Before the First Bell Rings: 7 Proactive Ways to Prepare Students for a Successful School Year
Every school wants students to have a successful first day.
Teachers decorate classrooms. Administrators finalize schedules. Hallways are waxed. Bulletin boards are filled. Families pack backpacks with brand-new supplies.
But one important question is often overlooked.
Are we preparing our students—or just preparing our classrooms?
As a school-based occupational therapist, I've learned that the most effective supports aren't always the ones we implement after challenges arise.
They're the ones we intentionally build before the first bell rings.
When schools proactively create environments that support movement, self-regulation, executive functioning, and belonging, students are more prepared to learn from the very first day.
Whether you're a principal, teacher, counselor, occupational therapist, or parish leader, here are seven simple ways to prepare students for a successful school year.
And at the end of this article, I'll share a free Hallway Readiness Checklist you can use with your staff before students arrive.
1. Build Movement Into the School Day
Children were never meant to sit still for six or seven hours each day.
Purposeful movement helps students:
Improve attention
Increase focus
Support self-regulation
Prepare their brains for learning
Reduce stress and anxiety
Improve transitions
Movement isn't a reward after learning.
Movement helps make learning possible.
2. Turn Your Hallways Into Learning Spaces
Think about how many times students walk your hallways every day.
Now ask yourself...
What are those hallways teaching?
Hallways don't have to be empty spaces between classrooms.
They can reinforce:
Responsibility
Executive functioning
School values
Faith formation
Every transition becomes another opportunity to teach.
3. Be Proactive Instead of Reactive
One of the biggest shifts I've seen during my years as a school-based OT is moving from:
"What do we do when a student becomes dysregulated?"
to
"How do we help students stay regulated before challenges occur?"
Many students don't need intensive interventions.
They simply need intentional opportunities to move, reset, and regulate throughout the day.
Proactive supports often prevent problems before they begin.
4. Design Supports That Benefit Every Student
One misconception about sensory supports is that they're only for students receiving special education services.
In reality...
Every child has moments when they need:
A brain break
Encouragement
Movement
A chance to reset
Support during transitions
The best school-wide supports help everyone while naturally providing additional support for students who need it most.
That's what inclusion looks like.
5. Reinforce Your School's Mission Every Day
Students may hear your school's mission statement once each morning.
But what if they experienced it dozens of times throughout the day?
Imagine hallways reminding students to be:
Brave
Respectful
Honest
Patient
Helpful
Or, in Catholic schools...
Imagine students being reminded that they are:
Forgiven
Never alone
Called to serve others
Your physical environment can reinforce your mission long after announcements end.
6. Strengthen Executive Functioning Through Everyday Experiences
Executive functioning isn't taught during one lesson.
It's developed over hundreds of small moments.
Students strengthen these skills when they:
Follow multi-step directions
Make choices
Solve problems
Sequence movements
Practice self-control
Remember routines
Movement-based activities naturally encourage many of these skills while keeping students engaged.
7. Remember That Small Changes Can Have a Big Impact
Schools don't need complete renovations to create meaningful change.
Sometimes it begins with:
One hallway.
One calming corner.
One movement station.
One intentional routine.
Small environmental changes can positively influence hundreds of students over the course of a school year.
The goal isn't perfection.
The goal is creating an environment where students feel successful before challenges arise.
Is Your School Ready Before the First Bell Rings?
As you're preparing classrooms, lesson plans, and schedules, don't forget one of the most overlooked learning environments in your building...
Your hallways.
To help schools prepare for a successful year, I've created a Hallway Readiness Checklist specifically for principals, teachers, occupational therapists, counselors, and school leaders.
Inside, you'll evaluate questions like:
✔ Do students have opportunities for purposeful movement throughout the day?
✔ Do your hallways reinforce your school's mission, values, or faith?
✔ Are students given proactive opportunities to regulate before becoming overwhelmed?
✔ Does your environment support executive functioning and successful transitions?
✔ Are your hallways working as hard as your classrooms?
It's a simple resource that helps schools think intentionally about how their physical environment supports learning before the first bell ever rings.
🎁 Get Your FREE Hallway Readiness Checklist
I'd love to send you a complimentary copy!
Simply email me at hello@sacredstepssensorypaths.com
with the subject line:
Hallway Checklist
I'll send you:
✅ The Hallway Readiness Checklist
✅ An OT guide explaining how to interpret your results
✅ Information about a complimentary hallway mock-up customized for your school if you'd like to explore additional ideas.
No obligation.
Just a practical resource designed to help schools start the year strong.
Try This Tomorrow
Before students return, take ten minutes and walk through your school as if you were seeing it for the first time.
Ask yourself:
What are students learning before they even reach the classroom?
Where do students have opportunities to move?
Where are they reminded they're capable?
Where are they encouraged to regulate before becoming overwhelmed?
Does our environment reflect the mission and values we want students to experience every day?
Sometimes the biggest opportunities aren't found inside classrooms.
They're found in the spaces between them.
Want to Learn More?
At Sacred Steps Sensory Paths, we believe every hallway has the potential to become a place where students grow academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.
Designed by a practicing school-based occupational therapist, our movement-based resources help schools transform ordinary spaces into opportunities for learning, self-regulation, executive functioning, faith formation, and positive school culture.
Whether you're looking for a complete sensory path, a calming space, portable movement activities, or simply ideas for making your school more proactive, we'd love to help.
Contact us today for a complimentary hallway mock-up and discover how your hallways can begin teaching before the first bell ever rings.
About the Author
Trisha Klausing, MOT, OTR/L is a practicing school-based occupational therapist with more than a decade of experience helping children succeed in educational settings. She is the founder of Sacred Steps Sensory Paths, where she designs movement-based resources that support executive functioning, self-regulation, faith formation, and inclusive learning environments. Sacred Steps products are currently being used in schools, parishes, therapy clinics, and community spaces across 27 states and Canada.