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May 21, 2025
Amber Chandler offers an inspiring and practical end-of-year guide to help educators reflect, regroup, and recharge—with tips on classroom organization, student reflection, and mental health reminders that your future self will thank you for.
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There’s a day every May when I print out free printable calendars for both May and June. That day was yesterday. I label all of the upcoming activities, field trips, testing dates and assemblies. Then, I make it look pretty and tape it to the wall next to my desk. I’ve been doing this for at least 20 years. By this point, I desperately need organization, inspiration, and the confidence that I will finish what I need to and still have some fun with my students. I’m a veteran teacher, and I still feel this way; so I want to remind everyone, especially new teachers, that school years have an ebb and flow, and occasionally, a tsunami. At the end of the year, when the inevitable deluge hits, it is helpful for me to reflect on the current year while it is still fresh and then make some plans for the fall. Yes, I know this could be construed as putting the back-to-school supplies out too early, but your future self will thank you!
I have a group of bestie teachers with whom I eat breakfast every day. In our conversations, we often marvel at how certain months (ahem … March) feel as if they last a million years while others seem to fly by. School years are the same way. This particular year reminds me of the adage about parenting, “The days are long but the years are short.” One way to gain insights from your experiences this year is to stroll through your plan book or desktop folders and do a gut check. What I mean by this is that you don’t overanalyze, but instead let your instincts and professional opinion guide you. Perfect example. My co-teacher and I love to teach Stargirl. It checks all the boxes for us: themes of identity, nonconformity, and students seem to enjoy it. We usually teach it in the fall. This year, for a variety of reasons, we are doing it right now. My gut is screaming, “Never again!” We don’t know exactly why, but it is far more effective in the fall. As I plan for next year, I’ll adjust. For more insights into reflection, check out Julia Thompson’s blog, “The Importance of Personal Reflection for New (and Experienced!) Teachers.”
For those of you (like me) who are in school until the end of June, you might want to consider reflections with your students. This “End of the Year Activity—Quote and Reflection” from BrainWavesInstruction is ready to use right now. Even if you want to explore it alone, it is a guided approach to reflection. Others of you might want to use a bullet journal or write about your year. Clearly, for me, writing is a way through my days and allows me the time and space to reflect on my successes and failures (Stargirl in May!).
No matter how organized you are, the end of the year can leave you feeling frazzled. As you think about next year, I encourage you to check out my recent webinar, “The Efficient Educator: Tips and Tricks to Save Time (and Your Sanity!” Many of the ideas are ways to be “tricky” about your grading while still assessing your students effectively.
Stressed? Tired? Frustrated? Join Amber Chandler for this free, for-credit session. She will share strategies that will cut all the busy work in half. Tips for grading? Yep. Tips for time management? Yep. Tips for Serotonin seekers? This session has it. Teachers have repeatedly been asked to do more with less, all while gathering data about it!
For those of you who need inspo to get organized, now is the time (due to those too-soon, back-to-school sales) to buy the cute academic calendar. For those not obsessed with planners, an academic calendar is my preferred way of thinking of the year: It starts in September! If you go to your district’s website, you’ll probably find next year’s calendar, and you can block off the holidays and all of the events that might throw you off course next year. A really glaring example of that right now is how I failed to plan for two testing days this quarter, where I have 21-minute classes instead of 45, thus the Stargirl debacle.
If you are already on summer break, don’t forget the power of disconnecting.
Finally, please take care of your mental health. If you are still teaching, give yourself grace and lots of memes sent through group chats. Don't forget the power of disconnecting if you are already on summer break. Put down your phones, turn off the computer, and read a book, take a walk, or actually go to a restaurant for lunch because you have more than 25 minutes! As we move into our planning for the fall, we have to remember to prioritize ourselves, but we can also help our students and classroom communities by normalizing conversations that help process complex feelings. Starting the year with a strong emphasis on mental health will set the tone for the whole year. This “Supporting Back to School Wellness” from NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) helps to do just that.
One of my birthday cards inspired this post. In true English teacher fashion, my teacher bestie wrote a mini-retrospective of our crazy year, but added, “Here’s to the next 365—all the breakfasts, back-deck hangouts, memes and adventures to come.” Teaching is a special profession because we share lives with those who are right there in the boat with us. Here is one of my final reflections for this year: Whether it ebbs, flows or is a tsunami, the teaching life is for me.
Empower your teaching with effective strategies and tools designed to support the whole student. This collection features insightful webinars and blogs covering student well-being, creating positive school environments, and fostering inclusive classrooms.
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