TL;DR:
- We have almost reached the finish line for this school year.
- Take some time and sum up your year, and reflect on your accomplishments and goals for next year.
- Teachers and administrators should sum up the school year with students and staff.
- Plant the seeds for another successful school year in August.
There is only one thing about which I am certain, and this is that there is very little about which one can be certain…
― W. Somerset Maugham
Almost to the Finish Line!
When I was a new teacher out of college, too poor to afford cable TV and before the explosion of technology and social media, I was a voracious reader. I had a great PK-12 education in the City of New York school system and a broadening and effective college experience at the State University of New York at Oswego. But I was not well-versed in literature, so I used my reading time to catch up on books I believed I’d missed. One of the authors I discovered was W. Somerset Maugham. I was mesmerized by Of Human Bondage and The Moon and Sixpence. While I can truly say that neither of these books had a very long-lasting effect on my life, the title of Maugham’s autobiographical book, The Summing Up, has provided a concept I come back to every school year.
May is here. And while in reality there are only 31 days in May, it is the month most likely to seem like it is 8 weeks long. Generally, testing is done, most grade-level concepts have been covered and reviewed, and we are in the slow march toward the last days of the last semester. But we are not done yet, folks! There’s still plenty to wring out of this school year, and finishing touches on the masterpieces that you are creating in your students. I hate the idea of missing out on some great opportunities we have to not only engage but elevate this month as we actively begin the Summing Up!
While we are in the process of closing down one year, we are also looking ahead to the next school year. This is a perfect time to drop some planning seeds in folders while you’re in the moment. Click To TweetLooking Ahead and Looking Back
Most of the school year we spend looking forward and working toward goals. In May, we have the opportunity not only to look forward (probably to our summer plans) but also to reflect on where we’ve been. I say this to you as someone who is deeply sentimental.
One of my favorite activities as a principal is the creation of a slide show set to music that celebrates our 5th-grade students as they make the move into the secondary education world. As much as they may have annoyed and irritated me at lunch duty on some days, and how many times we had to work through nonsense issues to keep the peace between kids who claim the other one was “looking at me funny,” I find that going through the summing up process of selecting the pictures for the presentation makes me laugh and cry. I get to understand the whole of their experience instead of the isolated pieces that make up the individual days.
Engaging as Part of the Summing Up
As we as administrators and teachers prepare for the annual Summing Up, this is a great time to engage in activities and practices that help tie this year up with a giant bow. Some of my suggestions are:
- You are not going to get any new content to stick during much of May, so use this time to find alternate ways to reinforce the major concepts you want students to understand as they finish this year. This includes not only academic concepts but social-emotional concepts as well.
- Reflect on the goals you set last summer and reviewed mid-year. How close are you to achieving them? This may be a good time to write yourself a note in preparation for next year’s goals. What you are experiencing now in relation to the goals is not what you will be feeling in August. You can sum up the process for yourself so your goals are not only attainable but realistic and effective.
- Create a visual timeline of your personal school year. This is almost like having a personal yearbook. Consider visuals from each month of the year and remind yourself that your school year is the culmination of lots of days, not just the ones where you felt like you hadn’t done enough.
- Look forward to the summer for the change in the situation. Even if you’re teaching summer school, going to school, or otherwise not cruising the French Riviera, you will still not likely be in the same classroom with the exact same kids after this year ends.
How to Elevate the Summing Up
The Summing Up is also an opportunity to elevate our practice. While we are in the process of closing down one year, we are also looking ahead to the next school year. This is a perfect time to drop some planning seeds in folders while you’re in the moment. Let them grow in your files until you’re ready to harvest them as the next school year begins. Some of the engagement ideas above lend themselves perfectly to being elevated. For example:
Plan now to create a school timeline for next year.
I purchased a custom vinyl banner that has each of the months along a timeline. As the year progresses, we put up photos of events and happenings at school in the appropriate month. This allows us to see daily the big picture of what we do and the progress we make over time. Again, elevating means thinking beyond individual days and considering the evolution over time. Order the banner now…you will be too busy in August!
Plan to have individual conferences with students if you’re a teacher and staff members if you are an administrator to discuss each person’s summing up.
When you start having those meetings now, you can usually get them done before the school year ends. These are not summative appraisal conferences. These brief meetings serve to ask questions and gather the information that will help you plan better for next year. What process seems to be working really well? What can we change to make sure we are more efficient? What’s the best thing I did to help you? What did you need that you didn’t get?
Just like you strive to make a great first impression, this is the time to strive to make a great final impression.
Consider what you want the last week of school to be like for your students and staff. As they walk out the door this month (or in June), what is the feeling you want them to have as they go? Explicitly plan a moment for your kids and/or staff to make sure they leave with the message you intend them to carry forward. One example is that at the beginning of the year students wrote about things they were worried about as they were starting this new grade. During the last few days, the teacher brought out the envelope with those notes. The students re-read them and considered how things had actually gone for them.
On the last day as the staff checks out using your school procedure, make sure you don’t rush or hinder them.
Some people need a quick exit. Let them go. Some people want to hang around. Let them stay.
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The Summing Up is one of the best ways we have to put our big-picture perspective into play. Engaging in the activities and moments that help ourselves and others sum up their school year is invaluable to us as we reflect on what our impact has been over these past 9 months!
About Martin Silverman
Martin Silverman is a father, grandfather, husband, and long-time educator in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. He is committed to providing the best educational experience for the students and families at Salinas Elementary school where he is principal. Martin has worked in urban, suburban, and rural districts as a teacher and administrator. His interests are in creating and nurturing school culture, providing enriching experiences for students and families, and developing future teachers and administrators.
As a former bilingual teacher and administrator, Martin is committed to providing ELL students with quality programs to develop their unique skills. He hosts a podcast called The Second Question, which highlights educators and provides them a forum to discuss ideas, and to honor the teachers that have influenced their lives.
