As much as you might want to toss all your materials in a box and sprint out the door on the last day of school, consider doing your future self a favor by strategically preparing for September in June, thoughtfully packing up your classroom and finding ways to continue to build your skills over the summer.

UFT Teacher Center field liaisons weighed in on the steps you can take now so you can start the new school year with as little stress as possible.

Gather materials for the first week of school. Make copies of September assessments in June so you’re ready to go when the students arrive, says Emmeline Roopchand. “Draft your introduction letter to parents and families and prep ‘getting to know you’ activities and community building games.”

Margentina Velentzas suggests starting a digital or paper “September” folder with your welcome letter, syllabus/scope and sequence, and first unit plan as well as lesson plans for the first week. If a tentative class list is available, special education teachers can start reviewing their new students’ IEPs, and all teachers can start collecting data on other students.

Finally, consider getting your bulletin board ready early so you can focus on instruction when the new school year begins. “Having bulletin boards prepped and covered can save time and reduce anxiety when walking through your door in September,” says Christine Hanley.

Pack up thoughtfully. When preparing to leave at the end of the school year, be sure to declutter and discard unnecessary classroom materials, says Hanley.

And then give some thought to how you store your materials. Consider what your classroom routines will be in September and what organizational materials, such as student portfolio bins, binders or materials for workstations, you will need to have handy immediately. Make these boxes as accessible as possible, so you’ll unpack first what you need first.

And then clearly label the boxes in your storage area. “When September rolls around, you’ll know what’s where and you won’t waste any precious time,” says Velentzas.

Devote a little time to professional learning over the summer. Teachers need the summer to recuperate, but even just exploring new social media accounts will keep you engaged, says Tiffany Jefferson. She recommends finding an “ed influencer with positive vibes” like @raventhesciencemaven on Instagram.

Jefferson also suggests checking out teacher-created blogs or podcasts like the Cult of Pedagogy, which covers topics ranging from annotating text to recovering after crying in front of your students, or the website Facing History & Ourselves (www.facinghistory.org), which offers teaching resources for tackling topics from the Holocaust to current events.

TED-Ed videos on new concepts related to your subject areas are also an easy, low-stress way to keep a hand in over the summer. Also, if you enjoy technology and ed-tech platforms, consider broadening your skills with tools such as Canva for graphics, the AI education platform Magic School (www.MagicSchool.ai), and Padlet for virtual post boards.

All teachers know the first priority this summer is to rest and recharge so you can come back fully energized for your students. But if you can, take some time in June to set yourself up for next school year.