Questions to Ask When Starting a New Teaching Job
For teachers who have been hired and are about to start, whether it is a first post or a move to a new school. The questions are grouped in the order you will need the answers: before day one, your classes and curriculum, behavior and grading, duties and daily routines, parents, and the support around you.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Before day one
When will I get my teaching schedule and my class lists?
Why ask it
You cannot plan seating, copies or a first week without them. Ask for the draft even if it may change, and how late lists usually move, since some schools are still shifting students in the second week. If the answer is 'the morning you start', plan a first lesson that works for any group.
Which days am I expected at school before the students arrive, and what happens on each?
Why ask it
Many schools bring staff in early for training, meetings and room setup, and the split matters more than the total. A good answer is a dated schedule. If nearly all of it is meetings, ask when you get unbroken time in your own room, and how those days are paid where you are.
When can I get into my classroom, and who gives me the keys or the door code?
Why ask it
Keys often sit with the office or the head custodian, not the principal, and there may be a form to sign. Check which doors yours opens and whether it lets you in on an evening or a weekend. A vague 'sometime that week' is your cue to suggest a day.
What paperwork, checks or training must be finished before I can be alone with a class?
Why ask it
Background checks, certification records and required safety training differ by country, state and employer, so ask for the school's own list with deadlines. A missing item can hold up your start or your first pay. Keep a copy of everything you hand in.
Which logins do I need, who sets each one up, and which should work before the first day?
Why ask it
Email, the gradebook, the learning platform, the attendance system and the copier can be five accounts from three different people. A list with a name beside each is a good answer. Test them all from the classroom computer, not only from home.
Is my salary paid only during the school year or spread across twelve months, and when is the first paycheck?
Why ask it
How teachers are paid depends on the employer: some pay only in the months school is in session, some spread it over the year, and some let you choose. Put this to payroll or HR, not the principal, and get the date of the first paycheck in writing, since it can fall several weeks after you start. If summer is unpaid, you want to know in the fall, not in June.
What does the first day with students look like, from the first bell to the last?
Why ask it
First days rarely follow the normal schedule: assemblies, a long homeroom, lockers or devices being handed out. Knowing how many real teaching minutes you get stops you planning a full lesson for a twenty-minute slot. Ask what every teacher is expected to cover that day, such as rules or forms to send home.
Who do I send questions to between now and the first day, and do they prefer email or a call?
Why ask it
One named person saves you guessing who covers what over a break when half the staff are away. Send your questions in a single numbered message so they can reply line by line. If nobody is named, the school office is usually the safest place to start.
Do I have my own room, or will I share one or move between rooms during the day?
Why ask it
A teacher who shares or travels needs a cart, a shelf or cupboard in each room and a plan for the minutes between lessons. If the room is yours, ask who else is scheduled in it and when, so you know which boards and desks you can leave set up. If it is not, ask where you can sit and work while someone else is teaching in it.
What was left in the room by the last teacher, and what am I free to move or throw out?
Why ask it
Cupboards full of someone else's materials can be a gift or a week of sorting. Check before you clear anything, since some of it may belong to the department or sit on an inventory. The same goes for furniture: find out what can be rearranged and who moves the heavy pieces.
Is there a staff handbook, and which pages should I read before the first day?
Why ask it
Handbooks run long, and parts of them can be years out of date. Whoever you ask will usually point to the same few sections: attendance, behavior, grading, emergencies. If there is no handbook, ask where the rules are written down, because 'everyone just knows' is hard on a newcomer.
Classes
What curriculum or pacing guide do I follow for each class, and where are the unit plans kept?
Why ask it
A good answer is a shared folder with last year's units in it and a calendar showing roughly where each class should be by each break. A worrying one is 'the last teacher kept it all on their own drive', in which case ask now whether anyone can still reach those files. If there is nothing at all, ask which standards or syllabus the course is judged against and build from that.
Which textbooks, class sets and online subscriptions come with my courses, and is there one for every student?
Why ask it
Count before you plan around a resource. You also need to know who hands out books, how they are tracked, and whether student accounts for online tools are created for you or by you. If there are not enough copies, ask how colleagues get around it.
Who else teaches the same course, and do we plan or test in common?
Why ask it
Common tests tie your pacing to theirs, which is worth knowing before you linger on a unit. A colleague who shares materials can save you a great deal of planning in the first year. Ask when the team meets and whether a new teacher is expected to bring something.
Where did these students get to last year, and is there anything they did not finish?
Why ask it
The department head or last year's teacher can tell you in five minutes what a diagnostic test would take a week to show. Keep it to the group as a whole for now, not individual students. The answer decides where your first unit starts.
Which of my students have support plans or accommodations, and when can I read them?
Why ask it
You are usually expected to follow these from the first lesson, so the timing matters. The person to look for is whoever coordinates learning support or special education: ask how the documents reach you and what to do until they do. What such a plan requires of the classroom teacher depends on where you work, so ask for it to be spelled out.
Will another adult be in the room for any of my classes, and when do we plan together?
Why ask it
Aides, co-teachers and specialists often arrive with their own schedule and no shared planning time. Ask who directs their work. Ten minutes together before the first lesson avoids both of you standing at the front, or neither.
Which tests and exams are set by the school, district or exam body, and when do they fall?
Why ask it
Put these dates in your planner first and plan backward from them. Ask how much class time the preparation and the testing take, and whether results are looked at teacher by teacher. External testing differs from place to place, so ask how it runs at this school.
If I want to change a text or reorder a unit, whose approval do I need?
Why ask it
The answer shows how much of the course is yours. Some schools want every class on the same page in the same week, and others leave everything but the final assessment to you. In a first term it is usually wiser to ask than to assume, even where the rules are loose.
Do lesson plans have to be submitted, and in what form?
Why ask it
Schools range from a weekly upload in a set template to nobody ever asking. If plans are collected, ask to see one a current teacher has handed in, so you match that level of detail and no more.
What is expected for homework: how much, how often, and does it count toward the grade?
Why ask it
Many schools have a policy, and many departments have a habit that differs from it. Put the question to the department head and to the teacher next door. Setting far more or far less than colleagues is something parents notice early.
Behavior and grading
What is the school-wide behavior system, and which steps am I expected to take before referring a student?
Why ask it
A clear answer lists the steps in order, for example a warning, a conversation, contact home, then a referral. If people describe it differently, go to whoever handles referrals, because theirs is the version that will be applied. Use the school's wording with students from the first lesson.
If I need a student out of the room mid-lesson, who do I call and what happens next?
Why ask it
You want the practical details: the extension to dial, who comes, where the student goes and when they return. A good answer includes a conversation before the student is back in your class. If you are told it rarely happens, ask what teachers do instead.
What is the rule for letting a student leave the room for the bathroom, the nurse or the office?
Why ask it
It might be a paper pass, a sign-out sheet, an app, or no leaving in the first and last ten minutes. Students will test this in your first lesson, so know the school's rule before one of them asks. Ask separately what happens when a student says they feel ill, and whether you call ahead or send a classmate along.
What is the phone rule, and is it applied the same way from room to room?
Why ask it
The written policy and the practice often differ. If your neighbors let phones sit on desks and you collect them, expect to spend the first month arguing about it. Hear what a colleague actually does, then ask an administrator what backing you get when a student refuses.
How do I record a behavior incident, and who reads it?
Why ask it
It may be a form, a field in the student information system or an email. Ask what level of incident is worth logging, since new teachers tend to log either everything or nothing. Notes written the same day, in plain facts, are the ones that help later.
How and when do I take attendance, and what do I do about a student who is late or missing?
Why ask it
Attendance is often a formal record with a deadline each lesson, and the office may chase you for it. The case to ask about is the student who is on your list, not in the room and not reported absent. Ask too whether lateness is recorded by you or at the front door.
How are grades worked out here: categories, weights, and how much of that is my choice?
Why ask it
Some schools fix the weighting for every class, and others let each teacher set it in the course outline. Get the answer before you hand that outline to students. Looking at a colleague's gradebook setup is quicker than reading the policy.
Which gradebook do we use, and how often must grades be entered?
Why ask it
Ask first whether parents and students can see it live, because that changes how you use it: an empty gradebook in week three draws questions, and so does a low score entered with no comment. Then check whether there is a minimum number of grades per week or per term, and who can sit with you while you set yours up.
What are the rules on late work, retakes and zeros?
Why ask it
Teachers in one building often differ on this, and students know exactly who does what. A school-wide rule protects you when a parent objects. If it is left to you, decide before the first assignment and put it in writing.
When are progress reports and report cards due, and what do teachers have to write?
Why ask it
Report deadlines tend to land in the same week as everything else. Get the dates, whether comments are free text or picked from a bank, and who proofreads them. One finished report from last year shows you the tone the school expects.
Duties and routines
What time are teachers expected in the building, and when are we free to leave?
Why ask it
The official hours and what people actually do can differ. Get the official times from the office or your contract, then notice when the parking lot fills and empties. Ask as well how late you can stay and whether you can come in on a weekend, since some buildings are locked or alarmed at a set hour.
Which supervision duties am I assigned, and where exactly do I stand?
Why ask it
Lunch, bus, hallway and recess duties each come with a place, a time and things you are meant to stop. Ask to be walked through yours once. Two things to settle while you are there: what you do when a duty runs into your lesson, and who covers it when you are out.
How do arrival, lunch and dismissal work for my students, and where am I supposed to be for each?
Why ask it
With younger classes the teacher often walks the group to lunch, to specialist lessons and out to the buses or the pick-up line, so the first afternoon's dismissal is worth walking through in advance. Ask for the list of how each child goes home and who keeps it up to date. With older students the question is mostly which doors and hallways you are expected to watch.
If I wake up sick, who do I tell, by what time, and what work do I need to leave?
Why ask it
Get this settled before the morning you need it. Many schools want an emergency lesson folder prepared in advance, so ask whether yours does and where it is kept. Leave rules and how absence is recorded depend on your contract, so ask the office how it works for you.
What do I do in a fire drill, a lockdown or a medical emergency in my room?
Why ask it
You need the route from your room, where your class lines up and what you carry with you. Ask which students in your classes have medical needs and where their plans and any medication are kept. Walk the route yourself before the first drill.
Who do I report a concern about a student's safety to, and what do I do if a student tells me something worrying?
Why ask it
A school should be able to name that person and the procedure without hesitating. What a teacher must report, and to whom, is set by law and differs by place, so ask for the school's written procedure and any training you must complete. Ask in your first days, because the moment itself comes without warning.
Which meetings are fixed each week, and which am I required to attend?
Why ask it
Staff, department, grade team and duty meetings can take most of your non-teaching time. Put them in your calendar before you promise a student or a parent a slot. New teachers sometimes have extra sessions on top, so ask about those as well.
How do copying and printing work: a code, a limit, or a request made in advance?
Why ask it
Some schools give each teacher a monthly allowance, and others send jobs to an office that needs a day or two. Learn which it is while there is still time to send a job in. A colleague can show you where the paper lives and who clears a jam.
What devices do students have, and who do I call when the projector or the network fails mid-lesson?
Why ask it
The answer might be a help desk, a ticket system or one person with a radio. Two smaller things to ask: how students charge their devices, and what the rule is when someone arrives without one. Until you trust the equipment, keep a paper version of the first week's lessons.
Is there money for classroom supplies, and how do I order something or get paid back?
Why ask it
It might be a set allowance, a shared department budget, a supply closet you sign things out of, or nothing at all. Ask before you spend your own money, because reimbursement, where it exists, often needs approval in advance and a receipt. The department head can tell you what earlier teachers asked for and got.
Am I expected to run a club, coach a team or help at events this year?
Why ask it
Extras are sometimes written into the contract and sometimes only hoped for. Separate the three: what is required, what is paid, and what first-year staff are usually spared. If you are new to teaching, it is fair to say you would like a term to settle before taking something on.
Parents
How do teachers here contact families: a school app, email or phone, and is one of them the rule?
Why ask it
Using the approved channel keeps a record and keeps your personal number private. Check whether calls and messages should be logged anywhere and whether anyone needs to be copied in. If colleagues use their own phones, ask what the school would prefer.
Should I introduce myself to families before or during the first week, and is there a usual way to do it?
Why ask it
A short letter or message home is common, and some schools have a template or want to approve it first. Ask to see what a colleague sent last year. Parents who hear from you first about something ordinary are easier to reach later about something hard.
When is the first back-to-school night or open house, and what am I expected to say?
Why ask it
It often comes within weeks of the start, before you know the students well. A colleague can tell you how long you get with each group, whether there are slides everyone uses, and what parents usually ask. Have a line ready for the parent who wants to discuss one child on a night meant for the whole class.
How soon are parents told to expect an answer, and am I expected to reply in the evening?
Why ask it
If the school has published a reply time, that is your standard and your protection. If it has not, ask your department head what is normal and hold to it from the start. A habit of answering at ten at night is hard to take back.
Are there custody arrangements, contact restrictions or pick-up rules for any of my students?
Why ask it
The office holds this, and it is an area where a guess can do real harm. Ask how you will be told when something changes during the year. If an adult you do not know asks for information or for a child, send them to the office.
Which families will need an interpreter or translated messages, and how do I arrange that?
Why ask it
The school may have bilingual staff, a phone service or translated templates. An interpreter for a meeting often has to be booked ahead, so ask how far. Ask what the school thinks of a student translating their own report, before it becomes your habit.
At what point should I bring someone else into a problem with a parent, and who?
Why ask it
Most administrators would rather hear early than after the third angry email. Ask who can sit in on a difficult meeting and whether someone will read a draft reply before you send it. If the answer is 'handle it yourself', ask what happens when a parent goes straight to the principal.
Support
Will I have a mentor, and when do we meet?
Why ask it
An assigned mentor with time set aside is the good answer. A name with no time attached usually means you will have to do the asking. Either way, propose a fixed slot in the first week.
Who do I go to for what: behavior, curriculum, technology, pay?
Why ask it
Ask for names, not job titles, and write them inside the cover of your planner. Office staff often know the answer faster than anyone on the leadership team. If two people give you different names for the same thing, ask the office which is current, since roles are often reshuffled between school years.
What would you most like to see in my classroom by the end of the first month?
Why ask it
This one is for the principal or whoever will evaluate you. A useful answer is concrete: routines running without reminders, grades entered on time, every family contacted once. Whatever they name is what they will look for on a first visit, so get that right before anything else.
When will I first be observed, by whom, and what will they be looking for?
Why ask it
Ask for the form or rubric in advance. Find out whether early visits are for coaching or count toward a formal evaluation. How new teachers are evaluated varies by employer, so ask for the calendar that applies to you.
Is there an induction or probation period for me, and what do I have to complete in it?
Why ask it
Requirements for new teachers, such as a set program, a portfolio or a number of observed lessons, are local, so ask what applies here, who signs it off and by when. If you are experienced but new to the school, ask which parts still apply to you.
Can I watch a colleague teach in my first few weeks?
Why ask it
Seeing how an established teacher starts a lesson here shows you the school's routines faster than the handbook does. Ask who is worth watching for the thing you are least sure of, and who would cover your class. A school that says yes easily is one where asking for help is normal.
What tripped you up in your first year at this school?
Why ask it
This is one for colleagues, over lunch. The answers are small and specific: the report deadline nobody mentioned, the door that locks behind you. Put it to two or three people and note what comes up twice.
What should I not worry about getting right this term?
Why ask it
New teachers try to do everything at once. A principal or mentor who can name what to let go, such as wall displays or an elaborate unit, is telling you where your effort should go instead. If they say everything matters, ask which two things matter most.
How to get your answers before the first bell
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Who to ask what
The principal or whoever hired you
Their time is the shortest, so keep it for what only they can answer: what they want to see in your room by the end of the first month, when you will be observed, which duties and extras are yours, and what you can leave for later. Bring five questions, not fifty. Most of Support belongs here, and so do the dates you are due in before the students.
The department head or grade team lead
This is the person for nearly everything under Classes and for the grading questions: the pacing guide, common tests, weights, homework, and where last year's materials are. Ask for a single sitting of half an hour before the students arrive, and ask to be shown the shared folder while you are there.
The office and building staff
Keys, logins, attendance, absence calls, copying, class lists, payroll forms and custody notes all run through the office, the custodian or the technology coordinator. Learn their names in the first week and ask how they like requests to arrive. They settle most first-week problems, and they remember who was courteous in the busiest week of their year.
The teacher next door
A colleague tells you how the written rules are applied in practice: what really happens with phones, how much homework is normal, which meeting can run long. Save the questions that begin 'what do you actually do' for them. In a small school with no department, this may be your main source for the curriculum questions too.
When to ask
Before the first day
Start with what blocks your planning: the dates you are due in, your schedule and class lists, room access, logins and the required paperwork. One numbered email to your named contact works better than six separate ones over a holiday. Leave the finer points of grading and reports until you are in the building.
In the first week
Now cover what could go wrong on an ordinary Tuesday: the behavior steps, who to call to have a student collected, the rule for leaving the room, attendance, dismissal, the emergency routes, your duty spot and how to report an absence. These are the answers you need to have in your head, not in an inbox, so write them on one page and keep it on your desk.
By the end of the first month
Reports, the first back-to-school night, observation and any induction requirements come into view a few weeks in. Ask about each one at least two weeks ahead of its date. By then you will also have real cases to bring, which makes questions about parents and referrals much easier to answer.
Keep one running list
Questions occur to you in the middle of a lesson and are gone by the end of it. Keep a page in your planner, add to it as you go, and take the list to your mentor or department head at a set time. People are far more generous with ten questions at once than with ten interruptions.
What to do with the answers
When two people tell you different things
It will happen, most often about behavior, phones and late work. Follow the written policy until the person responsible for that area tells you otherwise, and ask them directly. Do not pick the version you prefer: a new teacher who is seen to choose is remembered for it.
When nobody knows
'Good question' and 'I thought someone had told you' both mean there is a gap, and a new arrival is usually the one who finds it. Ask who would know, follow up in writing, and keep the reply. If something affects safety or a formal record, such as attendance or an emergency procedure, do not let it drift.
What depends on where you teach
How salary is spread over the year, pay for extra days, leave, certification, evaluation, support plans and the duty to report a concern about a child are set by law, contract or employer, and they differ widely. This page cannot tell you how any of them works for you. Ask for the school's own document each time, read your contract, and where there is a union or staff association, find out who the representative is.
If you are experienced but new to the school
You can skip little here. The risk for an experienced teacher is assuming the last school's rules still apply, especially on grading, referrals and contacting parents. Ask the systems questions as plainly as a first-year teacher would, and save your ideas for change until you have seen a full term.