I remember an opening day early in my teaching career that looked great on paper but felt very different in practice. We were in the auditorium by 8:00, and the district had clearly worked hard—polished slides, a welcome from leadership, updates, even a motivational video. At first, it felt fine. But as the morning stretched on, the energy in the room started to fade. Teachers shifted in their seats, glanced at watches, and quietly tried to track what was still ahead. About 45 minutes in, I remember thinking, I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing right now other than sitting here. A colleague leaned over and whispered, “I already forgot the first initiative,” and we both laughed—not because it was funny, but because it was true. That day stuck with me, not because anything went wrong, but because it revealed a simple truth: when we design for an “average” staff experience, we often design for no one in particular.
This story is not uncommon. In fact, it is probably more common than not, and could be the story for the vast majority of the 20 years of opening days through which I have sat. Simply put, opening day(s) are something many staff dread. They are often filled with long stretches of sit-and-get, an overwhelming amount of information, and not nearly enough time for staff to actually do or apply anything meaningful.
Of course, there is no one “right way” to plan opening day(s), but there is a framework that can help anyone involved in planning these days create a more meaningful experience for all staff: Universal Design for Learning. When we plan with firm goals and flexible means in mind, staff feel valued and respected, and the time becomes more intentional and useful.
Here are five tips to help YOU universally design your opening day(s).
When goals are clear, autonomy within the day can increase in meaningful and authentic ways. Often, staff receive a schedule for the day(s), which is a great start. However, without clear goals for each component of the day, staff are left uncertain about the purpose of activities and what success looks like once they are completed.
For example, many opening-day agendas include items such as “Superintendent Welcome” or “District Vision Presentation.” While these titles communicate what is happening, they do not communicate the purpose or intended outcomes of the experience. Instead, leaders can make expectations more meaningful and transparent by communicating goals such as:
This level of clarity helps staff understand not only what they are doing during the session, but why it matters and how it connects to the larger direction of the organization.
Communicating clear goals and expectations not only supports staff engagement, but it also models the kind of clarity we expect in strong instruction.
All too often, when we work with districts on opening days, the audience is simply defined as “all staff.” While inclusive in intention, staff needs vary widely across a school district. Within a single district gathering, there may be first-year teachers, veteran educators, paraeducators, counselors, nurses, custodians, related service providers, administrators, and specialists, all bringing different experiences, responsibilities, stressors, and perspectives into the room. Even within the same role, variability is significant.
This does not mean districts should eliminate shared experiences. In fact, a strong all-staff welcome can be a powerful way to build connection, communicate vision, celebrate successes, and establish a shared sense of purpose. However, those large-group experiences are often most effective when they are concise (60 minutes is ideal, but not more than 90 minutes), purposeful, and balanced with opportunities for differentiated learning and collaboration.
The remainder of the day should be intentionally designed around the diverse needs of the adults in the room rather than a single, unified audience. This might include differentiated breakout sessions, role-specific collaboration time, opportunities for choice, flexible pacing, classroom-based planning, or cross-functional problem-solving aligned to district priorities.
Almost always, a new year brings new “stuff.” From new gradebooks or LMS platforms, to changes in disciplinary policies, grading procedures, or operational updates tied to budgets—there is always something new to learn.
Too often, this becomes a sit-and-get session in an auditorium following a superintendent’s welcome, with administrators taking turns presenting slide decks of updates. As leaders, we would not call this “good teaching” for students—yet it remains common practice for staff learning.
However, there are times when there are certain critical new “things” that must be introduced to all staff, so, when we do, we must think deeply about how we can universally design this part of the opening day(s).
In these situations, leaders should model UDL by designing informational updates with flexibility and access in mind. Here is one example using an LMS rollout:
Goal: All staff will learn how to use the new LMS.
Note: If there is more than one opening day, timing expectations can be flexible. For example, staff may be given structured time during one of the days, with the expectation that they are proficient with the LMS by a specific date. This allows staff to choose when and how they engage while maintaining clear expectations.
This kind of design removes barriers, respects variability, and increases access for staff in meaningful ways.
When designing learning for adults, leaders often assume attention spans are longer than they actually are. The reality is that, regardless of age, attention spans for deep learning are short and actually decreasing.
Yet opening days are often structured as extended sit-and-get sessions lasting hours at a time.
Instead, design for frequent opportunities to process, reflect, and discuss. After short segments of input, staff need time to make meaning, not just receive information. At Novak Education, we aim for a processing break every 10-15 minutes, and yes, this applies even to opening keynotes/motivational talks. The brain simply needs time to process, so we must take that into consideration.
Equally important is physical space. We have consistently heard from thousands of educators across many years that auditoriums are among the least preferred environments for learning. Spaces with tables that allow for collaboration are consistently rated as more effective.
However, we recognize that space constraints exist in many districts and that the only place in which the whole staff can gather is the auditorium. In these situations, consider the following factors/options:
One area that often goes overlooked when designing these days is the voice of the people for whom these days are designed. Often, planning for these days occurs over the summer months by 12-month administrators, so it is important to consider ways in which educator voice outside the administration can be used and valued in the design of the days. Administrators should think about:
While it is often faster to drive this work forward with a small team of administrators, seeking staff voice and empowering them to be part of the design can go a long way towards improved quality and morale.
Opening days will likely never be perfect—but few lessons ever are.
However, when we design them through the lens of Universal Design for Learning, we do more than deliver information. We model the very practices we hope to see in classrooms.
We communicate, through our design choices, that:
And really, what more can we ask for from the start of a school year? When we design opening days in this way, we are not just delivering information - we are modeling inclusive, evidence-based practices and designing the culture and learning experience for ALL.
Looking for support planning or facilitating your opening day? We provide leadership consulting (virtually and in person), keynotes, and workshops. Reach out to learn more.