Tex. (KGNS) – With United ISD set to begin the new school year on Aug. 12, the district’s director of guidance and counseling is urging parents and students to start building routines this week
Melissa Ramirez said the transition back to school can bring stress and anxiety for students, and early preparation can help reduce both.
“It’s time to set routines so our students can have a very successful year,” Ramirez said. “Students that are going back to school for the first day, they get those butterflies in the stomach, and they’re really nervous. So we want to decrease that nervousness and we want to make sure that they’re set and they’re ready to go.”
Ramirez said parents should begin talking to their children this week and weekend about bedtime schedules and morning routines, including laying out clothes the night before.
“Making sure they’re getting to bed early, making sure they start picking out their clothes — that’s always very important so that it would decrease the stress level for the students and the parents,” she said.
For middle and high school students involved in after-school activities such as sports, band, cheerleading or drill team, Ramirez said time management is critical.
“Students need to learn how to manage. They need to know what time management is. If not, it could be very overwhelming and very stressful — and then it shows in their academics,” she said.
Ramirez recommended using a calendar to map out each day and designating a quiet space at home for homework. She said students should be allowed to decompress after school before beginning schoolwork.
“Using a calendar, letting the kids after school come down a little bit from constantly thinking and working, let them come down. Then you set your homework time and then your extracurricular time and then sleep,” she said.
Ramirez said adequate sleep is essential to academic performance and should be factored into any daily schedule.
“They don’t have enough hours of sleep, then it’s going to affect their academics,” she said.
She added that parents should sit with their children regularly to review upcoming projects and tests and adjust schedules as workloads change week to week.
“Consistency is key. And of course, communication,” Ramirez said. “It’s important that communication between the child and then setting that schedule with a calendar and being very consistent.”
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