Are you drowning in paperwork?

If you are a first year teacher , at this  point in the school year  you may already be overwhelmed and exasperated  by the volume of paperwork that crosses your desk. You may also have come to the realization that it is extremely important to be organized. Paperwork management may have been something that was not taught or even discussed in your teacher preparation program in college. So now you need to take the initiative to unclutter your desk, create files and complete your fall cleaning.

You may wish to separate your work into these categories.

1)      Student Work. It is important to return papers to students in a timely manner. They need to receive feedback as soon as possible to learn how they performed on assignments and tests.  If you are saving certain papers for parent conferences or student work samples for their folders, etc. be sure to file them in a manner that will be easily retrievable.

2)      Professional Development. This may be a file of articles from professional magazines or notes from workshops and conferences. If you work in a state has a professional development requirement for promotions or pay increments, be sure to keep an accurate account of hours completed or keep transcripts from any graduate courses you may have taken.

3)      Committees. As a new teacher (or even a veteran educator) you will be most likely be assigned to serve on several committees. You may have also volunteered to serve as a club sponsor or coach. It is important to keep accurate notes and records of these projects so that you can refer to them and create action plans for those items you need to address.

4)      Letters from parents or guardians. Be sure to keep these in a safe place should you need to refer to them or to follow up on parents requests. Accurate communication with parents is a crucial trait for any successful teacher.

5)      Teacher observations and evaluations.  These are very important documents. You will need to refer to them so it is important to have them readily available and secure.

I am sure that that I did not think of every category but at least this is a start. Be certain to secure personal student information files and IEPs of your special needs students. You should keep these documents in a locked filing cabinet. I hope that these suggestions help to clear your desk.

c. J. Margolis