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An Empowered Teacher Presence is a foundation for building an engaged, inclusive classroom where every student can thrive. Growing self-awareness about your strengths and biases not only supports increasing your self-efficacy but also models for students the lifelong habit of reflective learning.

Challenging behaviors can evoke strong emotions in all of us, but how we understand, frame, and respond to these moments can either reinforce inequities or build pathways to student trust and success. Building the capacity to respond with self-awareness, empathy, and skill is a cornerstone of Empowered Teacher Presence and an engaged, inclusive classroom.

Engagement is not just about student compliance or enthusiasm—it is about creating the conditions in which all students can bring their whole selves to learning. The first two weeks of school are a critical time to begin intentionally building each of these conditions so that they become part of your classroom culture all year long.

Setting a clear intention for your first two weeks helps you act with purpose and alignment, rather than reacting to the pressures of the moment. When you anchor your early actions in your empowered presence, cultural competence, and student engagement needs, you create the conditions for a thriving, inclusive classroom that will carry forward through the year.

The first day of school is one of the most powerful opportunities you have to model the culture and expectations of your classroom. A well-paced lesson that balances relationship-building, clarity of expectations, and academic engagement sets the tone for the days and weeks that follow. Purposeful, well-paced lessons align closely with building the Six Conditions for Academic Engagement and provide students with predictable structure, emotional safety, and a sense of belonging and purpose.

A student’s name is deeply connected to their identity. When teachers learn and use names accurately and consistently, they communicate care, respect, and recognition. In this module, you will explore practical strategies from Engaged Classrooms for learning and honoring student names — and plan how to embed these opportunities across your first week of school.

Teaching and practicing classroom procedures is one of the most important investments you can make in your first weeks of school. Predictable routines help students feel safe, reduce cognitive load, and free up attention for learning. They also promote equity — when expectations are clear and consistently taught, all students have the opportunity to succeed.

Positive personal relationships are at the heart of an engaged and thriving classroom. When students feel seen, known, and valued, they are more likely to take academic risks, collaborate with peers, and contribute meaningfully to classroom life. Strong teacher-student relationships also support teacher efficacy and sustainability — when relationships are healthy, teaching is more joyful and resilient.

While the first week of school is critical for launching your classroom culture, the second week is equally important for deepening trust and sustaining the relational tone of your classroom. Building strong relationships is not a one-time event — it is an ongoing process that requires care, intentionality, and thoughtful planning.

Establishing a strong classroom culture depends on both relationships and clarity — students thrive when they know what is expected and how to be successful in your learning environment. While you’ve already planned for core procedures in Module 2.3, this module helps you go further. You will plan how to teach additional key procedures and how you will set and monitor expectations to promote consistency, equity, and engagement.

Anchor Experiences are powerful shared moments that deepen trust and connection. As described in Engaged Classrooms, these experiences create lasting emotional memory and strengthen students’ sense of belonging to the group. By intentionally designing an Anchor Experience for the second week of school, you reinforce the positive tone set in week one and help build a strong, cohesive classroom culture that supports learning and inclusion throughout the year.

Reflection and feedback are at the heart of a thriving classroom — and of meaningful professional growth. When students are invited to share about themselves in a structured and thoughtful way, they feel seen, valued, and invested in the learning environment. Gathering Student Profile Data in your second week of school can offer deep insights into students’ strengths, interests, and needs — while reinforcing your care, curiosity, and commitment to knowing them well.