Episode Details

Jenny is a returning student at her high school. She has a part-time job which keeps her up late most nights.

When she arrives late to school, she has already missed breakfast and she’s tardy. She stands in a long line at the counseling office until she is given her class schedule. She reads it quickly: First hour, Mr. Samuels, room 125, Algebra II. She doesn’t recognize the name. Maybe he’s one of the new teachers. 

She heads down the hall. She’s flush with frustration but holds her head high, turns the corner and steps into the classroom. She finds an open seat in the back of the room. As she glances around the room, she does not see the teacher’s name anywhere.

By this time, she’s too embarrassed to ask, and the teacher is so involved in his first-day-of-school speech that he hasn’t paused to ask Jenny for her name, schedule, or given her any other leads. As he talks on, she realizes this is Language Arts, not a math class. She must have entered the wrong room or misread her schedule. 

Jenny endures the discomfort for the remaining minutes. Then she rushes from the class as quickly as possible, frustrated and hoping the rest of her first day of school is not this confusing.

Keeping students in mind

As important as it is to keep your responsibilities in mind as you start a new school year, it is even more important to keep the end-goal in mind: serving students. You have students returning from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences. You also serve teachers, staff and parents with questions and concerns. How can you be ready for all of them?

Questions every student is asking on the first day

As you know, how we prepare for students can either help or hurt their first-day experiences. Harry Wong, author of The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher, reminds us of seven questions every student asks about his or her teachers:

1. Am I in the right room?

2. Where am I supposed to sit?

3. Who is the teacher as a person?

4. Will the teacher treat me as a human being?

5. What are the rules in this classroom?

6. What will I be doing this year?

7. How will I be graded?

Questions every teacher and staff person asks on the first day

But students aren’t the only ones who need clarity. Your teachers and staff also want to know some questions that only school leaders an answer. So I’ve re-written Harry Wong’s questions to reflect what your teachers and staff will be asking:

1. What is my schedule?

2. What extra duties, assignments or activities might I expect?

3. Who is my administrator as a person?

4. Will he/she treat me as a human being?

5. What are the expectations, procedures, policies in our school?

6. What am I expected to accomplish this year?

7. How will I be evaluated, mentored, graded or coached?

Tips for school leaders preparing for school

With those thoughts in mind, this week’s Principal Matters podcast co-host Jen Schwanke and I share six ideas to keep in mind when pre