A self-evaluation tool for school administrators preparing to open school in the fall. Categories include curriculum, materials, assessment, personalized learning, behavior, professional development, technology, facilitates, HR, Marketing. Designed for those opening new schools or making sweeping changes to existing school programs. Completing this checklist will help get administrative teams on the same page about who will do what and when.

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COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL READINESS CHECKLIST
ADMINSTER IN SPRING TO GUIDE PREPARATION FOR THE COMING YEAR
Directions: Assign each q below 1 point if you have not started the task, 2 points if the task is in progress, or 3 points if you have
completed the task.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
CURRICULUM
qCreate a curriculum summary document
§ What is being used to teach each subject at each level?
§ What additional resources are available to planning and instruction?
qCreate initial drafts of curriculum scope and sequence
§ Year plan communicating the pace and content for teaching Math, ELA, Science, and Social Studies (including
standards, units of instruction, and assessments)
§ Who is responsible?
§ By what date?
§ Who is overseeing the completion, review, and storage of scope and sequence documents?
§ How important teacher fidelity to scope and sequence and who is monitoring?
qDevise plan for acquisition of new curriculum
§ finalize decisions
§ place order
§ ensure on time delivery
qDevise plan for distribution of digital and physical curriculum materials
§ Who is responsible?
§ When will teachers gain access to curriculum?
qDevise plan for development of in-house curriculum materials
§ What is being developed?
§ Who is developing curriculum?
§ What is the process for reviewing & revising new materials?
§ What is the timeline for development, review, and implementation of new materials?
§ Who is overseeing the completion, collection, storage, and sharing of new materials?
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
q Create an inventory of available resources
§ List all materials
-content specific consumables (FOSS kits, math manipulatives, classroom libraries, etc.)
-general consumables (paper, pencils, notebooks, white board markers, tape, etc.)
-tools (pencil sharpeners, scissors, paper cutter, staplers, etc.)
-teacher reference materials
§ For each determine whether these are allocated to a specific classroom or shared resources
qDevelop and implement plan for storage and access of shared materials and consumables
qDevelop plan for ongoing inventory and restocking of consumables. Who is responsible? How often? How is this tracked?
qDevelop plan for the acquisition of new materials
§ What do needs to be ordered over the summer?
§ What needs to be continuously restocked?
§ What is the correct way for a teacher to request and acquire additional materials?
§ Do teachers have any discretionary funds for materials (ex. incentives, wall hangings, unexpected supplies, etc.)?

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PERSONALIZED LEARNING & ASSESSMENT
qArticulate guidelines/expectations school wide about assessment practices
§ Describe school norms related to the use of formative and summative assessment results to guide instruction
§ Communicate expectations for teachers about monitoring progress
§ Communicating progress to families- frequency and communication channels (formal and informal)
qCreate a list of assessments that will be used in the coming year and those areas where new assessments will be
developed in house (ex. new rubrics for evaluating student work). For each, describe:
§ Who will be the team leader for this type of assessment
§ Team who will work on development and revision of new assessment, where applicable
§ Timeframe for training, administration, and reporting
§ Who will have access to assessment results and how they will be used?
qDefine personalized learning plans
§ Develop forms and templates for student tracking and reporting
§ Outline expectations including who will create these, how often they will be updated, how they will be used, etc.
qEstablish system for storing, analyzing, and reporting assessment results
§ Develop or revise system components- digital tools, data walls, student portfolios
§ How will teachers be held accountable for administering and using assessments? By who?
qDevelop plan for distributing responsibility- know who will be the lead on…
§ coordinating assessments (ex. MAP set-up and support)?
§ training teachers to administer assessments?
§ maintaining student data and assessment system components (ex. portfolios, learning plans, MAP results, etc.)?
§ training teachers to use assessment results (ex. Workshops, coaching, technical support, etc.)?
qDescribe systems for formal evaluation
§ Expectations- how are grades used at Burkard? what are they based on?
§ Tools for tracking progress- digital grade book vs. physical grade book
§ Report cards- frequency, type (standards based, narratives, skills based, traditional)
BEHAVIOR SUPPORT AND CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
qArticulate school values/norms/guiding principles
§ Draft and revise statement of these principles in student friendly language
§ Develop and implement plan for making these visible (ex. posters in every classroom and halls, skits, etc.)
qArticulate school wide behavior support system
§ Develop or revise common set of rewards and consequences
§ Develop or revise documents and tools associated with system
§ Articulate the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders within the system including the role of the teacher vs.
behavior specialist, administration, students, and parents)
§ Determine plan for communicating system to students, staff, and parents
qDetermine whether to continue or begin various school wide practices (ex. daily announcements, morning song,
assemblies, student of the month, fund raisers, competitions, school store, etc.). Identify a team leader for each practice.
SCHEDULING
q Draft classroom schedules (revise with teachers in the summer, tweak after working with students in fall)
q Finalize school calendar
q Draft a schedule for lock down drills and earth quake drills
q Draft a supervision schedule-who is responsible for monitoring students before school, lunch, recess, dismissal?
q Draft professional development schedule
q Draft a timetable for benchmark assessments

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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
qIdentify 1-3 focus areas for professional development for the coming year
qDraft a detailed schedule of staff development occurring before students arrive including
§ New hire training (ex. salary & benefits, school policies, teacher and student expectations, introduction to
curriculum, procedures for accessing/requesting materials & resources, etc.)
§ Team building (ex. Dinner & drinks, ice breakers, trust exercises, etc.)
§ New knowledge and skills (ex. Summer reading, introduction to mathematical practices, etc.)
§ Common planning time
§ Flexible time (for classroom set-up, lesson planning, etc.)
qDraft a flexible schedule of professional development that will happen during staff meetings and teacher work days
§ How often will this happen?
§ Determine the focus by quarter or semester.
§ Brainstorm potential topics, activities, and resources for each quarter. Consider which staff members could lead
different segments.
§ Continuously refine and update plan so you have events confirmed at least 4-6 weeks prior to date
qDetermine budget for off-site teacher professional development (if any)
§ If there is budget, draft a prioritized list of opportunities for teachers (ex. BTSA, curriculum workshops, professional
conferences, etc.)
SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY
STATE OF TECHNOLOGY
qArticulate school vision for using of technology
§ including goals for coming year and 3-5-year goals
§ norms and expectations about technology use in and out of the classroom
§ student owned technology policies (when can a student bring/use phones, tablets, gaming devices, etc).
qInventory all technology currently in use
§ Hardware, software, mobile applications, digital resources
§ For hardware- state the condition
§ For software and apps- note the cost, license structure, and expiration date if there is one
qDetermine the plan for hardware and software allocation for classrooms, front office, and staff members
§ Consider what devices will go into each location, which will be shared, and which will move with staff
§ List any purchases that will be needed to achieve plan and identify a timeline and priority list for making purchases
ESSENTIAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR SCHOOL OPERATIONS
qIdentify maintenance and purchasing needs for your school-wide technology infrastructure
§ Be sure to consider:
- Local Area Network installation
- Network connectivity
- Servers
- Cloud Storage
- Wireless Network plan and installation
- Tools for monitoring system components and providing analytics on efficiency and quality of performance
§ Identify how you will improve infrastructure to meet your long-term goals and craft a timeline and priority list for
improvements
qArticulate the plan for managing student information, adopt student information system (SIS) or evaluating effectiveness of
current SIS.
§ In managing student information, consider-
- Taking attendance and storing attendance data

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- Storing enrollment information
- Managing student records
- Tracking behaviors records
- Aggregating assessment data
- Systemizing grading and evaluation
§ Determine who will set-up and maintain SIS for coming year
§ Determine who will train SIS uses and provide ongoing support for SIS use
§ Determine plan for continuous evaluation and improvement of SIS use by staff
qSet-up school email system and/or onboard new staff members.
qIdentify maintenance and purchasing needs printers and copiers.
§ Identify and prioritize purchasing needs.
§ Determine process for connecting these to school networks.
MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT & SECURITY
qDevelop or revise plan for technology trouble shooting and support. Craft an ordered list for places teachers can find help
with technology including potential on site resources (more experienced colleagues, online help forums/internet queries,
etc.), support from vendors, outside support
qDevelop or revise plan and budget for technology maintenance (ex. school rules for handling technology, reporting
structures for broken/damaged hardware, plan for repairing and replacing technology, handling software updates and
firmware installation, etc.)
qDevelop or revise plan for technology security
§ physical security (locking carts, locking cabinets, cable locks, etc.)
§ digital security (blocked sites, protection of student data, protection against spam and hacking)
FACILITIES
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
qDevelop or revise plan for custodial work and facility maintenance. Consider:
§ Recycling Norms
§ Trash Removal- by whom, how often, to where
§ Cleaning- specific tasks and frequency of each
§ Teacher & student responsibilities
qDevelop or revise plan for lunch distribution. Consider:
§ Lunch vendors- who will you choose and who will manage the vendor
§ Equipment for storing and reheating
§ Serving lunch- who will prepare and serve food?
qDevelop or revise plan for administrative support. Consider the roles and responsibilities of the school secretary.
SECURITY
qDevelop or revise plan for school security. Consider:
§ Alarm system
qDevelop or revise emergency plans. Create a schedule to practice emergency scenarios with students.
§ Earthquake drills
§ Lock-downs
qDetermine who has access to what spaces and how is this managed. Consider:
§ Classroom and building access
§ Keys- school, classroom, adult bathroom, supply room
§ Leveled alarm codes
qDevelop or revise guidelines for accessing classrooms during non-school hours

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FURNITURE
qInventory existing furniture
qIdentify maintenance and purchasing needs for classrooms, lunchroom, front office, auditorium, conference room,
teacher’s room, equipment storage, office storage, classroom storage, lockers/cubbies, etc.
§ Make purchases
§ Determine a timeline and identify who is responsible for distributing and organizing new and existing furniture.
§ Determine a timeline and identify who is responsible for any furniture maintenance projects
qDevelop or revise system for requesting furniture or facility maintenance during the school year.
EQUIPTMENT
qInventory existing equipment-
qIdentify and prioritize purchasing needs for equipment used on playground, for lunch preparation, during PE, music, etc.
§ Make purchases
§ Determine a timeline for making new equipment available.
§ Identify who is responsible for distributing and organizing new equipment.
qDevelop or revise system for requesting new equipment during the school year.
MARKETING, PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND COMMUNICATIONS
qDevelop or revise enrollment plan- consider the way that current and future enrollment effects the following in the coming
year:
§ budget
§ hiring needs
§ recruitment practices
qDevelop or revise plan for website maintenance and expansion
qDevelop or revise plan for parent involvement
qBrainstorm a list of potential special events and programs for the coming year. Select those you would most like to pursue
and organize them according to the time of year, alignment with school priorities, and student interests
qFinalize a plan for parent communication plan including the frequency, formats, norms, and who is responsible
HUMAN RESOURCES
qDevelop and execute a staffing plan
§ Be sure to account for teachers, administration, behavior specialist, psychologist, outside support, board of directors,
custodial, lunch room, supervision staff, and human resources
qCreate or revise document that describes the roles and responsibilities associated with each position
qComplete faculty and staff recruitment and hiring
qDraft or revise employment policies and "handbook". Determine a plan for disseminating content. Consider including:
§ System for planned and unplanned absence- who to call, how to get coverage, leaving work, paperwork, amount of
sick leave, etc.
§ System for teaching evaluations- frequency and format
§ Performance expectations (ex. being on time, taking attendance, writing lesson plans, parent communication, etc)
§ Other- sexual harassment, dress code, maternity leave, etc.
qDraft or revise school policies and “handbook" for students and parents. Determine a plan for disseminating content.
Consider including:
§ School policy information (ex. attendance, dress code, homework, technology use, etc.)
§ Behavioral expectations and details about the behavior system
§ Parent responsibilities

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qDevise or refine systems in place for
§ Employee record keeping
§ Salary and benefits administration
§ State retirement reporting
§ Government compliance and reporting
BUDGET AND FINANCE
q Draft or revise operating budget for coming year
q Establish or evaluate school accounting system
q Establish or evaluate system for organizing and reporting financial statements and records
q Establish or evaluate system for handing planned and unplanned purchases
q Draft or revise plan for risk management and insurance
q Identify potential grants and develop a timeline and plan for completing grant applications
q Determine the plan for fundraising efforts in the coming year
REFLECTION
1) What new insights have you gained by completing this checklist?
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2) In what areas are you most prepared for the coming school year?
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3) In what areas do you need the most work?
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4) What are some urgent next steps you would like to pursue as a result of completing this checklist?
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