In today’s fast-paced society, it is more crucial than ever to ensure that school districts are setting students up for success. A major component to success is the development of foundational soft skills such as organization, communication, time management, note-taking, accountability, independence, and planning skills. While these are not typically embedded in the curriculum, educators can certainly support students in developing these skill sets. One secret weapon? Custom school planners.
When school districts go the extra mile to provide pre-printed custom student planners, students can easily practice healthy and effective habits. The planners are tailor-made for each school to make the student experience streamlined while improving academic performance and skill development. Read on to find out what a custom student planner is, how they benefit students, and how school districts can create their own.
What Is a Student Planner?
A student planner (or academic diary) is a journal and planning tool that helps students stay organized. Like the planners many adults use, school planners provide a space for students to organize their schedule and keep track of course- work. Planners usually include layouts by month, week, and sometimes by day.
What is the Difference Between Generic Planners & Custom, Pre-Printed Student Planners?
As elementary and middle school are formative years for students, the goal of educators should be to scaffold students toward developing new skillsets. Generic planners have similar features to custom planners such as calendars, daily trackers, spaces for notes, etc. However, generic planners come completely blank. This may be overwhelming for students, especially if they are new to planning. Generic planners provide students very little guidance on what and how to organize their schedules.
In contrast, custom school planners offer structured, pre-designed planner contents that scaffold students towards effective planning. Some of the ways that planners can be customized for schools are:
- Designing a custom layout that displays school pride.
- Ensuring that the planner mirrors a student’s school day and is formatted in a way that is easy for them to follow and understand by offering:
- weekly student planners
- monthly student planners
- hourly student planners
This feature ensures that the planner mirrors a student’s school day and is formatted in a way that is easy for them to follow and understand.
- Including monthly calendar overviews that feature holidays, school events, sports games, class room parties, early release days, conference nights, or any other school needs all in one place!
- Custom text boxes throughout the planner that feature motivational quotes, messages from staff, behavior tracking systems, or any other tools and features the school would find helpful.
- Images of familiar faces or school logos, student artwork pr photography throughout for a truly customized feeling of school pride.
What Are the Benefits of School Districts Providing Students with Custom Pre-Printed Planners?
Custom, pre-printed school planners are the perfect starting point to help students develop important organizational skills. Having a custom planner that is already broken down to match the layout of a student’s day at school makes the process less intimidating and more welcoming.
Custom Student Planners Help Students Develop Organizational Skills
They provide a structure that students can model for themselves in the future, such as breaking down the day into the subjects learned. Additionally, since every student has a matching planner, educators have the unique opportunity to model organizational skills for the class. Many educators with access to matching planners will take time throughout the day to model and guide the class through filling out their planners. They can write assignments, notes, and due dates on the board and allow the class time to copy it down. This builds an incredible foundation for students to one day practice these skills independently.
Custom School Planners Help Students with Time-Management
In addition to the overall organizational skills that planners contribute to, custom planners are a great tool to help students with time management. Especially at the elementary and middle school age, it can be hard to grasp how much can get done in an hour, day, week, etc. It can also be challenging to delegate tasks throughout the week such as homework, projects, and studying without becoming overwhelmed. Planners allow students to map out their week and spread assignments evenly. Ultimately, this builds foundational skills students will continue to use for the rest of their lives.
Custom School Planners Support Goal Setting & Tracking
Custom planners provide opportunities for students to set goals and track progress towards those goals. For example, many custom school planners include sections to write out daily, weekly, or even monthly to-do lists. Then, as they work toward those goals, they can cross off their tasks and see tangible evidence of their progress.
Many studies, such as this one from the University of Queensland, have shown that goal-setting is linked with academic success and mental health wellness in teenagers. Beyond that, learning how to set goals and track progress is a crucial project management skill that will serve students well into adulthood.
Many custom planners include sections to write out daily, weekly or even monthly to-do-list. Then, as they work toward those goals, they can cross off their tasks and see tangible evidence of their progress.
Custom Printed Planners Aide Students’ Memory
In today’s day and age, some educators wonder whether printed student planners are necessary. While there are certainly plenty of calendar and project management apps available, going the digital route can negate some of the benefits of printed planners. Studies have shown that note-taking by hand increases learning retention. Many of the benefits of student planners are centered around learning how to keep track of tasks, stay organized, and remember important assignments. The kinesthetic motion of physically writing down an assignment or a note is an unmatched memorization tool that digital planners cannot provide.
Custom School Planners Encourage Communication with Parents & Guardians
When it comes to elementary and middle school students, communicating with parents or guardians about assignments, events, and expectations is key to helping students succeed. When educators, students, and guardians know about the planner, it can be used as a method of communication. This communication can be standard, such as relaying important events and assignments. Or, it can be a behavior management tool, denoting instances that occurred and requiring a parent signature in the planner the next day. Schools can even customize their planners to include a “notes to parents” section for easily accessible and consistent communication.
Custom School Planners Create School Pride
While there are many skillful benefits to providing school planners, one major and exciting benefit is a sense of school pride! For one, custom planners represent the colors, logos, mascots, and values of the school. Each day when students use them, they are reminded of their amazing school. Additionally, every student has a matching planner, which creates a sense of unison and camaraderie among the student population.
How Can My District Provide Students with Custom Planners?
If you are a district leader or school administrator looking to provide students with custom printed planners, your best bet is to use a trusted school planner company like Mimeo Schools. Doing Business as The School Planner Company in the US and UK, Mimeo Schools can help with designing, printing, and shipping bulk orders of student planners for your district or school.
Mimeo Schools has helped more than 15,000 schools in 59 countries create powerful, effective, beautifully designed planners for their students. You can be next on the list of schools helping students grow and develop skills that will last a lifetime!