Planning Ahead for Next School Year

Doing a few tasks before you leave your classroom for the summer can give you a sense of peace and relief and avoid feeling overwhelmed when the next school year rolls around. Here are some tasks that you can do in the last few days of school.

Get rid of old stuff!

Get your students to help out as much as possible on the last day of school to help you clean up your classroom and get rid of anything from the current school year. Here are some things you and your students can do together:

Tidy up the classroom: Straighten books and items on shelves
Purge any old or unneeded items: You know you have stuff in your filing cabinet from years ago that can be thrown or given away!
Take down old student work: Give these back to students before they leave!
Organize classroom library: I always have my books out of order at the end of the year, students are great with helping with this task!

Some tasks that would be better for you to do on your own:

Organize and/or clean out teacher desk: I always feel better after I do this, even though it can take forever!
Shred any sensitive student information: IEPs, 504 reports, old graded assignments: these can all go away!

Plan ahead

This list is NOT just for the type A personalities among us; some of these can be easily done in less than 15 minutes!

Edit syllabus for next year: Maybe all you have to do is change the school year! Think about what classroom procedures/content you need to change.
Set up new planner and plug in important school dates (vacation days, important events, PD, etc.): This one is an important one. This helps you wrap your brain around what’s coming your way and to make sure you don’t schedule important assignment due dates on school event days or holidays! Check out my monthly digital planner below for a great option for this!

Plan first week of school lessons: Even just planning out the first day can give you a sense of relief!
Make copies for first week of school: If you’re a real rockstar, doing this can also save you a lot of headache!

Get your classroom ready

Here some tasks that you can do that can take less than half an hour of your time.

Re-label items as needed: After a busy school year, I know a lot of my labels need some refreshment!
Take inventory of current school supplies: See what you have that still works in your classroom or what you’re running low on and then you can do the next task!
Create a back to school shopping list: Once this list is made, a good idea is to send a message out to your new parents that you need these items.
Set up whiteboard area: Maybe this area needs refreshment too! What are some important things that you’ll need to refer to all school year?
Update student bulletin board with student schedule, calendar, important information, etc.

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