Even though I haven’t worked in schools for a while, I still get a frisson every fall. This is the time when there’s less daylight, stores are packed with school supplies right near the door, summer flowers are fading, and people join camps of pro- or anti-pumpkin spice.

This time always gets to me. 

I was a teacher/technology director for schools and spent each summer with my team preparing technology for the school start. There was a clear deadline to meet: the first day of school.

But this year is completely different.

The start of the school year might mean students going to physical school, but maybe not.

The first day of school could be spent in a classroom with a teacher and other students, but it might not be so.

Instead, the first day of school could involve teachers emailing or messaging their students one-by-one with an initial introduction and lesson. 

On the first day, there might be students trying out their IDs and passwords for the school LMS.

Some parents might have shifted their work and home lives to support having their children learn from home. They’d been exposed to remote emergency learning in March under the worst of situations – a pandemic that closed schools everywhere. 

It will be such a different first day of school.

But what if we thought of this school year as a recalibration. What if we faced this unusual time with a spirit of change and innovation. What if students and parents alike accepted this time as completely extraordinary – and rife with possibilities.

Many teachers are rejuvenating their instruction through synchronous and asynchronous learning.

Many school leaders and teachers are exploring mastery-based assessment, project-based learning, and experiential learning.

It’s like the start of no other school year. 

(My book “Like No Other School Year: 2020, COVID-19 and the Growth of Online Learning” will be published this fall.)