Summary: <br> Jenny is a returning student at her high school. She has a part-time job which keeps her up late most nights. <br> <br> <br> <br> Photo by JESHOOTS.COM – Creative Commons No known copyright restrictions https://unsplash.com/@jeshoots?utm_source=haikudeck&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=api-credit<br> <br> <br> <br> When her school opens this fall, she knows remote-learning is the option until her building opens again. She calls the school but gets a busy signal. Then she uses her iPhone to log into the school’s website. It’s confusing, but she finds a link for her counselor’s email and sends a short message asking for help. A few days later, she misses a call. The voicemail is her school counselor telling her she has a schedule for her and needs to check her email.<br> <br> <br> <br> Jenny checks her email. She sees she has been assigned six virtual classes. But she has more questions than answers. When should she login each day? How much time should she spend on each subject? Who will monitor her classes and follow-up with her? Will these be her same teachers once her school reopens?<br> <br> <br> <br> She is still working her part-time job, so she puts off figuring it out till the first day of school is scheduled. That morning, she wakes up late and logs in. She checks her email and sees she has several emails from teachers with a variety of messages and instructions. She feels overwhelmed. So she logs back into her virtual schedule and clicks on her first class, Algebra II, with Mr. Samuels. She doesn’t recognize the name. Maybe he’s one of the new teachers. <br> <br> <br> <br> She sees the class has both online lessons and links to live virtual sessions with Mr. Samuels. She has already missed his first live session. She’s flush with frustration. How is she supposed to figure out how to wade through the different classes, assignments and virtual meetings?<br> <br> <br> <br> By this time, she has texted several friends. They are as confused as she is. One of them tells her she received a sample daily schedule from another teacher and will share a screen shot with her. Jenny is frustrated and hoping the rest of her first day of school is not this confusing.<br> <br> <br> <br> Keeping students front-and-center<br> <br> <br> <br> As impossible as this year may seem with the choices involved in distant learning, it is important to keep in mind who is at the end of all the preparation: students. You have students returning to school from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences. Some of them will have supportive guardians. Others won’t. Of course, as principals you also serve teachers, staff and parents with more questions and concerns than you may have answers for at present. How can you be ready for all of them?<br> <br> <br> <br> Questions every student is asking on the first day<br> <br> <br> <br> How you prepare for students on their first day of school can either help or hurt their experiences for the rest of the school year. Since many schools are attempting hybrid learning approaches for the first time, give yourself grace in knowing you won’t do it perfectly. But keep some enduring lessons in mind. Harry Wong, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/First-Days-School-Effective-Teacher/dp/0976423383/ref=asc_df_0976423383/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312154648235&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8144753770294828450&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026521&hvtargid=pla-465630256704&psc=1">The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher</a>, reminds us of seven questions every student asks about his or her teachers:<br> <br> <br> <br> 1. Am I in the right room?<br> <br> <br> <br> 2. Where am I supposed to sit?<br> <br> <br> <br> 3. Who is the teacher as a person?<br> <br> <br> <br> 4.
