The beginning of the school year can be an exciting and nerve-racking time for teachers, administrators, students, and parents. Still, what takes place in August and September often sets the tone for the rest of the year. We asked a teacher and a principal to offer their advice for starting the school year on the right foot.
Both Philip Bigler, who teaches history at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax, Va., and Mary Russo, principal of Samuel Mason Elementary School in Roxbury, Mass., agree that preparation for the school year starts well before the first day of school.
Summer Homework
Schools need to try various strategies to make sure that learning continues throughout the summer, says Bigler. At the end of each school year, he gives students a summer reading assignment that they must be prepared to discuss with their peers during the first week of school. He also sends his home page address to students and parents so they can read about course objectives and assignments that will take place during the first quarter of the school year.
Teachers can also benefit from some homework over the summer, says Russo.
She sends a letter to teachers in midsummer, encouraging them to think about how to improve their teaching to better meet the school's instructional goals. Russo lists the school's three instructional goals for the year at the top of a double-sided, one-page form and asks teachers to use the form to describe their personal professional development plans for meeting each goal. She also directs teachers to think about how she, as principal, can help them meet their instructional goals. During the first week of school, the teachers meet with Russo individually to discuss their plans.
Establishing Expectations
Once the first day of school arrives, Bigler recommends that teachers "get down to business" right away. He distributes a letter to students to welcome them and outline course objectives and expectations. He also goes over school rules but doesn't distribute textbooks. Instead, Bigler shows a movie clip from Independence Day and plays an audio excerpt from The War of the Worlds radio broadcast and leads a discussion about what happens when a technically advanced society meets one that is less developed. "This is a hook for our study of how Europeans must have appeared to Native Americans," he explains.
In addition to introducing content, Bigler tells students how he expects them to treat one another and him. He explains that there will be debates and discussions in the class throughout the year. "We respect everyone's opinions, even if we don't agree with them. When people are talking, we allow them to speak." Bigler reinforces this behavior by modeling it to his students throughout the year.
Opening lines of communication and establishing clear expectations and guidelines are essential to classroom management, says Bigler. One of his greatest goals is "to get the kids' respect. Kids need to fear your disappointment more than your discipline."
For her part, Russo explains that the first day of school at Samuel Mason Elementary School calls for an "all hands on deck" approach. The school's staff greets parents and students in the school yard as they arrive. After a welcoming ceremony, Russo visits each classroom to address each group of students personally. Her goal is "to make every student feel welcome [and to send a message that] `You're special and important. We care about your learning.'"
To make sure that they can meet students' learning needs throughout the year, teachers collect baseline data using a variety of assessments during the first weeks of school. "This is part of our accountability system," Russo explains. "It gives us data to chart whether kids are doing better throughout the school year and alerts us if intervention is necessary."
Overcoming Nerves
"There's not a teacher alive who doesn't get nervous on the first day of school," says Bigler. "Teachers always talk about the `teacher dreams' we have the week before school starts about what our students will be like." Being well prepared is one of the best ways to calm first-day nerves, he recommends.
Russo agrees that "on the first day of school, there's always that sense of, What if things don't go as planned?" But her fears "wash away" as soon as the first students arrive and she sees their smiling faces, she says.
Even if things do not go as smoothly as planned, maintaining a positive perspective is important. Russo relates how last year, for the first time in her eight years as principal, it rained on the first day of school, and she couldn't greet students outdoors in the school yard. When she apologized for the weather, the parent of one of her students corrected her. The parent had immigrated from Cape Verde, where rain is considered a sign of good luck. So the rain was a good omen for the school year, he said.
Focus on Student Learning
The bottom line for educators, say Russo and Bigler, is that beginning-of-the-year activities that focus on learning will set the right tone for a successful school year. While paperwork and bureaucratic procedures are necessary in all schools, Russo says, the real work for principals and teachers is to concentrate on what is happening in the classroom.
"The goals are not different between week one and week three of school," explains Bigler. "The goal is to get kids to be independent thinkers and to enjoy learning."