Summer has arrived: Is it too early to start thinking about the next school year? Of course it’s never too early, but we encourage you to take a nice, well-deserved break first! Then, when you’re ready, come back to this checklist and use it to help you prepare for next fall. Your technology is there to make your life easier, so let’s put it to work!

Summer Checklist: Update Your Technology to Prepare for the Fall

(Want to download this so you can print & check off items as you go? Get it here!)

Clear Out the Old 

• Calendars: Remove expired or outdated events
• News: Remove irrelevant news stories from your homepage
• People: Take graduated seniors and their families off contact lists, & remove technology access for any faculty & staff members who have left
• Classes: Archive old Google Classrooms & remove them from Teacher Pages
• School store: Remove irrelevant items such as prom tickets or Class of 2023 T-shirts

Update your Website

• Summer events: Add information right on your homepage for summer-specific activities like summer school, summer daycare, or ACT testing dates
• Back-to-school information: Provide clear & easy updates for the information families need to prepare for the start of school (start dates, open houses, etc.)
• Supply lists: Add your digital supply lists to your website early so families can shop all summer
• New students: Add a clear link for new student registration information to your homepage or main menu navigation
• New staff members: Give them access to your school technology (email, website, app) & train them how to use it
• Google Classrooms: As teachers create new classrooms for the coming year, connect them to Teacher Pages on your website
• SIS updates: Make sure your SIS rolls over to the new school year & grade levels, and that the information syncs to your website when updates are made

Update your Mobile App

• Grade advancement: Invite students & families to opt in for updates from any new schools they’ll be attending in the fall, and invite new families to the district or school to register for your mobile app
• Groups: Organize groups & contact lists to prepare for the coming year (classes, sports teams, extracurricular activities, grade levels)
• Update links: Include supply lists, back-to-school forms, and updated calendar events for the coming year to your app navigation or menu

Update your Mass Messaging

• Contact lists: Sync your SIS for the coming year and include new information about updated grade levels, teacher assignments, and family changes
• Admins: Connect teachers & administrators on the back end so they’re ready to send messages in the fall
• Recurring events: Set up auto-notices for the upcoming year for recurring events like cafeteria payments or library fines

Update your School Store

• Fees: Add fall course & school fee listings per class or grade level
• Spirit: Include listings for school spirit wear to get new students & families excited to gear up
• Events: Prepare for fall event tickets like football games or the Homecoming dance
• Back-to-school: Connect registration forms to relevant fee payments on your website or school store

By dedicating time over the summer to prepare your technology, you can ensure a smoother start to the school year! 

Does your communication platform do all this, under just one login? If not, maybe it’s time to see what Edlio can do: