers who made a difference in your life- surely it was the teacher who knew how to build trusting relationships with their students. Spend those first weeks getting to know your students. What do they love? What is challenging for them? What makes them laugh? They do not need to be verbal to discover what makes them light up. At the very least, smile and say good morning to each and every student each and every day and let them know that you are so happy they are here with you today.
4. Get parents on board.
Right from the beginning of the year, you should be initiating and opening up the lines of communication with the parents in your classroom. There is substantial evidence that documents all of the benefits for students who have parents who are involved in their education and the gains your students will make will be much more profound if their families are reinforcing their learning at home. In Special Education in particular, this relationship is SO important. Never forget that their parents have known their child much longer than you have.
5. Expect and support students to be independent.
Yes, this goes for our young students (preps!), students with physical disabilities, students with hearing/vision impairments and every single student you will ever teach. Far too often, well-meaning teachers and aides are packing bags and over-prompting for tasks that students should be learning to complete themselves. As someone who has taught 4/5 year olds all the way up to 13–16 year olds, these skills need to be taught young as it gets more challenging as students grow older. In our efforts to save time and ‘help’ these students, by doing everything for them we are actually holding them back. Students of all abilities need to learn how to use and capitalise on the skills that they do have to maximise their outcomes after school.
You likely have noticed that not once is there anything about lesson planning, curriculum or assessments. Of course all of these things are incredibly important, but will fall into place after you have built a strong foundation for your year.
I hope these 5 tips help you get your year off to a great start. How will you implement one of these tips this year?
