From Rested to Ready: Preparing for Back-to-School Success

By Sarah Bidwell, Educator and Advocate

I remember well the summer months that took place between each of my 13 years teaching high school social studies. In many ways it seemed the countdown to fall began as soon as the final bell rang to dismiss us all home on break!

My classroom was often referred to as the “loud room” because I embraced a gamified style of instruction. As a creative at heart, I thoroughly enjoyed planning out-of-the-box experiences for students. The loud, excited voices of my students were contagious and I lived to catch that infectious energy! Almost daily, my students were working in groups to solve problems I presented to them. Admittedly, the drawback to this self-guided style of instruction meant that I had to invest more time in planning and preparation, until I found game-changing tools like Breakout EDU.

Summer break is a much needed restorative time to refill our strength, remember what’s important, and prepare so that when the time comes to return to school and meet our new students, we can start the new school year off on the right foot. A strong start is critical - as the saying goes, you only get one chance at a first impression. Every educator knows that the first few weeks sets the tone for the entire year.

When I reflect on how I spent those precious summer months, I see a pattern. A pattern that, as I became a more experienced educator, I believe really helped me to ease into the next year with much less stress than when I was a novice teacher scrambling to write lesson plans and syllabi in the waning hours of break. Below is what worked for me, and I hope that sharing my experience helps others prepare to have a wonderful 2024-2025 school year.

Recharge

Teachers pour a tremendous amount of energy into their students’ success. Before jumping right back into your teaching routine, be sure to take some well-deserved time off for yourself. Recharge with activities you enjoy. For me, that meant getting dirty in my garden, reading as many books from my “need to read” list as possible, staying up late to binge on true crime documentaries, and allowing the birds (rather than an alarm clock) wake me each morning. A refreshed teacher is an effective teacher.

It might seem counterintuitive to spend time on yourself when there's so much to do, but taking care of your own well-being is crucial for sustaining your energy, effectiveness, and overall job satisfaction. When you prioritize self-care, you're better equipped to handle the daily challenges of the classroom, connect meaningfully with your students, and avoid burnout. Think of it as filling your own cup before pouring into others.

Reflect

Around late-July each summer I would begin to feel my energy levels return to normal. That’s around the time I would begin thinking about what went well the previous school year and what things I might want to change for the year ahead. Teaching the same golden ages for over a decade tends to get monotonous, and I enjoyed thinking of ways I could spice up the routine.

I began to check in on Facebook and LinkedIn teacher groups I was a part of to see who else was starting to play with new ideas. I reinvigorated my Pinterest boards for inspiration, took time to catch up on any new educational research that had been published, and downloaded some new teaching podcasts to listen to on my long walks around the park with Molly, my loud and sassy mini-dachshund.

I found that taking time to casually reflect and ideate to be an essential step towards preparing for a new year. The excitement around any new ideas I had began to set in!

Level up

Around late July or early August, professional learning opportunities began to arise at neighboring schools and online. I did my best to attend at least a few workshops or commit to an online course to help me stay ahead of the curve. It has always been important to me to stay relevant as a teacher in terms of pedagogy and technology. Plus, summer professional development allowed me to reconnect with colleagues I hadn’t seen in awhile while meeting new teacher friends to add to my growing network.

By investing in your own professional growth, you equip yourself with the tools and knowledge you need to provide the best possible learning experience for students. I knew that once the school year started, I’d be busy with lesson plans, classroom organization, IEP/504 reviews, and parent communication. By taking the initiative to seize professional learning opportunities relevant and interesting to me on my schedule, I freed myself up in the fall to focus on more administrative tasks.

Game on

With a rested spirit and refreshed mind, the final weeks of summer began. That’s when I began to get serious and actually plan out what the first semester of school would look like for me and my students.

I set the tone for my classroom each year with Breakout EDU. With a large library of digital games, it was simple to select an interesting, challenging learning experience for my new students right away. Doing so served several important purposes:

I was able to distribute student devices quickly and easily by assigning a particular task right away, like Breakout EDU’s Lock of the Day (login to Breakout EDU and see what’s waiting for you!).
I was able to quickly familiarize students with a trusted teaching tool I knew we would use often. I introduced them to the concept of Breakout EDU, gave some examples of how we would have fun with it, and even assembled a small physical kit in advance they could inspect (nothing beats excited students when it comes to getting the year started!).
I was able to confirm student access while also administering a casual pre-assessment to understand areas of strength and need because I preloaded my roster into the Breakout EDU platform (the Google Classroom and Classlink import feature is awesome!)
I was able to learn the names of my students more quickly because we were engaged in solving a creative challenge together as an icebreaker. Breakout EDU offers back-to-school games relevant to all grade levels. (teamwork makes the dream work!)
I was able to set the expectations for my classroom and begin building a foundation for a culture of productive struggle and supportive collaboration (no more slide decks!)

For me, Breakout EDU significantly eased the pressure and workload of back-to-school preparations. Within moments of class beginning, my students were in their seats, logged into their devices, and engaged. Plus it was one less element of a lesson I had to plan myself!

With ready-to-use digital games that were easily customized when necessary, I was always able to find a fun way to introduce new concepts, review prior knowledge, activate critical thinking, or just make learning fun. As the year progressed, I was able to monitor their progress, assign teams in advance, assign different games to different teams to facilitate differentiation, and even award my students badges to celebrate social-emotional learning (SEL) and 21st Century skills (4C) achievements.

Final thoughts

As you begin thinking about the 2024-2025 school year ahead, I hope you can all prioritize your well-being and find ways to pursue opportunities that are useful for creating a happy, thriving classroom environment. It has been my experience that self-care, meaningful reflection, relevant professional development opportunities, and high-quality instructional tools are key ingredients for success.