Before students engage deeply with content, we know from research that building relationships with our young people, whether they are five or eighteen matters. Learners need to experience school as a place where they are known, valued, and connected. They need to trust that their ideas matter, that mistakes are part of learning, and that the people around them will help them succeed. They need classrooms where learning is purposeful, relationships are strong, and everyone contributes to a community that works well together.
Engagement does not begin with a program, platform, or perfectly designed lesson. It begins with a learner thinking:
My teacher sees me.
I belong here.
My ideas matter.
The work we are doing has meaning.
I can be successful—and others will help me grow.
The first day of school offers an especially powerful opportunity to send those messages.
Five Teacher Moves to Engage Learners on the First Day
1. Welcome every learner personally
Stand at the door, make eye contact, use each student’s name, and communicate genuine warmth. A simple personal welcome tells students that their presence matters.
Consider asking one brief question as students enter: “What is something you are looking forward to this year?” or “What is one thing that helps you learn?” Their responses provide an immediate starting point for building relationships.
2. Make time for students to know one another
Students need meaningful connections with their classmates, not simply an icebreaker that asks them to share a random fact. Invite them to discover common interests, identify strengths they bring to a team, or talk about conditions that help a group work well together.
Ask students to complete a sentence such as:
- “A learning community works best when…”
- “One strength I bring to a group is…”
- “One way classmates can help me learn is…”
Use their responses to begin developing shared classroom commitments.
3. Learn something important about each student
The first day should help teachers discover more than student names. Invite learners to share what interests them, what they care about, what they already know how to do, and what they hope to learn.
Ask questions that communicate curiosity rather than judgment:
- What are you good at outside of school?
- When do you feel most successful as a learner?
- What is something you hope your teacher understands about you?
Their answers are valuable information for designing learning experiences that connect to students’ identities, interests, strengths, and aspirations.
4. Engage students in real learning right away
Students should leave the first day having experienced the kind of learning community they will be part of throughout the year. Give them something interesting to notice, question, discuss, create, investigate, or solve together.
A short collaborative challenge can reveal an important classroom message: learning here will involve thinking, curiosity, conversation, creativity, and contribution. It also allows the teacher to observe how students approach problems, listen to one another, and build on ideas.
5. Close by reinforcing belonging and anticipation
End the day as intentionally as it began. Ask students to reflect briefly:
- What helped you feel connected today?
- What did you learn about someone else?
- What made you curious?
- What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
Then tell students something specific that you noticed and appreciated about the class. Let them know that you are glad they are there and that you look forward to the learning you will do together.
Learn and Grow with VaSCL
VaSCL’s 2026–27 professional-learning opportunities are designed to help educators strengthen teaching, deepen learning, and build school communities in which both students and adults thrive.
This year’s offerings include:
- Level UP Your Teaching Game: 8 Math Practices that Build Strong Teaching and Learning, a virtual series for educators supporting mathematics in grades 6–12.
- Designing for Student Engagement in Science, a virtual series for science teachers in grades 3–12.
- From Read Alouds to Rich Math Tasks: Using Children’s Literature to Problem Solve and Develop Reading Comprehension, an on-site workshop connecting early literacy, mathematical thinking, and rich problem-solving.
- Understanding and Responding to the Impact of Trauma on Youth, which includes an on-site workshop and virtual follow-up sessions to help educators and student-support professionals better understand and respond to the needs of young people.
- Additional learning will focus this year on Planning with Intention: the Learning Cycle, Unleashing Student Potential. Using Data to Drive Real Learning cohort, Strengthening Instructional Coaching Practices cohort, Together in Partnership: Family Engagement,
- More to come on a webinar series by superintendents and senior leaders focusing on creating enduring change from their perspectives on work they’ve led and challenges they’ve overcome to build sustainable change.
Visit the VaSCL 2026–27 Professional Learning Workshops page to explore the full schedule and registration information.
Welcome back to the 2026–27 school year. Let’s make it a year in which learners do more than attend school. Let’s create schools where they want to learn, where they thrive, and where they build communities capable of accomplishing meaningful work together.