How to End the School Year Strong
I know this time of year is incredibly busy. There’s testing, prom, field trips, budget decisions, graduation, and the list goes on. As mental health professionals, the way you wrap up your year can look different than other professionals in the school system.
Feel free to take the steps below to help you get organized and focused so you can close out the year feeling confident and ready to take on the well-deserved summer break that’s ahead of you!
Tips for Ending the School Year Strong
Set a deadline for when you will stop meeting with students for one-on-one services.
Bearing all of the events, deadlines, and meetings ahead, take some time to set a hard stop for when you will host your final sessions with students to ensure you have time to close out files and provide resources as they move into the summer.
Complete an audit of your student files.
Our files look different from teachers’ or the school office admin. We are mental health professionals, and the information we collect is confidential and should be protected. So what goes in a student’s file, you ask? It can be a whole host of things depending on the work you’re doing. Some items you want to make sure you have are:
Consent Document
Treatment Plan
Student Goals Sheet
Progress Notes
Termination Notes
Release of Information
Group Notes
Supplemental documentation provided to you by the student’s guardian or anything that was captured in session with students
Make a plan for where your student files will be stored over the summer break.
This can get tricky because your office might move next year. Typical maintenance tasks may mean that offices get repainted or furniture gets replaced in the summertime. If you plan to leave a filing cabinet in your office or a desk or any boxes that potentially host protected student information, be sure that it’s locked, secured, and labeled with your name on it. You have a license to protect and you don’t want any surprises when you return next year.
And of course, I have to say this: paper files are very unsafe and unsecure. If you are still operating under a paper system and Google spreadsheets, talk to your direct supervisor or admin about moving over to a secure and paperless system like SocialNote. We’re here to support you and your license! Learn more about ways to advocate for you and your team here.
Prep and send out end-of-year surveys.
I think it’s always helpful to get data and feedback at the end of the year. In the past, I’ve sent surveys to teachers, staff, students, and family members. I usually will send the survey via email to parents and/or send them with students in an envelope to get completed and returned to me. I would usually incentivize a student with a treat if they are able to return it to me by the end of the school year.
This information can truly help inform the work you do the next school year, where you focus your efforts, and ways you can be of service to your students and community. Feedback is gold! Be sure you’re collecting it consistently.
Tie up loose ends.
Make those closeout calls to family members and community members. Be sure to let parents know when you’re ending sessions with students, ask any questions you need answered, update contact information for parents and legal guardians, and make sure they know how to reach you should any needs arise.
Provide resources to families and students for how they can receive support over the summer.
Things happen all the time, whether students are in school or not. It’s important that you provide resources, hotlines, and emergency information in case something were to happen with a student or family member while school is out. It’s important that they know how to seek help if needed.
Clean out your office.
Purge what you don’t think you’ll need for next year, take home what you’ll want to have over the summer, and safely store any valuables that you don’t want to get damaged while you’re out.
Set your out-of-office message.
Be sure to include any important contact information in your out-of-office message should someone try to reach you.
Get clear with your school administrators about what the boundaries are in terms of your availability over the summer.
Ideally, you are getting a true break. I’m of the opinion that if school is out, then you’re out. And I also realize that this is not always the case. Get clarity with your admin team, understand expectations, and set strong boundaries. You deserve a break.
Wrap up all your documentation!
Update student treatment goals and progress notes.
Write termination notes.
Document plans for students actively on your caseload while on summer break.
Say your goodbyes (for now).
And then do what you can to truly unplug! Whew! Another year is in the books, and you made it.
I wish you the best of luck with your end-of-year wrapup, and I hope these tips help things you more smoothly!