Strategies from the Classroom: Starting the School Year Off Right

​​Creating a positive and productive classroom environment requires an approach that prioritizes both structure and connection. By collaborating with students to establish clear expectations, the classroom can be a safe, empowering, and engaging learning environment from the very beginning of the year. 

Billy Swift, director of student support at Chartwell, shares some of his key tips for positively connecting with students and setting them up for success at the start of the school year. 

Develop Non-Negotiables 

Work together with your students to develop a set of non-negotiable rules. Each class will have different priorities and therefore different non-negotiables. A good starting point for creating this list is to ask your students how they want to feel at school and what behaviors promote those feelings. This will help them communicate their priorities and what they expect to feel and experience in a classroom setting. From there, use language like “I hear that you …” or “It sounds like you want … in the classroom”. Once the non-negotiables are agreed upon, display a list of them in your classroom so they can be referred to throughout the year. 

Implement Routine 

The first day of school should focus on the basics like where to put your backpack, eat lunch, go to the bathroom, and find classroom supplies. After the basics are covered, point out all the visual cues in your classroom that will act as signals for this new routine. Ideally, the daily schedule will be displayed in multiple locations; on the board, by the door, in their planners, or on their desks. The more visual cues the better, as it allows students to seek out and find the answers themselves which can help instill confidence in them. 

A great activity for the first week is giving your students a cut-up copy of their daily class schedule and asking them to work together to put it back together in the right order. This activity will encourage them to work together and prompt the use of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, while also reiterating their daily schedule and helping them to memorize it. 

Connect with New Students

Whether a student is new to the school or just new to your classroom, it’s important to put energy into learning about them holistically; What are their strengths and stretches? What brings them joy? What frustrates them? What do they enjoy talking about? 

One way to achieve a baseline level of connection with a new student is by talking to colleagues who taught them the year prior. Recognize that students can change drastically over the summer, but have a frame of reference for how this student may like to be talked to and what subjects might be good to broach. Some students may not open up immediately, so reaching out to their network of support from the previous year is a helpful way to learn about the student as they are also learning about you and gaining trust in you. 

“I Notice, I Wonder” 

Students, new or returning, are often hesitant at the beginning of the school year. It’s a new environment, classroom, community, and routine, which is often jarring after three months away from school. As you get to know your students, and they get to know you, using language like “I notice” and “I wonder” can help to create a sense of neutrality as you talk to them. 

“I notice that you forgot to bring your homework folder again today, I wonder what we can do to help you remember to bring it”. 

“I notice that you’re having a hard time staying still during class, I wonder if this new routine is making you anxious”. 

“I notice that you don’t respond when I call on you in class, I wonder if you know the answer but don’t like talking in front of the whole class”.