I asked my dear friend, Dr. Frank Buck to provide tips for the close of the school year. You'll find his top 5 list below. If you are organized, want to get more organized, or are lost in the middle of all your work, read Frank's blog, join his e-newsletter, and check out his free resources on his website. They are all worth your time (more information at the bottom).
Your year is drawing to an end. I have heard closing the
year being described as like being on a sled headed downhill. No matter what
you do, the thing gets faster and faster, and you simply try to avoid the trees.
When the final bell sounds, we breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now.
For those who are in education for the long haul, we know
that the whole scenario will play out again exactly 12 months from now. Every
year, we say we will have a better handle on things next year. Yet, when next
year comes, it’s the same song, just a different verse. How can we put an end
to the madness once and for all? Here are 5 strategies to put you back in
control:
Plan the Day the Night Before
Sure, you have heard this advice before, and it is a great
practice for any time of year. But as
those last two weeks approach, how you handle each day spells the difference
between order and absolute chaos. Only a few days remain between a building
full of people and a building empty for three months. You have loose ends to
tie up with students, fellow teachers, the bookkeeper, the school secretary,
and many others in the building.
When you have a list of exactly what must be handled today,
you can hit the ground running the moment you arrive at school. You check
things off the list, knowing the next evening you will make a new list. Your
days are focused and driven with purpose. Most importantly, things are being
checked off the list faster than other things are being put on it.
Anticipate Grading Problems
How wonderful it is to have software which handles all of
the grade calculations for us. The caveat exists in that old computer adage,
“Garbage in, garbage out.”
When the settings are correct, the averages are correct. Allow
one box to be checked incorrectly, enter one formula incorrectly, and the
result is a mess. If a problem exists, you want to know early. You will have
plenty of time and resources available to help you determine the exact source
of the problem and the quick fix. Wait until the 11th hour to find
your final grades are wrong, and you will spend the rest of the day, and
probably the day of several other people, feverishly looking for a solution.
Keep grades up-to-date throughout the grading period. I never
cease to be amazed at how many teachers still maintain a paper grade book and
then enter everything into the
software at the last minute. I never cease to be amazed by principals who allow
it.
Spot check a few final averages by hand well before the time to submit grades. Offer to be the “Guinea pig”
and post grades to the main office early. Run a sample report card or two.
Nothing causes more gnashing of teeth at the end of school
than grades which are not correct. The good news is that it is totally avoidable.
Clear the Decks
Even though you may be working well ahead of schedule,
remember others do not. Their failure to plan often results in mountains of
work being dumped on you at the last minute. (If reading that sentence causes
the name of any building or central office administrator to come to mind, feel
free to print this post, highlight this section, and place it in the center of
the offender’s desk before his or her arrival at work.)
If you already have a full week planned for the end of school,
you will be buried when the
additional work hits. Do everything in your power to have papers graded and
entered into the computer, inventory done, programs held, and communication
handled before that last week.
If your calendar and to-do list for the last week of school
look bare a week out, don’t worry. Others will fill them up for you. Having the
decks cleared ahead of time will allow you to tackle the new incoming requests instead
of being swamped by them.
Keep ‘Em Busy
The statement, “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop” was
probably penned by a middle school teacher the last week of school. Give
students a “free period” while tackling the mountain of papers to grade, and
you are inviting classroom management problems. Now, more than ever, teaching
from bell is bell is essential.
The best-kept secret in the school ought to be what day
grades “cut off.” Not every assignment must be graded. Keep students working,
engaged, and submitting their work right up to the end. They do not have to
know that your grades were posted to the main office last Friday.
Plan “Next Time” Now
Who are the ones guilty of dropping the paperwork bomb on
you at the last minute? What paperwork do we continue to churn out and file
(even though nobody ever reads it) simply because “we have always done it that
way”? What end-of-school procedures just did not work well? Now is the best time to identify the
landmines and make plans so they do not appear again next year.
In the school business, we start over every year. It is both
a blessing and a curse. If we fail to learn from our mistakes, they become our
future. On the other hand, we can craft a plan that will allow a smooth ending
to a perfect year this year and every year.
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