Whether this is your first year teaching, or your thirtieth, being a new teacher in a new school has lots of challenges. Here is a list of questions to ask as soon as you start, since you often don’t know what it is you don’t know until it comes up at your busiest moment.

Employment

What are my “official” hours?

What hours do I have access to work in my room/teacher room outside of official hours?

Which restrooms are for teachers?

Where do teachers receive mail?

How much are teacher mailboxes used? How often am I expected to check mine?

When is payday?

Where can I park?

Whom do I contact to request bathroom breaks while teaching?

Is there a para to help with copies, catching students up, prepping materials, etc.?

During the day will I communicate via text, walkie-talkie, class phones, the PA system?

Where can I find the:

• Copier
• Laminator
• Paper Cutter
• Bulletin Board Paper
• Letter/Shape Cutter
• Teacher Fridge/Microwave/Toaster Oven

Daily Routines

Do I gather students from a location in the morning (and at what time) or do they come straight to my room (if so, by what time do I need to be in my room?)

At what time are students considered tardy?

How do I enter attendance?

Do tardy students need to check in at the office? Do I still enter attendance for them?

Are school-wide announcements made each morning? Do I play a video for the class, or is it broadcast to the room live?

How are lunch orders placed?

Where is the cafeteria?

Do teachers stay at lunch with students every day, rotate, or only paras go with students.

Do students eat snack or lunch in the classroom?

What are student behavior expectations at lunch?

What are consequences for behavior at lunch (especially for students from other classes)?

Where is the recess area?

Is there a set time for recess?

Do teachers go out to recess with students every day, rotate, or only paras go with students?

What are student behavior expectations at recess?

What are consequences for behavior at recess (especially for students from other classes?)

How many times do students go out to recess and for how long?

When is it considered too cold (or hot) for students to have outdoor recess?

What are rules about snow and ice?

Do I have access to the gym or other area for indoor recess, or is it in your room?

(If you will have indoor recess in your room, make sure you have plenty of board games and ask for donations from parents if you don’t.)

Is there an emergency bag and/or folder that must be carried when leaving the classroom?

Which restrooms do my students use?

Where are the rooms for specials classes?

Are there specials classes that will take place in my room?

What time is dismissal?

Where do I take students for dismissal?

Essential Information

Where is the emergency folder with instructions for:

• Earthquake
• Tornado
• Hurricane
• Blizzard
• Lockdown

What are expectations for drills for these emergencies?

Which students have allergies?

Which students have special physical needs?

Which students have special behavioral needs?

Which students have special learning needs?

Are there students in other classes whose needs I need to be aware of in case of an emergency when I am in their presence?

Do students have a personalized learning program online? How do I access it? How much time should they spend on it each week?

Are students allowed to bring from home:

• Fidgets
• Toys
• Books
• Blankets
• Pillows
• Only with an IEP?

What are the rules for students bringing and storing:

• Lip balm
• Lotion
• Sunscreen
• Sanitizer

Behavior

What kind of discipline system do other teachers use?

How much does discipline vary from class to class?

What kind of rewards are allowed?

• Food
• Stickers
• Small toys (& are parents asked to donate items at the beginning of the year?)
• Homework passes
• Extra recess
• VIP for the day
• Extra device time

Are official behavior/attendance/grade awards given?

Where do I get these certificates?

Are they given privately or presented in front of the class or school?

Home Communication

How often am I expected to contact parents?

Is phone, email, or a specific program preferred?

Is there a phone in my room to make outgoing calls?

If not, where can I make official calls?

Am I expected to reply to parent emails in the evening or on weekends?

Do students have a folder of graded work sent home each week? What day?

What day is my newsletter expected to be sent?

What information do other teachers put in their newsletters?

How and when are parent-teacher conferences scheduled?

How long are they expected to be?

Are they all in one day, or before and after classes?

Supplies

What is my budget for supplies & events?

Do I submit receipts, use a school credit card, or is everything ordered by the office?

How do I submit receipts/requests for orders?

Where can curriculum be found?

• Teacher books
• Student books
• Online resources

Is there an online program for tracking reading, individual skills, etc?

Grading

Where & how are grades entered?

How soon do grades need to be entered?

How do I set up grading & how are grades weighted?

How frequently are tests/quizzes/projects given for each unit of each subject?

Are there any subjects/texts which do not get graded?

Is homework/classwork graded?

If so, is it based on effort/completion, or on correct answers? If a combination, what percentage?

Is leftover work sent home, caught up during downtime, or let go?

Displays

What bulletin board space do I have in the hallway?

How often should I change it?

What standards must be met for the bulletin board?

What can I put on walls (tape, staples, thumbtacks, etc.)?

What percentage of the walls is allowed to be covered as per the fire warden?

What are my expectations for anchor charts?

Is student work that is being displayed first sent home in the communication folder and requested to be returned, or only sent home after being displayed?

Special Events

Are parents invited to join for class parties?

How often are field trips taken?

Are there set trips that are often repeated by my grade?

Who plans field trips: teacher, team lead, or the office?

Who arranges transportation for field trips?

What transportation options are used: bus only or parent cars?

What is the child-adult ratio for field trips?

Are parents allowed as chaperones?

Are field trip costs partially or fully covered by the school?

Does money get collected by the teacher or go directly through the office’s billing program?

When are the major school events outside of school hours (open house, fundraiser, conferences) that I need to schedule into my non-work hours?

When are the major school events inside of school hours (fun run, STEAM week, etc.) that need to be scheduled into my class time?

Instruction

How much do I plan my own schedule and how much is decided by the school administration/grade level team?

How much am I allowed/encouraged to supplement curriculum?

Do lesson plans need to be submitted?

In what format?

How often and to whom?

How much homework is given to my grade level?

How much independent nightly reading?

If I assign a reading selection or textbook review as part of nightly homework, can students count that toward their nightly reading time?

Is there a preference between weekly packets vs nightly reading assignments?

Is homework graded?

Are points taken off for late homework?

Is homework still expected to be made up if students travel or are out sick?

Can textbooks go home if students have unfinished work or are out sick?

Are homework passes allowed for good behavior, birthdays, etc.?

Beginning of the Year

What is the structure of Open House? Do teachers prepare a presentation or do parents just walk through and I answer whatever questions they have?

(Ask teachers what questions parents usually ask, so that if you are asked these questions, you don’t feel embarrassed about not knowing because you are new to the school.)

Questions to Ask the Previous-Year’s Teacher:

What are your suggestions for seating?

Do any parents have particular expectations?

End of Year

Where are my things stored?

Where do I put student files?

What gets sent home?

Can anything stay on the walls if I will be teaching the same grade in the same classroom next year?

Do I need to bring rugs, small furniture, etc. to another location?

Do I need to supply my own boxes?

Can things be left on the shelves if they are covered with bulletin board paper?

Do I prepare summer homework for my incoming or outgoing students?