Craig Verley

Welcome to the time of year when many will be closing the books on one operational school year and opening the new school year plan a little wider. Who am I kidding? Many are also just counting down the last few days before summer break. Anyway, as your focus makes the more deliberate pivot to the new school year, take a moment to look back.

Your first look backward should be to the TSPRA conference, if you attended it. Remind yourself of ideas and lessons you want to build into what you do for the coming year. Then make it part of your plan. Be sure to calendarize and to-do list what you need to in order to make sure you follow through as best you can.

Next, go back on any notes you may have made of ideas or things you told yourself at the time you wanted to change or include for next year. Be sure those items get noted in a way that they will actually get done as you return from summer break. We all know that remembering our passwords after an extended break can be hard, so imagine how things can slip the mind if you don’t make deliberate notes and leave them where you will see them as you come back from your break.

Finally, reach out to a few folks in various roles within your district, and informally chat with them about what worked and/or didn’t. You might get some great reinforcement of your efforts while also discovering a couple of things that would be quick and noticeable fixes after summer break.

In most cases, work relating to the 2026-2027 school year began months ago. But this time between commencement and the start of the summer break can be a great time to pause and look back at a few things before you completely immerse yourself in implementing your plans for the next school year. It might even allow you a little more peace of mind as you take your much-deserved break. Enjoy it! You earned it!