Teachers’ Back to School Checklist for 2024

Summer is coming to a close and a new school year is on the horizon. 

You likely feel excited about a fresh start and eager students. 

You may also be feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the things that need to be ready to go on the first day of school. Especially if this is your first year teaching. 

And you don’t want to forget something essential only to remember it when students start streaming in the door. 

We’ve got you covered! 

This back to school checklist for teachers covers classroom organization, classroom supplies and student materials, classroom decor, parent communication and even has a few resources for the first week of school. 

By the end of this article, you’ll feel 100% ready to tackle the new year! Let’s get started!

Class Organization and Admin

Setting up your classroom the right way builds the foundation for learning. Classroom setup may just feel like arranging furniture and organizing supplies by color, but there’s so much more to it. 

Creating a classroom environment that feels like a community often leads to many benefits for your students. Just a few are a growth mindset in your students and more engaged classroom discussions. 

It’s best to start with the biggest furniture items in your classroom. For most teachers this means desks and chairs. Think about the flow of traffic around the classroom. How can you make it easy to get to every essential spot in the classroom? 

Also consider how the desk setup will impact student discussion. Will it be easy for them to collaborate with their peers? Will it be simple to divide students into small groups during lessons?

At this point, you may have to consider if you want to have assigned seating or if students will be free to pick their own seat. 

Once you’ve got the big items in place, you can start adding the smaller items around the room. You can work station by station or work clockwise around your classroom. 

Need more classroom setup ideas? Check out these 10 Best Classroom Setup Ideas Every Teacher Needs to Know!

Don’t forget the functional posters and information you want posted in your room. We’ll talk more about classroom decor later, but this is all about making your life easier! 

Some ideas might be:

• Class list with student names
• Classroom procedures (like how do they ask to go to the bathroom)
• School lunch menu 
• School calendar
• Anchor charts
• Daily lesson plans
• Weekly goals
• The day, month and year
• The daily schedule
• Classroom rules
• Emergency procedures (for everything from fire to intruder)

Devising classroom rules and routines can be a dreaded task. It’s much more fun to focus on the exciting things that your students are going to do this year. 

However, students thrive in a well-structured classroom. Rules and routines keep everyone safe and capable of achieving their best. 

And there are ways to make classroom rules more fun! Try these ideas. 

1. Get students involved in creating classroom rules. Students will be more likely to follow the rules if they feel ownership of them. 
2. Display classroom rules creatively. Make a fun poster with various colors outlining the rules. 
3. Be specific in expectations. Add example behaviors for each rule. 
4. Be clear on consequences. Make the consequences age-appropriate and effective in teaching a lesson. 
5. Give (small) rewards. We want to create students that are intrinsically motivated but a little reward can go a long way. 
6. Get parent buy-in. Getting parents involved can be the key to successful rules in the classroom. Go over rules with parents at an open house at the beginning of the school year. 
7. Collaborate with your colleagues. Having similar rules throughout the school building will help students know what is expected of them.

Classroom Supplies and Student Materials

The next thing to check off your list is supplies. 

Start with a brainstorming session of all the supplies you will need for the school year. You may find it easier to work through your lesson plans and make a list. 

Then, walk through your classroom and write down things as you see them that might need replaced or restocked. 

Once you have your list made, you can separate it into multiple lists based on where supplies will come from. Which ones will students bring? Which ones will need to be ordered? Which ones are stored somewhere else in the school building? 

When you have all your supplies gathered, you can decide if any of them need to be prepped. This might be pencils sharpened or paper cut out. 

Students love to see their name in a new classroom, so any supplies that you can personalize adds a great final touch! 

Classroom Decor

Now the fun part…decorating! 

There are lots of ways to add personality to your classroom with decorations. You may choose to go with a particular theme or color scheme for your whole classroom. Or you may choose to decorate each area of your classroom individually. Either way is great! 

Bulletin boards are a great decor option because they are so easy to switch up. If you’re feeling a little stuck on how to decorate your first bulletin board of the year, here are some of our favorite bulletin board ideas. 

• Birthday boards. Write each student’s name and birthday on balloons or cupcakes. Add some streamers or party hats for extra fun. 
• Positive affirmations and inspirational quotes. You can even have students contribute their favorite saying or quotes. 
• All about me. Wait until the first day of school and have students help you decorate the bulletin board with a self-portrait. You can also have them write out some basic facts that introduce them to the whole class.

Posters with funny quotes or pretty pictures are a great addition to blank classroom walls. If you have big spaces to fill, posters make quick work of decorating. 

You could also choose to have calendars that are more for fun than function. Birthday calendars are a great way to help students feel like they belong in your classroom. 

Decorating the outside of your classroom door or the wall right outside can help students feel welcome from the moment they spot your room. This is another fantastic place to hang personalized decor with students' names!

Communication with Parents and Families

While students are who you see every day, parents and families play a key role in the educational journey. 

Start the school year off on the right foot with a welcome letter. Include who you are, what students will learn in your classroom, what expectations you have of the students and important dates to remember throughout the school year. 

If you plan to send out a weekly or monthly newsletter, make sure that you have all the needed supplies prepped. Make an outline for the newsletters so that it’s quick and easy to fill out each month. 

Prep any information you will want to have ready for the first Parent Teacher Conference. You can start tracking progress from the very first day that you can refer to at the first conference. 

If there’s any other tools you use to track skills or make progress reports, make sure they are ready to go before the first day. 

First Day Downloadable

We want to make your first week back to school as smooth and easy as possible. So we created some free resources to help your students feel welcome and ready to tackle the new year. 

These downloads will help you get to know your students better, calm first day jitters, and make the first day a blast! 

You can check out the free downloadable here. 

We hope this back to school preparation checklist has you ready to tackle the year ahead! For even more resources when making this year your best one yet check out our Back to School Teacher’s Hub.