A new school year is a great time for a fresh start. Read on to learn about some things to consider changing for an upcoming new school year.
Classroom layout
One of the most important things in my opinion to consider changing for a new school year is the layout of your classroom. Controlling the environment is a simple way to manage behaviors and prevent unwanted behaviors. Think about what worked and what didn’t work for your classroom arrangement. Were students always bumping into things? Is there one area of the room that is cluttered, or is there a designated area you wish you had, like a calm down corner?
Changing up the layout, the decororations, the theme, etc. can be a great place to start. It doesn’t have to be expensive, you can find free or under $5 items on Teachers Pay Teachers to print and hang in your classroom. Simply Special Ed has a chalkboard chevron decor bundle for just $4.
Below is my library/carpet set up when I taught Kindergarten. This was my favorite classroom arrangement I’ve ever had!
Simple Self-Contained Setup 101® has a layout builder that can help with classroom layouts before you have access to your classroom!
Classroom management
As you approach the end of a school year, it’s a good idea to reflect on what was successful with classroom management and what can be improved. I like to make a google doc (shown below) with a chart showing my ideas. This way I can refer to it once the new year starts. As you can see, you can use this chart as an overall reflection about other topics, too.
Maybe you’ve been using the same classroom management strategies for awhile, like a class ticket system, class store, etc. and want to change it up. It’s a good idea to establish the new rules and routines as soon as possible, preferably on day 1 to get students used to it.
SSE has some great behavior resources, like these free token boards to use with individual students or with a whole class.
Work life balance
Work life balance is one of the most important things for teachers in my opinion. The saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup” has become my motto as I have struggled with burnout myself. Our jobs, as rewarding as they can be, can also be extremely stressful and draining. If you spend every moment of every day teaching, preparing for teaching, and thinking about teaching, that is not sustainable.
If this is something you struggled with this year, brainstorm ways you can minimize burn out next year. I am lucky enough to get ample planning time at my school every day. If you do have free planning periods, do your best to shut your door and get as much done during that time. Learn to be okay with leaving school with things still on your to do list- there is always tomorrow!
If you don’t get planning time, don’t be afraid to delegate tasks to aides/paraprofessionals if you have them. Things like cutting, printing, copying, and laminating are tasks they are there to help with. If you can, pick one day to get to school extra early or stay late and do as much as you can during that time, and try not to stress about it the rest of the week.
This blog post from SSE discusses tips for avoiding burnout.
Your environment
If you’ve tried to eliminate burnout and you’re still feeling it, consider changing your work environment for a new year. This could mean a teaching a different grade level in the same school. This could also mean the type of special education teacher you are (for example, becoming a resource teacher vs. a self-contained teacher). Changing schools/districts can also be a great fresh start, too.
If the full-time classroom life isn’t serving you anymore, you can also look into doing early intervention/itinerant teaching. Read my blog post about what an itinerant teacher is here.
Want big changes?
Join Simple Self-Contained Setup 101® to really dig into your classroom setup over the summer.
Want to add centers and reduce planning time and staffing?
Join The Simple Centers System to develop a centers system for the new school year!
A new school year is a great time to make positive changes for your students and for yourself!
