In the next week, schools all over the state will be sending students and teachers home for the summer. There are only a few more days to cram knowledge and skills in (and hope it sticks through the summer break), then it is time to… pack and clean.

There is a good chance that the greater world around us does not realize that post-planning time can be crammed full of too much to do. Not only are there meetings to go to, but teachers are beginning to prepare for the following fall, too. One of my very lucky teacher friends is teaching the same grade and in the same classroom next year. She doesn’t even have to rearrange the desks! She just has to cover a few things up and close the door behind her. However, another friend is moving from fourth grade to second grade.

Whether or not your classroom -- or even grade level -- assignments are changing for next year , there will be a lot of cleaning out and packing away in the next few days among a lot of teachers. With the implementation of Common Core, you may already see that you don’t need some of your teaching tools. For example, some math standards have changed in which grade they are being taught, so you may pass your teaching tools down to a lower grade teacher. As it has been emphasized in all of the training videos I’ve seen, collaborate with your peers. Pass along what you can and recycle the rest.

We know that just because the students are gone doesn’t mean that the vacation has started. There will be a lot of teacher training and reviewing of the CCGPS videos and unit review sessions in addition to the usual PLU-gaining continued education during this year’s summer break.

Pace yourself and make the most of your post-planning time. Are you planning anything new this summer to prepare you for next school year?