Hi friends!

This is one of my favorite times of the year as we get ready for a new year at school and in the library with our students and teachers. We dream up amazing ideas, bring back routines that have worked in the past, and look for ways to make each day meaningful, special, and fun for everyone within our school community.

Here are 10 of my favorite back-to-school tips that I would love to share with you to help make this your best school year yet!

1. Connect in the Summer

I find it super helpful to reach out to my teachers and administrators a few times throughout the summer. I do this when we first start our summer break and a few weeks before we all head back to school. I also reach out when I find something I know they will love that fits with their curriculum, like a special new technology tool or nonfiction book. It might be as simple as a quick text with a picture and little explanation, but it means the world to them.

This also sets the stage for future collaborations and co-teaching opportunities that I can then revisit with them in the fall. It is important to let everyone know you are there and care about them all year long.

 

2. Create a Collaboration Calendar 

I share our Collaboration Calendar when we go to back-to-school PD. This is something we started years ago and continue to bring it back. It is a simple table in a Google Doc with a space for each grade level going down, and all of the months along the top. The grade level teams add their curriculum plans throughout the year on this Google Doc. I have them fill this out during PD that week so I can brainstorm and plan ideas to help and support them from the very start of the school year.

Not only does this act as a window into their classrooms, it gives me so many opportunities for collaboration and co-teaching to support their curriculum, and the library program curriculum and goals, too.

 

3. Build a Virtual Library Space

It’s very important to create and maintain a virtual special place for your library. This could be a Google or Canva Site, a Symbaloo webmix, a Smore newsletter or even a page on your school website. I have a Google Site and Smore newsletter for our library, which have worked great throughout the years. But as I began to think about the need to meet students where they are every day, I started the Library Google Classroom. All of the information found on our website and Symbaloo can be found here, plus daily, weekly, and monthly posts.

When I first shared these during our PD week, I gave all of our teachers the Key to our Library Google Classroom. The card included the code for our Google Classroom and even a QR Code they could scan to join.

You can find out more about the Library Google Classroom Key in this post. I smiled every time I saw one of these keys and cards hanging up in a classroom last year. I even witnessed a student grabbing it one day off of their teachers desk to help a new student join our Library Google Classroom. I was happy it worked!

This was such a hit and a fun way to kick off this awesome new virtual space for our library.

 

4. Host an Open House for Teachers

During our week of PD, I plan a special Teacher Open House in the library. I use this as a time to meet with each grade level team to talk about the library collaboration and student check out time, share/re-share library and technology resources, discuss collaboration and co-teaching and more. I love sharing new books, resources, and technology by laying them out around the library.

Oh, and don’t forget to spend a bit of extra time with your new teachers. They really appreciate the time for help and support, and new friendship, too.

 

5. Show & Share Your Library Services

To go along with this time together, I put together a list of our library services, such as new book displays, check out times, pop-up library guidelines, collaboration, co-teaching, special read aloud and Zoom events and more, in a fun and creative way. Last year, while waiting for Chinese food take out, I thought about using a take out container and filling it with lots of information, surprises, and goodies. I thought I would also make a cute tag that said, Just wait to see where this year TAKES us!...a little play on the work TAKE. 

You will find everything I included in their takeout box and the templates to make your own here in this blog post on my blog, The Library Voice.

 

6. Continue Conversation All School Year 

In their takeout container, I gave everyone Librarian Help Sticky Notes that I created using Canva and VistaPrint. These give our teachers and students a place to ask me for help through a sticky note when I am not in the library or busy working with other students and teachers.  They also serve as a reminder to my teachers and students that I am there to help them with anything they need throughout the year.  You can find the template and instructions to make your own Librarian Help Notes here in this post on my blog.

Everyone loved using these all year long for so many different questions, requests, and fun comments to share.

 

7. Welcome Families for Back-to-School Night

Our library is always open for Back-to-School Night. This is the perfect time to welcome students back and meet our families. We display new books, talk about visiting the library for book checkout, share technology we use, and answer questions.

I create bookmarks and brochures for our families to take home. These include our library and virtual library services, policies, and resources. I encourage them to keep it somewhere safe so they have our library handy at home, too.

You will find one of my favorite back-to-school bookmarks that I created here. Feel free to use the template to create your own.

 

8. Collaborate With Your Public Library

Back-to-School Night is also a great time to invite the public library to the school library.  The partnerships between the school and public library are so important and will bring wonderful opportunities to our readers and learners.

I set up a table for our public librarian. She shares about the public library and uses this time to help families sign up for their library cards. It’s so nice to see this special community partnership and one that is essential to our back-to-school time every year.

 

9. Celebrate Your Readers

I love dreaming up new reading themes for our school community to carry us through the year as we celebrate all of our readers. We use this reading theme within our displays outside of the library, throughout the hallways, and even online in our virtual library spaces.

Last year we kicked off the Van Meter Readers theme by celebrating each and every student and staff member reading their favorite books through photographs, videos, stories, and displays.  You can read all about this wonderful event here.

 

10. Promote Your Library

The last tip I have for you is to find ways to share what is happening in your library this year. This could be in a newsletter, on a blog, through social media, or even in a weekly video update created with help from your readers. It is important for us to share the stories from our libraries and to celebrate the difference we make as teacher librarians every single day.

 

I wish you all the best year. Enjoy this time and take time for YOU too, friends.
 

About the Author
Shannon McClintock Miller, an international speaker and author, is the K-12 district teacher librarian at Van Meter Community School District in Iowa. She also serves as the Future Ready Librarians Spokesperson, working with librarians, educators, and students around the world. Shannon is the author of the award-winning The Library Voice blog and has published two children’s book series on libraries and makerspaces. Her newest picture book, Sonia’s Digital World, created in collaboration with ISTE and Capstone, celebrates the many ways we are all connected through our digital world. Shannon received the Making It Happen Award from ISTE in 2016, and was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2014, and the AASL Social Media Superstar Leadership Luminary in 2018. Shannon is the proud mom of three amazing kids and lucky wife of Eric.

 

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