Planning for Next School Year

It's that time of year! The end of the school year!

When I was a classroom teacher, it was a complicated time. I'm was feeling a little sad about ending my time with a current group of kids. I was also looking forward to quality time with my own family during the summer. But I was also using it as a time of reflection and looking forward. I would start asking myself a lot of questions:

What went well this year? What do I keep, what do I change? What are my goals for next year? What new things do I want to try? 

This reflection and planning is important. Of course, I fully advocate for teaching right up until the end. Keep it mathy! I blogged about some ideas to use during these last few weeks. But, as you wind down the year, while things are still fresh in your mind, write down some goals or plan for next year. Then, when it's August and you are refreshed and ready to get back to it, you have something to revisit and help you remember what changes you wanted to try.

To help you get started, I created this organizer. I also created a blank version if you want to create your own areas to reflect on.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you look at this organizer:

• Do you have big ideas like ditching the teacher desk or taking on flexible seating? Or maybe your ideas are about small changes you can make to have a more student-centered classroom. 

• Think about work-flow and systems you have in place for you and your students. Maybe you want to be more organized? Try a bullet journal or just be better about posting a daily agenda. Are you using your school's learning management system well? How could you improve it and make it work better for you and your students? 

• Have you been a good communicator with parents? How might you improve in that area? Weekly calls home? Notes? Remind101?

• How did assessment go this year? What did you use for formative assessment to help you plan for your students needs? Were you able to give timely, purposeful feedback?

• Did you like your grading system? Are there more efficient ways you could be grading? Do you give homework every night? Was that effective? What are your current thoughts on homework?

• What leadership opportunities do you want to pursue next year? How can you get more involved in your school or district? Or, if you were stretched too thin, where might you concentrate your efforts next year and what can you let go? Are there extra curricular sports or clubs that you want to support?

• How was lesson planning for you this year? What changes would you like to make to make it more efficient, or collaborative, or purposeful, or differentiated? How do you plan your time in class?