8 Tips for High School Teachers Starting at A New School

As a teacher, starting a job at a new school can be intimidating. It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-year teacher or if you have a few years of experience, it just is. Knowing that you’re about to walk through the big double doors of a new school to find your classroom and figure out how to establish your image is a daunting task. It’s almost like being back in high school and worrying about if you’ll have friends in your class or who you’ll sit with at lunch.

Take it from someone who’s done it multiple times. Before we begin, I’d like to explain to you why I have experience changing schools. Trust me, it’s not what you think… After graduating college, I took the only job that was open in my content area. Later that year my boyfriend (now my husband) proposed and we decided that we would live in his town. That meant I had to move schools. After I moved, there weren’t any jobs open in my content area so I took a position overseeing the credit recovery program for failing students at a local high school. Going into that job my administration knew that it was going to be temporary because I wanted to get back to teaching business. Thankfully, I found a job close by in a district that I now love. If you kept track, that’s 3 schools – 3 new teaching starts.

Now, back to the good stuff. After having three experiences starting to teach at new high schools, I’ve learned a few things. And that’s what I’m here to share with you.

Plan Ahead

As soon as you get the call saying you’ve got the job, start planning. I start by making list – multiple lists. One list will be of questions I have, another is for writing down ideas for my classroom or lessons, and I normally make yet another one for everything that I have to bring to my new space or think I might need. Having these lists to refer to makes sorting out the overwhelming thoughts that flood your mind and knowing where to begin a little easier.

Re-brand Yourself

If you ever had an idea of something you would change about your classroom, do it now! Try a new theme, implement a new attendance procedure, rework your classroom management procedure. This is the perfect opportunity to re-brand yourself as a teacher and have a chance to try the new things you’ve been considering. Challenge yourself and think outside the box that you’ve previously been in.

Take A Walk

As soon as you get the keys to your building and classroom, take a walk around. It’s better to get lost now than on the first day of school. Find the closest bathroom, the best copier, a stocked supply closet, and the best entry door from the parking lot to your classroom. This will help you be able to navigate the building as well a be able to help the lost freshman find their class on the first day of school. Another perk is that when a student asks to go somewhere, you’ll have a good idea as to how long it should take them to get back.

Reach Out

Teachers are generally nice individuals. We’re the definition of being a “people person” – I mean we picked a career where we have to talk and interact with others all day long, we kind of have to be. Use that to your advantage. Introduce yourself when you pass a classroom with the lights on, send a friend request on social media, or ask the principal to connect you with a teacher in your content area. No matter what way you first connect with this person, get their number. It will be nice to have someone to ask which spirit day it is or if it’s a casual Friday or not.

Ask How to Use the School Systems

Before day one you’ll want to make sure you’ve practiced using all of the school’s systems. Personally, my three schools have all used three different systems – lucky me – so you can’t count on just knowing how to use them. On day one you’ll feel a lot better if you know how to mark that one missing student absent, or how to request a salad for another student. You’ll also be more confident when a buzz comes from the intercom and you know how to answer it. Go as far as to make sure you know how to request a blinking light bulb replaced or how to request a personal day off. People have more time in the summer to sit down with you and show you how to do these things than they do when multiple students are waiting to talk to them in the middle of a school day.

Know the Daily Procedure

Knowing the school wide daily procedures seems basic, but it’s not. A lot of times you’ll get a brief explanation such as “announcements are made second hour each day.” But when you’re about to get started with your lesson plans, it’s important to know exactly when that will take place second hour. Get a schedule of when all call’s, announcements, student notices, etc. are made. Nothing is worse than when you walk into a room confidently and start talking then get cut off by the loud speaker when everyone but you knew it was coming (speaking from experience here).

Read and Re-Read Procedures

Another thing that can change drastically between schools are the procedures. Knowing these ahead of time will make your life easier. You don’t want your students to go around and say “well he/she let me do it” all because you didn’t know it wasn’t allowed. What do they think about cell phone use? How much “PDA” is allowed? Is there a school wide system for missing work? How do you handle a student write-up? Where are you supposed to take your class during an emergency practice drill? Avoid an angry student or parent phone call and learn and stick to the procedures your district has put in place.

Ask for A Mentor Teacher & Ask Questions

No matter how long you’ve been teaching, moving schools is a total game changer. Ask for a mentor teacher – someone who knows the ropes and can help you along the way. No matter how prepared you think you’ll be, there will always be situations that come up in which you’ll need to ask questions. A mentor can be the person to answer these questions for you so you don’t have to go bug an administrator every time you need something. Which also brings me to the point of – don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s way better to be ahead of a situation by knowing an actual answer rater than picking up a mess afterwards because you assumed you knew something.