The start of a new school year is the perfect time for a classroom refresh! If the end of the school year is about purging the old, the start of a new school year is about curating the essentials for success.
Back-to-school is already an overwhelming time, so I wanted to share a list of items and tasks for a stress-free classroom refresh! These are the items and tasks that have served me well after more than ten years teaching high school.
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My Top Priorities for a Classroom Refresh
There’s an old saying that “an army marches on its stomach,” and the same is true of a teacher. No one is at their best when they are hungry or uncomfortable, so that’s where I begin my classroom refresh priority list.
- First, I restock my personal snack drawer. This is not a drawer I share with students but one that I keep for myself. I like to have granola bars, popcorn, mints, and cookies on hand.
- Then, I restock any toiletries or medications I keep in my desk. For me, that’s things like cough drops, Midol, and Tums. Honestly, a travel medicine kit is a perfect way to keep this organized.
- Similarly, I also refresh my emergency classroom clothes. In case of rain, extreme heat, or (most likely) an unfortunate spill, I keep a full set of clothes and shoes in my classroom. I like to do a quick refresh and wash at the start of a new school year.
- Additionally, I keep a few other personal items in my desk drawer: a lint brush, a comb, a mirror, tweezers, lip balm. These are small but essential parts of a classroom refresh.
- I also refresh my school coin purse. I keep a few dollars and quarters in my desk for vending machine emergencies.
Pro Tip: In my desk, I also keep a stack of thank-you cards. I’m a big believer in the power of a handwritten note, and there’s plenty of people to thank at the start of a new school year. No classroom refresh is complete without making sure the stationary is stocked!
Classroom Refresh: Technology
The start of a new school year is also a time for refreshing all your digital spaces. On its own, this can be an overwhelming task. Since our digital spaces are such an important part of teaching, this requires a certain amount of thoughtfulness. A few years ago, I even made this Technology Checklist to make sure I didn’t miss anything during my classroom refresh. Here are some highlights:
- First, I like to get any required video trainings up and running in the background while I work through other technology-related tasks.
- Then, I start a Google Classroom “template” for the year. This is the Classroom I’m going to copy for my other sections. There’s a lot I like to “stock” in the Google Classroom before the year begins.
- One of the most important technology chores is setting up the yearly daily agenda slides. I don’t get too cutesy with my agenda slides. Honestly, if I do too much with the agenda slides, they overwhelm the students and me. That’s why I use this free and very simple Daily Agenda.
- My school district also requires teachers to maintain a classroom website, so that’s part of my technology classroom refresh.
- I also do a quick review of the classroom playlist. During student work time, we usually listen to various YouTube playlists of ambient noises, ocean sounds, or, my personal favorite, space music. Glancing through the options at the beginning of the year helps make sure that the district technology office hasn’t blocked anything important.
It always feels like there’s just one more technology task at the start of a new school year, so if you want to take a deeper dive into all that entails, check out this post.
An Organizational Classroom Refresh
At heart, I am a planner and an organizer. (One of the highlights of my summer was reorganizing my pantry!)
Similarly, I value classroom organization. Over the years, I’ve learned that elaborate systems are not sustainable, so I focus on manageable systems that will endure. When I consider a system, I think about whether is solves a problem or creates a new one. I also prioritize systems that emphasize student self-efficacy.
The key to most of my classroom organization is the May I Borrow Shelf. This is a shelf at the back of my classroom where students can find any supplies that they may need. Students do not have to ask to visit the May I Borrow Shelf; instead, it’s open all the time. The items I keep on the May I Borrow Shelf are generally provided by the school, and each year I give the shelf a back-to-school refresh. Here’s essentials I keep on the shelf:
- Lined paper
- Highlighters
- Pens and pencils
- Sticky notes and index cards
- A stapler and three-hole punch
- Hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, tissues, and bandaids (even high school students love a good bandaid)
- A battery-operated pencil sharpener (no need to worry about students messing with an outlet and easy enough for them to empty on their own)
I love the May I Borrow Shelf because it is the answer to so many student questions. After about a week, students stop asking me for a pencil and just know to check the May I Borrow Shelf. If an item isn’t on the shelf, they know I don’t have it.
Here are a few things I do not keep on the May I Borrow Shelf: rubber bands, Sharpie markers, paper clips or binder clips. I’ll allow you to imagine why I do not share these items with students.
Classroom Decor Refresh
In high school, classroom decor is usually more functional than aesthetic. My classroom is certainly not Pinterest worthy, but there are still a few decor items to refresh at the start of each year:
- First, I refresh my bulletin boards. My current classroom has three boards: one to display student work, one for our calendar, and one for other important info. As needed, I change out the backing material and borders.
- Second, I put out any personal items like photographs, knick knacks, or gifts from previous students. This is a simple way to personalize the classroom and share a carefully curated “slice” of my life with students. Obviously, I only put out items that fit with the parts of myself I share with students, and I don’t put out anything breakable or precious.
- Next, I update any classroom labels. Over the year, I move around classroom baskets and trays to serve the needs of a current season, unit, etc. I like the labels to match, and it makes me nuts if the labels start of curl around the edges. Back-to-school is a perfect time to adjust all of this. I do recommend saving this for last because this is something that may change and evolve throughout back-to-school season.
- Additionally, I love my classroom library. To keep it organized, I use these Genre Labels. At the start of the school year, I refresh the labels: removing peeling labels, adding labels to new books, and shifting shelves as needed.
- Finally, I put together my seating chart. I tend to move student desks around a lot before school starts, so this is something I do last. Nevertheless, I’m a big believer in the value of a seating chart from Day One.
To go along with a seating chart, I always print off fresh classroom rosters last. As the first day of school approaches, class rosters continue to shift and change. However, I always want rosters for the first day because I attach them to a clipboard that hangs on my classroom door. This is my emergency clipboard: it’s what I would grab if there was an emergency and we needed to evacuate or move to a secondary location. I also have a drawstring backpack (provided by my school) with emergency medical supplies. While this is not a fun part of back-to-school, it’s an essential piece of the puzzle and cannot be ignored during a classroom refresh.
A Syllabus Refreseh
I could have put the syllabus in the Top Priority, Technology, and Organizational sections above. The fact that the syllabus fits in to so many categories emphasizes its importance in the high school classroom. Because the syllabus is so important, I’ve written about it a lot. Updating the syllabus is definitely part of my annual classroom refresh. Check out some of my best syllabus tips and tricks:
- Syllabus Design Tips
- 3 Alternatives to a Boring Syllabus
- How to Design Your Own Syllabus Scavenger Hunt
I also have some different resources for presenting your syllabus!
