Setting the Table for Intentional Beginnings

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
— T.S. Eliot

When a school year ends, we celebrate what we have achieved, but also bid goodbye to what was to welcome what will be or could be. The beginning of a school year always brings fresh opportunities to start anew. There are few other professions besides teaching with so many chances to redo, reimagine, and reinvent. What happened in June seems long gone, erased by the good times and fleeting memories of summer. Thus, we arrive in August, some of us new, some of us returning, all of us full of hope, excitement, and high expectations. But how do we make sure that the positive energy lasts? What can we do, collectively, to ensure we begin with purpose and intention, to seize the promise of a new beginning to shape culture, community, and collaboration, and set ourselves up for success, not only with our students, but with each other?

We have found that schools that begin thoughtfully and intentionally, with clear objectives for the first few weeks and the year ahead, are better positioned to build strong relationships with students and families. In the classic book The First Days of School, Harry and Rosemary Wong liken a well-run school to a Michelin-starred restaurant. When you walk in, everything is ready for you to have a fabulous experience. The tables are carefully set, the menu is ready with the specials of the day, the maitre d' appears promptly to show you to your seat, your food is delicious, etc. Such are the markers of a great restaurant, and also of a great school.

With this metaphor in mind, here are some suggestions we have for making the most of the start of your school year because planning and intentional beginnings ensure schools provide spaces and experiences that positively impact everyone who walks through their gates.

Setting the Table: How we build a culture of inclusion.

Alone, we cannot make a difference. To achieve our goals, we all need to work together. To build this sense of shared purpose, responsibility, and collective efficacy, each one in the school needs to have their need for belonging and inclusion met. Building a culture of inclusion is paramount to all goals in all kinds of organizations. How do we build or reinforce this culture of inclusion? 

With colleagues, intentionally carving out time during the orientation weeks to revisit our vision of inclusion, engage in thoughtfully planned activities, and establish how inclusion is embedded in all of our strategic goals is a good way to start. Then throughout the year, we should circle back to our beliefs to continue to build a shared understanding and responsibility. Schools should also include admin staff, groundskeepers, and cleaners in professional development opportunities at the start and throughout the year. For example, you can invite all staff to participate in diversity, equity, and inclusion training about identity and power (in their home language) so that everyone on campus has a common understanding of these foundational concepts.

With students, start the year by reinforcing our beliefs around inclusion and co-creating agreements to live those beliefs. This can easily be adjusted or adapted to make it age and developmentally appropriate. Another important area of focus is acknowledging the diversity of learners and the different ways they learn, and creating spaces – physical and mental – where all learners feel included.

With parents, build a shared understanding around inclusion and diversity during the family orientation days and the numerous parent learning sessions organized during the year. Invite parents (and their children) in on the first day of school for a “Hopes and Dreams” conference with their child’s advisory teacher. This is a great way to get to know families, hear their goals for their child for the year, and start to build the home-family partnership that we know is so important for student success.

The Dining Experience: How we foster community.

Fostering a sense of community amongst all groups is important not just for realizing our shared vision and goals, but also because it creates a space where everyone feels valued, seen, and heard. Often, what sets one school apart from others is its ability to foster community.

With colleagues, create spaces for connection and relationship building that go beyond the usual start-of-meeting icebreakers. Make sure there are ample opportunities in the orientation schedule for people to be in community with each other. Try not to overschedule or overplan the orientation week so that informal “water-cooler” chats can happen. Plan an early-year social event to share life updates and welcome new team members. Additionally, make sure both structured and unstructured community-building events are on the calendar throughout the first semester. 

With students, don’t underestimate the power of community-building activities on the first day of school and throughout the year. Too often, team building is relegated to a single Day 1 activity before the focus shifts entirely to content. However, we have seen that effective teachers keep community building at the forefront at all times. Megan once worked with a science teacher who did a community-building activity every day – sometimes it was a simple round of charades, and other times it was a more complicated game. The benefit of this was that, when it was time to engage in group work, the students were much more open to partnering with one another and felt safer sharing ideas. At Shafali’s school, in addition to the morning meeting time every day, there is an extended block of time every Wednesday for community-building initiatives.

With parents, keep in mind that relationship building doesn’t just happen during “Back to School Night.” While “Back to School Night” is a great way for parents to see what is going on in the classroom, it’s also a highly structured event. Parents can be welcomed into the fabric of the school through informal “coffee mornings” around different timely topics and via events such as potlucks, international days, and food festivals. Additionally, schools thrive when we pay attention to the languages our parents speak and embrace translanguaging practices to help all families feel included. 

The Kitchen/Back of the House: How we cultivate collaboration behind the scenes.

Collaboration is a mindset, skill set, heart set, and a professional discipline. To cultivate collaboration, we need a shared language and structured opportunities that allow for equitable participation.

With colleagues, reacquaint everyone with the norms of collaboration. This goes a long way in establishing agreements and shared language, both of which are vital to working together, whether it is cooperating, coordinating, or truly collaborating. Often, when colleagues have the mindset and heart set, what really gets in the way of collaboration is a lack of structured time. Therefore, from the beginning of the year, making sure that such opportunities are embedded in our schedules supports collaboration efforts immensely.

With students, co-create classroom beliefs and agreements with special emphasis on how working collaboratively is a life skill. Planning equitable group work and peer feedback throughout the year offers students opportunities to collaborate and learn the value of multiple perspectives. Another significant way to foster collaboration with and among students is to model collaboration with colleagues with whom we share the teaching and learning spaces.

With parents, explicitly acknowledge that parents are partners – in their child’s growth, in achieving the school’s mission, and in supporting teachers in understanding their child. Clear and culturally responsive communication helps parents see themselves as valued members of the community, which often translates into their active participation in numerous school events. Seeking parents’ feedback or input about what kind of parent learning they might be interested in encourages parents to see themselves as partners and collaborators.

Ending the Meal

Often, by December, the initial energy of August has begun to wane. We get swept up in the grind, the routine, and the day-to-day, often forgetting the aspirations we set at the start. But what if we chose a different path this year? What if we maintained that early momentum by checking in on our progress as intentionally as we planned for our first days? Instead of starting high and then slowly dipping, our energy would remain steady throughout the year. Then, instead of finishing in a complete state of burnout, we would end on a high note. Forward-thinking leaders begin with purpose and also see the finish line. They know that strong starts are the key to strong finishes.

As you look ahead to the start of a new school year, remind yourself that the foundation you lay in August will be the momentum you rely on in May.

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” — Oprah Winfrey