The Faculty Lounge
Print this and tape it inside a cabinet door. Cross things off. Nobody expects you to know all of this already.
| ☐ | Ask for your grade, subject and room in writing | ||
| ☐ | Get the curriculum and the pacing guide | ||
| ☐ | Find out who your mentor is, or ask for one | ||
| ☐ | Get into the building and see your room | ||
| ☐ | Ask what the first observation will look like | ||
| ☐ | Get one person's phone number for small questions |
| ☐ | Enroll in benefits (often only 31 days, and missing it means no coverage) | ||
| ☐ | Ask whether a salary step application is needed, and by when | ||
| ☐ | Set up direct deposit and ask when the first check lands | ||
| ☐ | Name your retirement and life insurance beneficiaries |
| ☐ | Test your badge, keys and logins yourself | ||
| ☐ | Learn your evacuation route and location | ||
| ☐ | Learn how to report an absence and what sub plans must include | ||
| ☐ | Read the IEPs and 504s for your students | ||
| ☐ | Set up your gradebook | ||
| ☐ | Send your first email home to families | ||
| ☐ | Protect time to actually set up your room |
| ☐ | Check in with your mentor daily, even for five minutes | ||
| ☐ | Ask to watch a strong teacher teach | ||
| ☐ | Learn what to do when a student must leave the room | ||
| ☐ | Write down one thing that went well |
| ☐ | Write your growth plan and keep it separate from evaluation in your head | ||
| ☐ | Move mentor meetings to a standing weekly time | ||
| ☐ | Make one positive contact home per student family | ||
| ☐ | Ask about the referral process before you need it |
| ☐ | Prepare for conferences with your mentor, including the hard ones | ||
| ☐ | Watch two colleagues teach | ||
| ☐ | Say out loud if the workload is not sustainable | ||
| ☐ | If the mentor match is not working, ask for a different one |