Begin Well

How to Begin the First Month of School with

Purpose, Presence, and Possibility

Begin well. © 2025 forwardED LLC

There’s a power in new beginnings. Possibilities loom large. Blank walls brim with potential, and the arc of learning feels alive. But to begin well isn’t merely to open doors—it’s to cultivate conditions that make every person who enters those doors feel seen, safe, and significant. To teach well, teachers must feel well—and to learn well, students must be well too.

About six years ago, I conducted a study of wellness in six classrooms across three U.S. cities. In one group of classrooms, teachers were asked to leap straight into the curriculum—privileging Bloom before healing—what they teach over who they teach. For the other classrooms, teachers were trained to pause, to “purposely heal,” to center students’ well‑being—to privilege Maslow before Bloom—who they teach before what they teach. And the result? The classrooms that paused not only covered more materials, they also went deeper into the materials. Their students performed better—and, better yet, they felt better.

Maslow before Bloom: a simple process for beginning the school year well that has profound implications for the rest of the school year. When we start with people, learning follows. When we don’t, everything else falters. Put differently: no Maslow, no Bloom.

This idea is now affirmed by a growing body of research showing that when students’ basic needs for safety, connection, and well-being are met, they don’t just learn more—they learn deeper, longer, and better. We now know that the same holds true for teachers: when their basic needs are met, they teach more effectively. The human foundation is not a detour from rigor but the very condition of it. Maslow before Bloom is a reminder that learning is not delayed by care—it is made by it.

As we enter this new school year, these six (6) recommendations can be used as a guide to help teachers and students alike begin well:

1. Anchor Well-Being Early—for Teachers and Students Alike

The first days of school are not just logistical—they are spiritual. The way teachers feel when they walk into the building in August or September will have a lasting impact throughout the entire year. A recent study out of UNSW in Australia found that teachers’ well-being at the start of the term—and the strength of their early connections with students—predicts how well they sustain their energy and commitment over time. Teachers who began the year by investing in relationships not only avoided burnout, but they also remained more engaged and effective throughout the term.

The same is true for students. Research on school climate is unequivocal: young people thrive in environments where safety, fairness, and belonging are woven into the fabric of daily life. When classrooms feel relationally secure and emotionally attuned, students show better mental health, stronger academic outcomes, and fewer behavioral challenges. The benefits also extend to teachers, who report lower stress and a greater sense of purpose when the climate is positive.

This is why the first week cannot be treated as a warm-up lap before the “real” learning begins. Those opening days set the emotional architecture of the year. Community circles, shared rituals, co-created norms—these aren’t extra activities tacked on to curriculum time. They are the curriculum. They tell students: this is who we are, this is how we will be together, this is a place where you belong.

When teachers and students begin in wellness, they can sustain it. And when they anchor themselves in belonging, they can build everything else on top of it.

2. Embrace Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Transformative SEL

If the first week is about establishing safety, the first month is about cultivating skills to sustain it. Social-emotional learning (SEL) is sometimes dismissed as a “soft” add-on, but decades of research prove otherwise. A landmark meta-analysis of more than 200 SEL programs found that students who participated not only improved their social skills but also outperformed their peers academically by an average of 11 percentile points. When SEL is done well—and especially when approached through a transformative equity lens—it becomes the scaffolding for both rigorous learning and human development.

The first month offers an opportunity to seed these skills. Self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation can be woven into the very fabric of lessons. Teachers might invite students to reflect on what helps them focus, to share stories about perseverance, or to map out their own goals for the year. When done collectively, SEL creates a classroom ethos of care and accountability.

In this sense, SEL is not a distraction from learning but its amplifier. It ensures that every student feels equipped to manage themselves, relate to others, and persist when challenges arise. Or as one veteran teacher recently told me: “I just don’t want my students to pass my class and fail at life. I want them to learn how to be in the world.”

3. Build Belonging, Interrupt Inequities

Belonging is not just a feeling; it is an academic strategy. Students who feel invisible withdraw; those who feel seen lean in. Research across multiple contexts demonstrates that belonging correlates with persistence, motivation, and achievement. Conversely, exclusion—whether subtle or systemic—predicts disengagement and dropout.

The first month of school is the perfect time to interrupt those inequities before they calcify. Identity-affirming practices—such as student-led introductions, storytelling circles, or culturally responsive spotlighting—send a clear message: who you are matters here. Instead of relying on deficit-oriented icebreakers (“Tell us what you struggle with”), teachers can craft asset-based prompts (“Share a skill you bring to this class” or “Tell us about a time you felt or made someone feel welcome”).

The payoff is significant. Belonging begets confidence. Confidence begets persistence. And persistence begets achievement. A classroom that starts by affirming identity does more than foster safety—it cultivates excellence.

4. Mindfulness and Emotional Regulation—Teaching Well by Feeling Well

Learning is not just cognitive; it is physiological, too. The body not only keeps the score; it also holds a memory—almost everything we learn, the body keeps. Moreover, the nervous system needs calm to absorb and retain knowledge. That’s why practices like mindfulness, breathing exercises, or even a simple “moment of pause” have been shown to transform classrooms.

Another large-scale study in Australia found that when teachers integrated daily mindfulness, students showed greater focus, emotional resilience, and improved problem-solving skills. More strikingly, 90 percent of teachers reported an improvement not only in student behavior but in their own sense of well-being.

What this teaches us is profound: when we give students tools to regulate their emotions, we also equip ourselves to do the same. A classroom that breathes together becomes a classroom that thinks more clearly, listens more deeply, and feels more human.

So, in those first weeks, build in small rituals of regulation—a minute of silence, a group stretch, a check-in question like “What’s one word for how you’re arriving today?” These practices don’t take time away from learning. They add time to learning by refocusing it.

5. Establish Routines That Uphold Safety, Joy, and Agency

If belonging and regulation create the conditions, routines create the container. Routines are often underestimated, but they are the quiet architecture of freedom. They provide students with predictability, which lowers anxiety, and they offer teachers consistency, which preserves their energy.

Teachers who start the year by explicitly modeling transitions, materials management, and classroom signals set the stage for smoother learning later. But the most powerful routines are those that invite agency—students taking attendance, leading warm-ups, or setting up materials. These micro-moments of responsibility communicate trust.

Parents play a role, too. Research suggests that the first month of school is when habits around rest, emotional regulation, and family communication are most malleable. Teachers who invite families into routine-setting—whether through newsletters, conferences, or informal conversations—create alignment that pays dividends across the year.

In other words: structure is not about control, it is about care. And when routines are rooted in dignity, safety, and shared responsibility, they become the spine of joy.

6. Delight, Discover, Delight Again

Finally, amid all the structure, don’t forget delight. Joy is not ornamental to learning; it is catalytic. Neuroscience tells us that pleasure primes the brain for curiosity and retention. A joyful classroom is one where students take risks, where laughter lowers defenses, and where learning becomes play with a purpose.

This is why beginning well means curating moments of wonder. A “What If” day where students generate wild questions. A surprise celebration of small wins. A collaborative playlist that scores the rhythm of the room. These moments may seem light, but they carry heavy consequences: they keep students coming back, not just because they have to, but because they want to.

As writer and activist adrienne maree brown reminds us: “Feeling good is not frivolous. It is freedom.” Beginning with joy ensures that classrooms are not only places of rigor but also of liberation.

Table 1. In Practice: A Four-Week "Begin Well" Outline

Week	Focus	Actions
1	Belonging & Safety	Community circle, shared rituals, co‑create norms, mindfulness pause
2	SEL Foundations	Identity‑affirming prompts, emotion maps, daily check-ins
3	Agency & Routines	Student-led routines, family connection, independence, communication invitations
4	Joy & Inquiry	Wonder challenges, creative explorations, reflective journaling for teacher and student

Why “Well Be(ginn)ing” Works: The Converging Evidence

The wisdom of beginning well is no longer just a hunch—it is increasingly backed by research. Studies show that how teachers feel at the start of the school year matters enormously. When teachers begin with a sense of well-being and connection, they are more resilient, more effective, and less likely to burn out as the year unfolds (UNSW, 2024). The opening weeks don’t just predict teacher endurance—they shape it.

A similar pattern emerges for students. Decades of scholarship on school climate demonstrate that young people learn best in environments that feel safe, fair, and inclusive. Classrooms characterized by belonging and trust are linked with stronger academic performance, healthier social behaviors, and even lower teacher stress (Buffett Institute, 2023). Climate, in short, is not a backdrop to learning; it is the stage on which learning happens.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) deepens this picture. Meta-analyses of hundreds of SEL programs confirm that when students are explicitly taught skills like self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation—and when those lessons are tied to equity—academic outcomes improve, behavior strengthens, and belonging increases (Durlak et al., 2011; Jagers et al., 2019). As I’ve said, SEL is not a detour from rigor. It is rigor of a different kind—the rigor of becoming human together.

Mindfulness offers another piece of the evidence. Research across multiple countries has found that short, daily practices of breathing or reflection improve not just students’ ability to focus but also the emotional tone of the entire classroom. Teachers who embed mindfulness early in the year report calmer rooms, deeper student engagement, and even improvements in their own well-being (Smiling Mind & ACER, 2023).

And then there are the everyday habits that families and teachers establish in those first few weeks—routines around rest, communication, and independence. These simple practices create the scaffolding for confidence and trust that sustains both students and teachers across the long arc of the year (Parents.com, 2024).

Taken together, the evidence converges on a single point: beginnings matter. My own study underscored this truth. Classrooms that paused to heal and humanize before diving into curriculum didn’t just catch up; they leapt ahead. Students learned more, teachers felt better, and the experience of school became richer for everyone involved.

So, I close where I began: Maslow before Bloom. Care before content. That pause at the outset is not a detour but the launching pad. Like you, I am not interested in slogans, but in strategies, not sentiment, but science. So, we begin well by enacting what research confirms: that conditions of safety, belonging, and wellness are the strongest predictors of lasting achievement. To begin well is not a matter of preference but of evidence—it is the single most reliable way to build classrooms that endure, uplift, and transform.

References

Buffett Early Childhood Institute. (2023). The importance of school climate. University of Nebraska. https://buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of school‐based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x

Herald Sun. (2023, October 10). Research reveals children who practice mindfulness are more resilient in the classroom. Herald Sun. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-education/research-reveals-children-who-practice-mindfulness-are-more-resilient-in-the-classroom/news-story/6135634200ba9a60b8f972683a2f72df

Jagers, R. J., Rivas-Drake, D., & Borowski, T. (2019). Transformative social and emotional learning (SEL): Toward SEL in service of educational equity and excellence. Educational Psychologist, 54(3), 162–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2019.1623032

Kirkland, D. E. (2019). Maslow before Bloom: A study of classroom approaches to healing and curriculum across three U.S. cities [Unpublished manuscript].

Lorde, A. (1988). A burst of light: Essays. Firebrand Books.

Palmer, P. J. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. Jossey-Bass.

Parents. (2024, August 6). Teachers say families should do 6 things to start school on the right foot. Parents Magazine. https://www.parents.com/teachers-say-families-should-do-6-things-to-start-school-11795970

Phys.org. (2024, February 7). Boosting teacher well-being at the start of term can combat attrition. Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-boosting-teacher-term-combat-attrition.html

Smiling Mind & Australian Council for Educational Research. (2023). Impact of mindfulness in schools: 2023 report. Smiling Mind. https://smilingmind.com.au

West, C. (2001). Race matters. Beacon Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (2023). School climate. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_climate

Wikipedia contributors. (2024). Social–emotional learning. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social%E2%80%93emotional_learning

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Suggested citation: Kirkland, D.E. (2025). Begin Well. In forwardED Perspectives, https://www.forward-ed.com/post/begin-well.

David E. Kirkland, PhD, is the founder and CEO of forwardED. He is a nationally renowned scholar and leading expert on education equity. He can be reached at david@forward-ed.com.