Ah, the first days of the school year! They’re some of the most thrilling times for both new and seasoned educators alike. Let’s take a moment to revisit those early days of your teaching career. Remember the excitement, the pressure, and the realization of just how critical those first days were? If you’re like us—and millions of other educators—you likely turned to the educational genius Harry Wong and his book, The First Days of School. Dr. Wong emphasized the importance of strong classroom management, teaching for mastery, and maintaining high expectations. Although he passed away this past February, Dr. Wong’s legacy continues to shape and inspire our profession. We are immensely grateful for his contributions.
Now, let’s turn our attention to the present—your first few days or weeks of this school year. Regardless of your current leadership role, you’re an educator at heart, and these initial days are as crucial now as they were when you first started.
We’d like to share some strategies and tips that have been invaluable to us as administrators, setting the tone for some of our most successful years. Our goal is to help make this your BEST YEAR YET by implementing these key practices in the first few days and weeks of the school year:
1. Be Visible: Make it a point to greet everyone at the door, visit classrooms regularly, embrace the cafeteria chaos, and spend minimal time in your office.
2. Overly Communicate: Think you’re communicating enough? Ramp it up! The adults in your building thrive with clear detailed instructions.
3. Put People First: While paperwork and tasks are important, they’re secondary to the people in your building. Ensure your staff knows their value to the organization and to you.
4. Build Genuine Relationships: Relationships are the bedrock of our work. Without them, everything else becomes significantly harder. Foster genuine connections to ease difficult conversations and improve student and parent interactions.
5. Listen: Truly listening to those you serve can work wonders. It demonstrates respect and can provide valuable insights.
6. Lead with Love: Serving is an act of love. Show an abundance of love, energy, support, and empathy from the start. This sets a positive tone and fosters a culture that everyone wants to be part of.
While these strategies are especially important during the first month of school, they should remain a priority throughout the year. Here are a few additional tips to ensure ongoing success:
Follow Through: If you commit to something, make sure you follow through. Your staff, students, and community are watching. Don’t just talk the talk; walk the walk.
Balance Big Deals and Little Deals: Celebrate the big successes in a big way but keep minor issues in perspective.
Self-Care: Remember, you can’t serve from an empty cup. Take care of your mental health. Your family, students, and staff deserve the best version of you.
We’re sure you have your own go-to strategies that have proven successful. We’d love to hear and share them. Post your tips on social media and tag us @tepsatalk, @techninjatodd and @themrbraun. Let’s make this your best year yet and always remember, we’re in your corner!
Todd Nesloney is TEPSA’s Director of Culture and Strategic Leadership. He is an award-winning educator, author and international speaker.
Ross Braun is a former elementary principal who is passionate about supporting schools and leaders to ensure every child has a safe, loving, and engaging learning environment. Ross is now the VP of Positive Education at Spring, Texas-based, School Life.
