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(Re)Education of Schools Podcast
Join educators Justin Moorman and Katie Thornton as they have open, honest conversations about how to better understand social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, the “why’s” behind student behavior, and how to help kids navigate it all as they go through school and life. Each episode they will strive to provide practical understanding and opportunities to grow for anyone who works with children, or has children in their life … all in about 30 minutes!
(Re)Education of Schools Podcast
Reminders to Launch Your Year Right
Join Katie, Justin, and Josh in the conversation as they talk about starting another school year. As the summer draws to a close, and another school year begins, hear what they have to say about what is crucial to start the year doing, what to avoid, and how to set yourself up for an effective year in the classroom.
justinmoorman@reeducationofschoolspodcast.com
katiethornton@reeducationofschoolspodcast.com
joshward@reeducationofschoolspodcast.com
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!
License code: 0WMLYW3GMFLMX8H7
Hi, I'm Justin Moorman.
SPEAKER_00:And I'm Katie Thornton. And this is the Re-Education of Schools podcast,
SPEAKER_01:where we have open, honest conversations about how to better understand social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, the whys behind student behavior, and how to help kids navigate it all as they go through school and life. all right welcome back uh to our next episode reminders to launch your year right um as always if you would be willing uh to give us a review we'd really appreciate that um whatever platform you listen to it always helps uh to get this content out and help the conversation keep going so
SPEAKER_03:positive review positive yeah
SPEAKER_01:right either way yeah i'm okay either way uh reminder i just want to know it's all about engagement
SPEAKER_03:it's all about engage So
SPEAKER_01:reminders to launch your year right. Obviously, you've already heard Josh is on with us today. I am.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah,
SPEAKER_01:we'll be going through ultimately what we're going to do is go through things to do to start your year. We'll each share three things to do to kind of start your year to keep in mind as your year starts. Before that, we'll kind of share or let Josh share. We'll be kind of moving into a new spot.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I think this will be great for context as we go through this episode. But yeah, so I'm not only switching roles. So I was a coordinator for special Now I moved into an assistant principal position, still in the elementary world, but also in a different district too. So that'll add some context as we're talking through how I'm planning to start this year and, um, you know, a lot of big changes. So,
SPEAKER_01:so this is his last episode with, Oh no, no, no, no. So yeah. Yeah. Um, no. So I think that's great. So we're excited about that. Um, I, for Josh, not necessarily excited ourselves, uh, cause we've worked with Josh before.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. But it's nice to have our friendship to continue. That's right. Yeah. It doesn't change. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:All right. Uh, well it changes for me,
SPEAKER_03:but, uh, Okay. Well,
SPEAKER_01:I'm
SPEAKER_03:going to write that
SPEAKER_01:down. No
SPEAKER_03:Christmas cards for Justin.
SPEAKER_01:Let's get started. Uh, so three things to do. Let's go. We'll kind of go around. We'll each share one. Then we'll each share a second one. Then we'll each share a third one. So, uh, Josh, you want to kick us off since you're in a new spot.
SPEAKER_03:All right. So I think for me, like going into new district and a new building, there are 70 staff in the building and I am just touching the surface on learning who they are. So, So for me, one of the things is building relationships. What I did my first day in the office was I created a spreadsheet. put all of the staff on there. And what was funny was I only had last names because every, like the yearbook, all of the schedules only had last names. So I was able to find a, where it had all the phone numbers, the directory, and was able to find first names, which was super helpful. But anytime I have a conversation with someone, I make sure I ask lots of questions and then I go to that spreadsheet and I write things down. That way, because it's impossible to remember details about people 70 people that you're, you're meeting. So just having that database where I can go back and go, Oh yeah, they have, you know, a student that's going to be a senior in the district and they're looking at colleges and it happens to be this particular college or they're playing sports or, um, you know, they just had a grandchild or whatever the case may be. So that's something that is helping me, uh, learn the staff names, uh, things about them. Um, but, It also, when I meet new staff members, I'm intentional about the questions that I ask and I make it about them. and you know making sure that I'm learning about them that way I can start building those relationships from day one I
SPEAKER_00:would say two things came to my mind was James Moffat had talked about this in the episode he was on that his superintendent had done that he raised and I we did a previous superintendent who would come in and ask me something very specifically
SPEAKER_02:yeah
SPEAKER_00:and I'm wondering like did you keep a spreadsheet how do you know my husband's name or like the CrossFit gym we were going to or whatever but I think that's very smart on your part super intentional second thought I have is just and maybe you should consider doing that because he can't remember anyone's name.
SPEAKER_01:It's tough. I have a spreadsheet for my own team. Yeah, that's right. And you're four years into it and still. And I still don't know. So I don't know what to do. That's why I'll never be an administrator. There's too many people. I've maxed
SPEAKER_00:out
SPEAKER_03:how many
SPEAKER_00:people I can remember. Yeah, and if you're a teacher, you could do this for the kids in your class. Oh, yeah. Oh, that's super helpful. This is your context of what you're doing, but as a teacher, you could do that. Or
SPEAKER_03:families too. Like when you talk to families and information from parents. So,
SPEAKER_01:yeah. That's a good idea. All right, Katie, what about you?
SPEAKER_00:I'm just so obnoxious about this. I'm going to say systems.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Start establishing your systems. Create systems. And so there's like three phases. You're going to establish systems when they're needed. Some of your systems are on maintenance where you're just like, we're going to have our crisis team, response team meeting the first day of school. Probably a 20-minute meeting. We're a pretty well-oiled machine. Just want to review the expectations. It's just a maintenance part. And then some of them are like systems maybe you established but no longer serve the purpose or work for you. So don't drag those out and continue to do them. It might be a good time to revisit or refresh those systems. So from a building administrator perspective, those are some things that I'm constantly looking at when we're starting the school year and some intentionality behind those. As a classroom teacher, you can do the same thing. Maybe some routines, expectations that you've had before, but maybe this is the year where you need to refine or if you reflect back on a year that you need to do better.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think that's always a good one, right? Getting the systems in place and making sure that everybody understands them is, is definitely key. I think for me, one of the first things I thought of as far as a teaching perspective goes is to set high and also gracious expectations. So by that, I mean, have really high expectations of the students. I mean, or if you're an administrator, your staff as well, but make sure when they aren't met and they probably aren't always going to be met, but when they aren't met that you're coming alongside those people instead of, coming down on those people. So there's two different ways you can approach it, right? You can either come alongside somebody and be like, okay, we didn't meet the expectation. Now let's figure out how to make sure that doesn't happen again or how to set you up for success moving forward. Or you can just come down on somebody and be like, I can't believe you didn't do this. How could you let this happen? Again, whether it's students in your room or whether it's staff members, you can have very different reactions and that's going to drastically change how people look at you and, um, and how much they're willing to work for you and what really the tone for the year ends up being set like. So high expectations, expect a lot out of people, like expect a lot out of your students. Um, but also be gracious in that when they're not met. I think that's, that's an important one. So as you're going to start the year, think through what those expectations are going to be. Um, uh, I, say it a lot. I will say it now. And I believe I'll say it in a later episode again. Um, it's easier, always easier to come in with like the highest expectations, maybe the most boundaries that you have set up and then to ease off of those as trust is earned. And as you have belief in, in your students. So think through what that looks like, um, and come up with what, what that's going to look like for you and your room. Um, that's a good place to start. Josh, hit us with another
SPEAKER_03:one. Absolutely. Okay, once again, context, new position, new district. I think anybody starting out as a new educator, it's important to be a learner and then not just doing your job but also learning. I've already– it's been a few days that I've been in this new district, and I'm already asking lots of questions, whether it's the– Teaching staff, custodians, how's the building run? I'm fortunate to be able to work with the person that I'm taking over is still in the district. So lots of questions. All the folks at central office, curriculum, special education, how are things done here? What are things that I need to know to be able to help be a leader and support the staff this upcoming year? There's not going to be, you know, I don't have any plans to make sweeping school changes my first year, you kind of have to live in it for a year, and, and just learn from those experiences and be able to tackle, maybe some initiatives and goals for that next year, or maybe even just second semester of this current year. So definitely being a learner is is ask lots of questions, and just try to get into the systems that are already there.
SPEAKER_01:yeah it saves you so much time and worry anxiety if there's stuff you don't know instead of just killing yourself, trying to like figure it out on your own in a new place where resources are, you don't know where the resources are. Yeah. They're different. Yeah. You don't know how to find things. You don't know how to like, just asking is such an important thing as if new teachers out there, same idea, right? New anywhere, like same idea, be willing to ask, be willing to seek out help. Um, there's, that doesn't say anything about you besides you're wanting to do well.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_01:And I think sometimes we let it say something about us like oh we're not good or we're not smart enough or whatever that's crazy talk like it only tells you if you refuse to ask questions that you um the only thing that's saying about you is that you feel like you can do it all on your own and none of us can
SPEAKER_03:yeah and i think that was one of the things i learned my very first year of teaching is you know you get done with college and you're in a classroom and you hear all these acronyms and different things that you've never heard before and you're like oh i should have known this like i i should know this i'm not gonna ask any questions because people think i'm dumb But it was very quickly that I was like... A, you're not supposed to know that, and B, ask questions. People appreciate it, too, especially if you find someone that is very knowledgeable about it and use them as a resource. They're also going to appreciate that, right? You're
SPEAKER_00:creating touch points for relationship building, so every time you do that, you're strengthening a relationship as well. It's okay to
SPEAKER_03:be vulnerable. Even if you're a leader of that building, it's okay to ask questions.
SPEAKER_01:I think it also gives, from an administrative point of view, it gives the staff permission uh if you're asking questions a lot to feel like oh it's okay and to do to do the opposite now you know he she's already asked questions of me uh i can it's okay for me to ask questions of them too and that's that's the kind of that's kind of back and forth they're looking for yeah so i think that's good and that's what you really want yeah all right katie what's another one of yours
SPEAKER_00:uh this is not my least favorite but be intentional schedule everything i think we've talked about this on another episode but i scheduled the entire school year down to every last imaginable meeting you can think of for our entire year. It is easier to move a meeting or have to cancel it, which I rarely do, but it's easier to do those things and try to find time to schedule it. So be intentional about that. One thing, a couple of things, it creates predictability for your staff. It prioritizes the time. This shows that it's important and allows you to execute plans that you hopefully started developing with your leadership team the year before. I think we'll talk a little bit later on about how important it is to start planning for the not planning now, but planning before to start having those plans in motion. So you're ready to start your year. So, uh, but yeah, schedule it all.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I know I give you a hard time a lot about all the scheduling at the beginning of the year, partly because it's just so many emails that come out all at once. But, um, but the good part about it is I can on whatever calendar system I want to keep, I can look through and I know if I've got, um, I know what I've got coming from our school perspective in May, in April. I don't have to wonder about that or be surprised by it. I actually know all the things that are coming. I can plan ahead more. It does, I imagine, take an enormous amount of work on the front end for you to schedule all that stuff out in different ways. I mean, probably less so now that you have some systems in place and you know when you do certain things, but But I do think there's a comfort in that for people. If you're doing it month to month, I would imagine... it would be jarring to staff a little bit more and a little bit harder to plan things out to be like, Oh my gosh, like all of a sudden the month, this month's calendar came out and I've got like all my Tuesdays are taken up. Like what? Like are all the, there's just, there's things that, uh, that make that tough, I think. So, so I think it's a good idea. I just, one of the things I actually appreciate is just always funny when I open up and I usually keep my email, my inbox, like under 30 is my goal. And then I've got like 99 plus and none of them are
SPEAKER_00:ready. I had another staff I remember that, you know, he was on the beach with his family, and he was like, good God, woman, slow down. Like, what are you doing? And I did it early this year, so it was like the week after school because I had gone on vacation. I do it in the car when we're traveling, and he was like, we just got out. It was like he sent me a screenshot of his e-mail, so I was like, you're out of control. You'll appreciate me later. And
SPEAKER_03:that was something actually that I also had on my list of– I'm coming from a job as a coordinator where 50% of my job was meetings. I was in six to 10 meetings every day. The other 70%, which is being in classrooms, being with teachers, which is obviously more than 100%, right? Would then go into the office work that I needed to be done. So if I don't have that scheduled when I'm going to be in my office working on my computer, emails, writing reports, whatever the case may be, that's going to bleed into that. And then I'm not going to have time during the day. So making sure that I schedule every minute of what I'm doing, even if it's in my new role going in to do, you know, an informal observation, just spend some time in a classroom or check in with a team that needs to be on the calendar, because if it's not, then it's not going to get done. or it'll get replaced with something that is still important, but I'm dismissing something that is also equally as
SPEAKER_00:important. This goes back to the systems thing, and I think you'll kind of see that this year as you do evaluations, but you also have to have those good systems in place so that when you do have to go in and do an observation or whatever, that your time is prioritized and it's blocked off a schedule because the system will take care of whatever behavioral thing will happen because you still have to honor. That's like a balance, so I think it goes back to having... both things together so yeah having that
SPEAKER_01:kind of stuff again planned out like fairly far in advance is from a teacher perspective comforting um to know when when you have to be prepared for some of those things yeah i think always a big deal um another one of mine was uh i think it's i think it's worthwhile if you can if you're in a position to do this to identify maybe the i'm gonna say toughest uh highest need couple of students that you might have um going into your school year and make it a point real early on to connect with them. I kind of harp on this a lot and I guess maybe I'm sorry, maybe I'm not sorry about it. I think it's effective. Uh, This looks like, again, having like really honest, frank conversations with those kids, not like the fakie. I mean, you can do like the fakie general conversations with everybody, but this is like the different kind of find a time to sit down and connect with the students that you are aware maybe will be like the highest need students that you're going to have behaviorally. I think there is value in that, getting that relationship like rolling early and doing it in a way that is not superficial. I mean, it's going to have to be somewhat superficial. I get that. But like, that's going to be really genuine and authentic because I think when you do that, it sets you up to easily have those kinds of conversations. If stuff does arise ultimate goal, hopefully you're doing this in a way that actually prevents some of that, um, from ever happening. So for me, what this could look like, cause I did sounds generic right now. Um, like at one point I had a student, uh, in a previous previous year who would steal things a lot. And we all knew this. And, um, that was well known in the building. And so one of the very first days, um, we were back in my room away from the room. He was taking a break and that was a conversation. I was like, Hey, come on up here. And I said, Hey, listen, I'm just going to be a weird conversation. It might be awkward and that's okay, but we need to have this conversation. Uh, I'm not upset or anything like that. I need you to know that. Uh, but we both know that you've been known to steal things.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:Like historically, like you steal stuff. And he was kind of awkward about it. I was like, it's OK to say that's true. We both know it's true. I said, I really believe that you can turn that perception of yourself around this year. Like, I think you don't have to be looked at as the person that does that. You can be somebody different this year. I believe that.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_01:But Like that means my expectation is that we're not doing that at all.
SPEAKER_03:Yep.
SPEAKER_01:Like that's not going to happen. I can trust you to be in the, in the rooms without me being right on top of you and that you're not going to take things, um, that aren't yours. So I, listen, I trust you from the word go, uh, not to steal. And I believe that you're not gonna let me down. I really am counting on you to come through for me and not let me down. And you know what? The kid absolutely ended up stealing some, something later in the year, probably still more than one thing. Uh, when we had, I referenced this conversation cause I could,
SPEAKER_02:I
SPEAKER_01:said, listen, remember, Like early in the year, we talked about this. I even went to bat for you. Like when somebody said you were the one that stole it and like, they didn't know. And they're like, I bet it was him. And I'm like, it wasn't him. Like I, we talked about it. I don't think he would do it. And I was like, and then I found out you did. I was like, man, that really not only hurt my feelings, but like hurt my trust that I have in you. I don't know what I can even trust you. I didn't even, poor kid was crying or whatever, but like we didn't really have much of a problem with it moving forward. But we talked about it at the beginning. Right. And it doesn't, I mean, that's hopefully an example of like what that kind of can look like. It's not like the superficial, like, Oh, Hey, like, how you doing? Like, I'm hoping that you have a really good year this year, right? We're going to do, we're going to follow the rules this year, aren't we? Like we're going to, it's not that like it's, Hey, call it out. Let's talk about how it needs to be. I think those are important conversations to have identify the students that you might have, um, have some high needs that you might have some issues with and address it right from the beginning in a, in a loving, caring way that hopefully builds them up and leads them up to be a better person, uh, throughout the course of the year.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Set some goals, right? Yeah. So my last one was just being– setting up consistent expectations, which is kind of like what you said with your students. And I think as a leader, we want someone who's predictable, that's consistent. So setting those expectations from the get-go that I'm going to be following up, making sure– and even if it's like, hey, when is it a good time to talk to Josh? Like if he's in his office working on something, is– now a good time to come in? Is it an open door? And then setting the expectations for those conversations too. Like, is it okay for me to come in there and just have a conversation you know, emotional dump of everything that's going wrong. Well, you know, maybe I have stuff that's taking priority that I really got to get done. Um, so just making sure you're setting expectations with your staff, um, setting the tone for the year. Um, and you know, I think that goes a long way. Staff know what they're going to get. Uh, and, um, I think that's incredibly important as a leader, building leader.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And I think the more information people have and the more expectations people are aware of, uh, on the front end, like the better off...
SPEAKER_02:Everybody
SPEAKER_01:is. And the more comfortable everybody feels, right? So they're going to know, people are going to know what to expect and what is and isn't okay. And some of that's going to have to be learned. But like the more you can set up that on the front end, I think that makes people that much more comfortable, which is what you really not just want to have happen. It's what you need to have happen in an administrative role is that people are comfortable enough with you that you can work with them, I guess.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And
SPEAKER_01:tell me, is it important? I don't
SPEAKER_00:know. I think so. I think I'm fine to work with. Yeah,
SPEAKER_01:you are. You are.
SPEAKER_00:I'm fine until I'm not fine. Right. No, it's always fun. I would say. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:No, it is. It is always fun. No, no, no, no. It's always fun.
SPEAKER_00:I would say that's just as important in a classroom as a teacher. I know we're talking a little bit as administrative role, but as a classroom teacher, that consistency, consistency, predictability, all those things create a sense of regulation, a sense of belonging, a sense of community. That is like the secret sauce to like all the work that we're doing. As much as I try to do it, I think Justin's really a master at being pretty consistently steady with that. But I do think that builds a lot of success for students and behavior as we're talking long-term.
SPEAKER_03:There's so much, and obviously we're in administrative roles, but there's so much that is universal for what I was doing as a teacher because now you're working directly with students. But those are the ones that you're leading. So those same things that we, really prioritize is what teachers can use in their classrooms to be effective. All of this is interchangeable, really.
SPEAKER_00:I really believe great administrators were great teachers. It's just a different population that you're teaching. It's
SPEAKER_03:the same skill set.
SPEAKER_01:It's all people. I think that's where we so often say, if you can know people well and know how people operate, both individually but also just generally how do humans operate, I think that is one of the biggest things you can do to be solid at any of these jobs we're talking about, but we're working in a people business ultimately. And so the better, you know, how people operate, the better you're going to do. And, uh, the, the more effective you're going to be in the end.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01:All right, Katie, what's your last one?
SPEAKER_00:All right. I think, uh, my last one would be to connect. Don't, don't forget. I try to have, we're going into the week before, like, since you're starting to come back to that, the classroom. So as an administrator, my goal is Monday, all my work is done,
SPEAKER_02:which
SPEAKER_00:sounds crazy because there's five days left because my sole purpose next week is to be out connecting, helping, serving, supporting the staff. And if I'm in my office grinding, cause I'm not ready, then I don't think that's a great way to launch a school year. So I have to spend, um, go out and know that my job is to say, hey, I saw that you're in today. I love what you do with your room. How was your summer? How's your mom doing? How's the baby? Send me pictures of your dog. Those are the things. That's my job next week is to connect with people I haven't seen in two months that are very important to me. And I want to hear about their lives and hear about what's going on so that all that work's done. So that's just something I try to be really mindful of next week, that my job is to help somebody clean out their classroom or do whatever they need to do. And I to make those informal, heartfelt, and genuine
SPEAKER_01:connection. Yeah, I love that. I think the other thing that does too, just even from a scientific standpoint, is that we all know that we are operating off mirror neurons. We tend to mirror one another. And if people are walking in and you seem frantic and they don't even have to be here yet and they walk in and you're sounding like you're crazy and you're running around and everything's really intense, that's going to rub off. And what a way to not start the year is to have a lot of staff members feeling like, Oh my gosh, like, did you see, like, I feel like anxious even being around like our principal, like it seems like so intense. It seems like there's all this really serious stuff happening. Um, but to be able to be low key and easy and just like, I think that's such a, it makes such a big difference.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I think for me, the last one, it's maybe just like a less of a every year kind of thing, I think, or maybe it is an every year kind of thing. Um, it's kind of random, but I thought to write down, and we've talked about this before, a little bit, but write down your thoughts and feelings about your class, um, your students, um, maybe even your staff, right. Over the first few weeks of the year and then tuck that away somewhere so that, uh, that you won't lose it, which is a big ask. I know. But, uh, and then look back on that maybe like after testing's done at the, in the spring and let yourself realize like how far, uh, Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. what you're going to start with is kids who are just ending fourth grade. And so it all automatically feels like, or you ended with kids that are going into a sophomore ELA class, and you're starting the year with kids who just ended eighth grade. And so that's going to feel so different. And what we've found is so many times I've heard year after year from all kinds of different people, these kids seem so far behind. They're not nearly as far ahead as what my class was last year well people are thinking about like the kids that are ready to go to first grade not the kids that are just coming into kindergarten for the first time you're remembering the kids that you gave up that were going into first grade that you did a year's worth of work for so this is a good way to like write down for the first handful of weeks first month or so what it's like how the kids are where they are at with things and then look at it again at the end be like oh my gosh one look how far we've come but then look at it again before the next year to be like this is what I'm walking into is kids that are at this level and that's okay. But I just need to be ready for that mentally. I'm not walking into kids that are at the end. I've had a whole year with me already. I think that can, that does a, that does a lot for shifting how you feel like the beginning of the year is. Oh
SPEAKER_03:yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I think that's an important thing to
SPEAKER_00:maybe
SPEAKER_01:try if you find yourself frustrated at the beginning of every year.
SPEAKER_00:No, that's good advice. And I think we've had people do that. We have. And what's made a difference. It's made a big difference for
SPEAKER_01:sure. All right. What are some things that we should be avoiding?
UNKNOWN:Um,
SPEAKER_03:Oh, well, let's see here. There's probably a lot. Yeah, I kind of hit on this before, but making sweeping changes, like once again, new role, making sure that I'm learning, learning the staff, learning the way the culture of the building, the district operates, and just... just not being, hey, I'm the new sheriff in town and I see all the problems, I'm gonna make all these changes, because I think you're gonna make some decisions or some changes where you don't have the full context of. So being able to learn, being able to be a part and walk along the staff, and then after some time, first year, you can really analyze from an outside perspective of things that you could help improve, make school changes where you feel the staff needs extra support and, you know, just be appreciative of the things that they're doing well. So I think just taking some time to, to be a part of the staff before you make these changes, you know, pretty substantial changes.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And I would say, I would caution to you just to go along with that. I think we've have seen this before you going in and just saying, you guys are doing all this wrong. This is, I don't know what you guys are thinking. What have you guys been doing all these years? I think just, uh, people have been working really hard with good heart and intent.
SPEAKER_02:Yep.
SPEAKER_00:And so acknowledging the greatness they have to bring and that we're just going to go the extra mile or extend the slot or practice or whatever. And I can help improve it in this way. You already have a solid foundation, like just being really intentional Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um, I put down, um, scrambling, like as if you are scrambling, like this is your week school starting next week as a school administrator and you're making rush decisions, throwing plans together that are not really aligned with the school vision or you don't have a school vision yet. And it has received zero input from your staff. And you're like, you know, I got to put something together. I got five days and you're just pushing something out to push it out. It would be better for you to start your year. So I want you to hear, I've said a scheduling, and you're like, well, shoot, school starts next week and I have neither one of those things done. You're not gonna be able to pull it off at this point, okay? So I want you to think about starting your year It'd be better for you to put your developing plans together based on feedback and data from previous years than to just unilaterally put something together. So my other advice would be is for details, save a lot of the minute details for emails, staff sites, for small team meetings, that if you're bringing your team together to launch the year, this is your moment for the big pep talk. This is the coach's speech before the big game. Nothing's more of a buskill to go into like the minutia of specific details pertaining to very specific subgroups or some real downer information that's currently in our current educational context. Think about what the purpose and the intent of that meeting is, is to get everyone on the same page. Don't waste people's time or your whole launch is on building games and team type stuff. People hate that. Icebreakers, we're not spending the whole time. Or reviewing logistical details. Think about how you're going to professionally develop and engage people and the time that you have to make it part of the launch of the extension of your work for the
SPEAKER_02:year.
SPEAKER_00:And I think if you can do that, you're good. Maybe it's the time that you're sitting there developing some of these plans together. Maybe that's where you start if you don't have it.
SPEAKER_03:I think that's good. Yeah, teachers would– and I think teachers would– greatly appreciate that too right absolutely
SPEAKER_01:yeah i think when you get into some of like the crazy details of stuff so early on like everybody's trying to make sure their stuff's ready that you're they're not hearing as much of that kind of stuff anyway whereas they're much more likely to be able to hear like the heart of what we're doing for you yes as opposed to uh now remember you're going to go into this website and this is where you're going to click and then this is how you enter the behavior data and what you're going to do is this like nobody's listening and everybody's like, I just want to be down in my room. I need to be down in my room doing stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Give it as a reference so that people know where they can get the information when they're ready to do it. But yeah, I agree. It's just really hard. And then it becomes about, it's the show. It's like the Katie show then, right? And then at some point, nobody wants to sit through the Katie show and it becomes kind of like a very egocentric thing to sit there and waste people's time and all the stuff that I feel like it's important to talk
SPEAKER_01:about. Sure. I said putting too much pressure on yourself. I mean, work hard, absolutely work hard, be a really hard worker who does their job well. Um, but kind of remember that education's way more of a marathon than a sprint, which is kind of just such a cliche thing to say, but it was really, really true. Like you're not gonna solve it all and get everybody taught to where they need to be taught in the first five weeks or the first nine weeks or the first semester. Like, Be steady, be consistent, work really hard, but do not put so much pressure on yourself that you are like freaking out or that it's causing you like anxiety at home or whatever else. Like take care of yourself, take your job really seriously, work really hard, be good at it, but don't overwhelm yourself unnecessarily.
SPEAKER_00:Which plays into what we're talking about next, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So what should we mindfully be doing on a regular basis for ourselves and others?
SPEAKER_03:You know, for me, I think it's, um, as I am introducing myself to the staff and they're learning more, I think it's just maintaining a positive first mindset. So you're going to deal with challenges and griping for lack of a better term. Sure. Um, and I think leading with a positive mindset and speaking positivity, positively, and also, um, really looking around and seeing the positives and things that you take for granted. We in a school, a lot of things just kind of appear to us. Transportation kind of gets taken care of. Certain things are where getting class rosters, all of that kind of from a teacher perspective, it kind of just happens. And sometimes we can take that for granted. So being sure to look around and just think about all the positive things, even When things seem tough or if there's a lot of stress at the beginning of the school year, just making sure that you don't find yourself in that negative negativity rut where, you know, because it's all it's going to do is snowball. So just making sure that you have that positive first mindset.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, 100 percent. I would agree. I put that you've defined some work-life balance, which is really hard because it's the school year. You're working really long hours. There's a time crunch now, right? You're going to start and you want to be successful. But once a year starts, you really find time to be a whole person and that you do take time to do things that regulate you, that bring you joy, and schedule those things too because it's really easy to get caught up on all the details of taking care of other things or things that you think are important at the time. Uh, don't make your, don't take yourself too seriously. Laughing, having fun at work is okay. It is a good thing to do that, that it doesn't have to be so serious all the time. We got into education cause we're adults that never wanted to grow up, right? We wanted to stay in this kid environment where joy and laughter and fun, and you can still dress up for random things that, right. That whole culture is there. So embrace that and have fun with it. Um, and we have a cool job. We have to be with kids every day. So don't lose sight of that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. It's
SPEAKER_03:good
SPEAKER_01:to remember. Yeah, for sure. Um, I think that for me a couple different things i think one check in with the people around you um if you've been around for a while especially check in with uh people around you and if you have new teachers or new people in new positions check in with those people be like conscious about that um you got plenty to do i know that like we all have plenty to do but it goes a long way to check in with like the new folks and um see how they're doing um especially if they're in a spot where they haven't done anything like this before so we have a good handful of new staff members at our place. You are a new person at your place, right? I think it's a big deal to go check in with people, see how they're doing. Um, and also normalize some of the tough parts of, of their job. Cause early on, there are going to be some things where you're like, Oh my word, like what in the world? And if you've never worked, if you're a first year teacher or whatever, you're thinking like, is this, am I the worst? Like, am I, have I screwed up? Yeah. And then for somebody to be able to say like, talk through stuff with you and say, yeah, it's going to be kind of how it is. Yeah. Yeah. And like, like help people out in that way. So check in on the people around you. And then, um, also find the people at work who give you give you life when you're finished talking with them or being around them. Pay attention to that. Pay attention to like how you feel after you leave the people that you're around. Is it good? Do you feel good? Do you feel positive? Do you feel like enlivened by that? Or are you like, blah, like that was a lot to be around them. And then make adjustments based off of what those feelings are. Be around, intentionally choose to be around the people that give you more life. I think that's an important thing. So if you consistently are leaving certain specific people feeling drained or down, just really consider who you're eating lunch with at the two tables we've got. Or whose room are you popping into at the end of the day? Or who are you talking to in the hall at the end of the day? Be around the people that give you life. And that are encouraging and are helpful and make you feel like better when you're leaving them. I think that's an important thing.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:All right. So what do we want people to walk away with knowing? Josh, I'll let you kick it off again.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I think it's important to remember that we're in the business of people and growing young minds to be successful adults. And I think that try not to get bogged down with the paperwork or the details of the curriculum and what your job is. And primary goal is to build strong foundations for those relationships. And in my case, the trust with the staff, being supportive, make sure that you are mindful about learning. Don't think that you know it all or that you're supposed to know it all. It's important to ask questions. And then as in my particular role, being a supportive leader that with the main goal that we're in it for the kids and my decision should be based on what's going to be best for students. But that way in my role. my job is to support those staff.
SPEAKER_00:So it's good. Yeah. I put the beginning of the school year, whether you're teaching or an administration is super stressful, it's time consuming. You're prepping a lot of materials. It's financially difficult. Like every year, my husband just turns a blind eye because it's like money getting poured into the school as a principal that will never get reimbursed for, or as a classroom, you're buying your own furniture, the things for the kids, because you have to, right. There's just public education. It's not funded well, and teachers don't get the benefits of like a, you get a couple hundred bucks to like run your room and it's like, well, I've spent thousands now.
SPEAKER_02:So
SPEAKER_00:if you felt this way starting a year, here's what I'm going to encourage you to do. I would work backwards. And what I mean is create plans, systems, and ideas starting in April and May of next year of this coming year, you should start thinking about with your leadership team or with your, um, with your staff inputs of like goals and execution and visions and things that you want to take off next year. Um, Because once you have those things done, then you can start forward planning over the summer to have yourself set up so that you can spend the week for a school start doing nothing but unconditional positive regard with your staff and spending, you know, that time with them. So if you're feeling like this as administrator this year, I would really encourage you to start working backwards so that you can start working forward and being in living in the moment instead of like surviving each day up until getting the year kicked off.
SPEAKER_01:And I think we have an episode out there somewhere. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that talks about systems to put in place and to build because I can imagine a lot of administrators thinking that's great but I have to react to so much stuff I'll never have time to think forward and work backwards as you're describing and that's why it's so important maybe go back and listen to that episode find it and start working this year to put some of those systems in place so that every day you're not just reacting to so many things that you never have a chance to get your feet under you
SPEAKER_00:yeah
SPEAKER_01:For me, I said, listen, plenty is going to not go your way this year. And that's OK. And plenty more is going to go exactly how you want it to. And that's great. And there will be plenty of pleasant surprises along the way as well that are good that you don't expect that are better than what you thought. The reality for the year is that you're joining the team of a lot of students and families for the first time this year. Like they're not on your team. It's something that we've talked about a lot here, too. They're not joining your team. You're joining their team. And so you just joined maybe 25 different families. families, teams, or 150 families, teams, uh, depending on where you're, where you're working at. Right. Um, do what you can to be a really great part of their team. You got one year to do it. And almost every situation you've got one year to do it. And so for one year, be a really, really great part of their team, work really hard to be the best team member for that student and that family that you can. Um, And I think if you do that, then you're going to get to the end of the year. You're going to be really happy with how your year's gone. So as always, we really just appreciate you guys listening. We love the conversations that we get to have here just with each other. We love that you get to be a part of those as well. Reach out to us. Let us know what you're thinking and what things you do to start your year off and what kind of plans you have that are helpful. We love hearing that kind of stuff. Share this with somebody maybe as the year gets ready to start. I think it's about people, especially that are moving into new roles and people that are maybe newer to teaching. This is a great thing to start listening to, uh, now. And, um, I hopefully it sparks conversation and, um, can, can kind of propel you forward for this year. And we just appreciate you guys. And as always, let's go out there and do the work.
SPEAKER_00:Let's go do it.