Award-winning principals describe their preferred strategies for uplifting educators at the start of a new semester.
The first month or so after winter break is a full-on sprint for teachers, with prep days (including for rapidly approaching standardized tests), professional learning community meetings, and other back-to-school events. Teachers are catching up with some of their students and meeting new students. For some educators, all of this is not a problem—after winter break, they feel refreshed and ready to go. They’re thriving. Others aren’t necessarily energized, but they’re ready to return to a normal work routine.
Students come back from winter break with their own slate of priorities. They get to see their friends again. Depending on their grade, they might have different teachers and classes, seating chart swaps, and potential new friends (or even crushes!). Winter sports and extracurriculars are almost immediately in full swing. And who knows what homework assignments might be on the horizon? It’s a lot at once.