Get Organized for the New School Year: Back to School Checklist

If you’re anything like me then you know the summer months never seem to be long enough when you’re a teacher. Honestly, mid-way through July your brain automatically thinks of back to school season. Although the summer is the time for you to relax and spend time with your loved ones, the earlier you begin to envision how you want your classroom to function the more likely it’ll be successful.

As a teacher, you know that the back to school season can be so chaotic at times. Whether you’re a brand new teacher or are switching to a new school or district, this checklist can help you organize all your to do’s on one page. This Free Resource even comes with a blank version so you can customize your back to school checklist to meet your needs. 

If you're interested in my complete Back to School Guide, you can check it out here in my TpT Store: Algebra Made Simple. This is the perfect resource for new teachers getting ready for the school year or if you are changing grade levels/schools/districts.

As a teacher there are so many details and fine print when it comes to our daily duties and responsibilities, that it can be difficult to remember them all. It would be helpful to think through the following topics and identify these little details about your school and their expectations:

Technology Expectations

• Does your district/ school provide you with an email address for school use?
• What kind of devices are available for teachers? (computers, tablets, cellphones, etc)
• Can you use your personal device at work or are you required to use a district issue laptop?
• What kind of devices are available to students? (computers, tablets, cellphones, etc) Is there a procedure for signing these out?
• What student information system does your school use and what are the expectations for you?  (ex: alma, powerschool, canvas, gradelink, quickschools, etc)

Copies

• What is the procedure for making copies at your school?
• Are there copy limits? 
• If there is a paper jam or issue with the copies, what’s the protocol?

Requesting Supplies

• Is there a budget for your department/position?
• Are you allowed to spend your own money on supplies and get reimbursed?
• Are there any supplies available to teachers? What is the procedure for requesting supplies in your school building and where are they kept?

Absences/ lateness

• What is your districts/school’s policy on absences/ lateness?
• Who do you contact if you’re going to be out sick?
• What is the procedure for requesting a personal day?
• Is there any documentation that is required for specific types of days off (medical, bereavement, etc)

Who’s who at your school: 

• Office Staff/ Payroll:
• Guidance Counselor/s:
• Librarian:
• Technology Coordinator:
• Custodian/s:

As a teacher, it can be incredibly difficult to manage to keep up with all the paperwork we see on a day-to-day basis. Having some type of organization system is essential in keeping everything organized. Whether it be a binder, or some type of filing system, think through how you want to organize this part of your teacher life.

•  Lesson Plans: If you teach multiple subjects throughout the day (elementary teachers) use a divider to create one table for each content area. If you teach multiple periods in one day (secondary teachers) use a divider to create a table for each class period.
•  Notebook/ Clipboard: As teachers we jot down notes all the time (attendance related, classroom management related, parent engagement, etc) Deciding where to store this information is also important for when you need access to it.
•  Student Information: If you’re going to store sensitive contact information, I suggest storing it in a place that is secure with a log. You can make a one-page information sheet for each student and have it readily available.
•  Professional Development: You can store agendas and handouts from during staff meeting here. You can organize it by month of the year or even topic (ex: unit planning, classroom management, etc)
•  District Information: District wide calendar and list of events can be helpful to have on hand. As well as contact information for different departments in the district (special education, English language learners, certification, etc) 

Turning your classroom from a blank canvas into a welcoming and nurturing space for students doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of intentional planning to create the space you want for your students to thrive. Use the following as a sounding board as your designing your ideal classroom space.

Seating Arrangement

•  Think intentionally about how you want to physically design the space for your student. Here is a  site  you can use to brainstorm ideas
•  Create a temporary seating chart using your class roster, with plans to adjust later as you get to know your students. 

Classwork Expectations

•  Think intentionally about where and how you want students to turn in their classwork. Is there a specific space or bin or classwork versus homework?
•  Think about setting up a system for absent students to get access to make up their work. Ask other teachers in your school what they have done for students who miss class.
•  Is there a specific success criteria/rubric you will utilize with students for their classwork? How will you make this visibly clear to students: poster, on whiteboard, etc

Whiteboard Design

•  Think of your whiteboard as your students’ “dashboard”. This is a space you can leverage to ensure students are aware of their learning targets, agendas, homework, etc.
•  Stay consistent with whatever configuration you utilize so students get in the habit of looking at the same space for specific information: objective, agenda, homework, announcements, quote of the day, etc

The Physical Space

•  Walk your space and learn where all the outlets are in your room as well as the light switch and/or air conditioning.
•  Learn how to turn on and properly use the classroom project or smart board in your room.
•  Will you have student laptops/tablets in your classroom? If so, where will you charge them?
•  Where will you store classroom supplies like tissues, sanitizers, extra pencils, pencil sharpeners, etc.? 

Bulletin Boards

•  Ask other teachers at your school what’s expected of you in terms of bulletin boards. Do they need to be updated at specific times throughout the school year?
•  If you’re not sure what to display on a bulletin board, I would suggest starting off with the basics: a welcome back to school bulletin board and one that will display your classroom expectations and procedures.
•  If you do not foresee yourself having enough time to switch out bulletin boards, think about ones you can use throughout the school year like a “growth mindset” bulletin board. 

Emergency Protocols

•  Your school will most likely have a designated space at the front of your classroom for emergency information such as fire drills, lock-down drills or other safety procedures.
•  Talk to other teachers at your school about best practices for emergency procedures and think about always having an up-to-date class roster in the front of the classroom.

Curriculums are tools that we as teachers use to facilitate learning in order to get our students to reach our learning targets/standards. These tools can be useful, or they can run their course and may require additional support. With any curriculum, always keep in mind the needs of your students and what you may need to supplement in order to reach your students where they are at instructional or to challenge them to a higher level.

State Standards/ CCLS

•  Print out a copy of the state standards for the grade level or content that you are responsible for and have it readily available to you at your desk.
•  You can also create an electronic copy of these standards in a Google Drive and bookmark it so that you can have quick access to this information. 

Lesson Planning

•  Identify if your district/school has a specific template that must follow or if they provide resources for you to use for lesson planning.
•  Create or find a template that works for you and your student population so that you can create routines in your classroom

Example Lesson Plan Flow: Launch, Problem of the Day, Model, Practice, Summary/Wrap Up

•  Specifically, think about how you will create/ store and distribute lesson plans to observers when needed: Is this something you can print and have available in the classroom or will you go strictly digital with lesson planning?
•  Identify if there are other teachers in your school that provide services to your students that may need access to your plans

Assessments

•  Identify if your district/school has a specific curriculum that you must follow and make sure you have access to it in print form and digital form if possible.
•  Are there manipulatives or other physical materials that come with this curriculum? If so, think about how you will strategically implement these tools.
•  Are there assessments that are provided by this curriculum, or will you be creating your own?
•  What type of routines do you want to create related to assessing students?

Daily exit tickets

Weekly quizzes

Unit Exams

Performance task

Projects

Student Success Criteria and Feedback: Will you be using a specific rubric with students and how will you provide them with feedback

Getting to know your students will be a process throughout the school year. Setting up intentional structures and routines during the first few weeks of school to get to know your students is essential to having a successful school year.

Student Info:

•  You can have student complete a Google Form (or even use an index card) with the following information: First and Last Name and preferred name/nickname, Parent Names (I have started using the term “your people” since many of our students may have an unconventional family dynamic at home: guardians, grandparents, etc), Student Information including phone numbers, emails, physical address, birthday, etc.

Students at School

To get a sense of where students are at academically, it’s good practice to not only give a baseline assessment at the start of the school year but to also do a bit of homework and get access to past test score, and other academic information like:

•   Find out which of your students have IEPs, 504 Plans, gifted service plans or any other academic or medical binding documents that you need to follow
•  If you do not have previous experience with students with IEPs or students that are ELLs find out who in your school is responsible for making sure these student’s needs are being met and ask them exactly what’s require of you and what resources are available for you and your students.

Getting to know your students

Building a positive and meaningful relationship with your students will not happen overnight. But what may help is learning about their lives outside of the classroom. You can do this by distributing a “’getting to know you” questionnaire.  You can ask about:

•  Favorite books
•  Favorite TV Shows / Movies
•  Favorite Artist/ Songs (good info for creating a classroom playlist)
•  Hobbies
•  Sports them play or Sport Teams their a fan of
•  This or That Questions: (ex: Dunkin or Starbucks)
•  Would you rather Questions: (ex: would you rather teleport or have incredible strength)

Think about what type of icebreakers or “getting to know you” activities you would want to try for the first few weeks of school. Look at this list of suggestions and think about which one makes the best sense for your students and you.

If you're interested in my complete Back to School Guide, you can check it out here in my TpT Store: Algebra Made Simple. This is the perfect resource for new teachers getting ready for the school year or if you are changing grade levels/schools/districts.

What are some things that you always do before the school year starts? Leave a comment and let me know! I would love to hear how you get ready for the school year!