After school teachers are typically doing something school related but how long they do it for depends on the teacher. While some will coach a sport or prepare for the following day others will go home right away or take care of something in their personal lives.
Below is a list of all the things that teachers do after school. This applies to all grade levels from K to 12th grade.
If you prefer watching my video where I explain what teachers do after school it is here too:
Go Home Right Away
Some teachers have to go home right after the school day ends.
They have appointments, errands to run, or kids that are coming home from school too.
Teachers have lives too, just like any other job they tend to leave right away if they have to take care of things at home.
Teachers that don’t have any children usually don’t have to rush home and can stay at school longer to do some of the other things on this list.
Note: Just because a teacher is staying late at the school is doesn’t mean they are a better teacher. Actually, they might be there longer because they simply don’t have much else to do and are not in a rush.
Don’t assume that a teacher that goes home right when the bell rings is less dedicated.
I know that I try to leave about 15 minutes after the bell rings to get home to my kids and change into my parent role.
That’s why during the school day I don’t waste my plan periods and lunch periods, I’m constantly getting stuff done so I am able to leave right away.
Coaching Sports
Teachers will often stay after school to coach sports such as soccer, cross country, swimming, basketball, track, etc…
This is usually true for middle school/junior high and high school teachers because elementary school don’t usually have team sports that complete with other schools.
Being a coach usually comes with a stipend (money) that the teacher receives.
A lot of teachers coach sports to make some extra money and will coach multiple sports to make even more.
Another positive to coaching is you can build relationships (professional) with students on the team that can transfer into the classroom.
Again, you have to have the time to do this.
When I was single I was coaching all kind of things, but now that I’m married and have kids things are a lot different.
I don’t have the time to stay after school several hours to coach.
Sponsor Extracurrilcular Activitites
Something else that teachers do after school is sponsor/supervise extracurricular activities and/or clubs.
At the middle school I work at we have teachers that sponsor/supervise the math team, yearbook club, chess and games club, computer technology club, photography club, positivity club, homework club, and many more.
Again, working with students outside the traditional classroom gives you a change to build a positive relationship with students that will often transfer into the classroom.
Plan And Prepare For The Following Day
Teachers will often stay after school to plan for the following day or week.
It’s a good chance to finalize what you are going to be teaching and getting everything you need in order.
Those plans will change depending on how far students got during class.
I also use the time after school to write my agenda, homework, learning standard, and SEL standard on the board for the following day. I like finalizing everything the day before so that I’m not running around the next day trying to make plans.
Cleaning and Organizing The Classroom
It’s a good idea to clean and organize a little at the end of each school day.
For me the time after school is when tidy up my desk, throw away things I don’t need, clean off countertops, reorganize and store supplies (science teacher) and put aside any work that I collected and have to grade.
This is often a time for teachers to organize all things that have been used and misplaced during the day.
Take a moment to walk the room and collect rulers, calculators, pencils, pens, etc… that students left behind or dropped on the floor.
You can use the pencils and pens you find to give to students the following day that forget their writing utensils.
Socialize With Other Teachers
Teachers use time after school to socialize with other teachers.
Once the students leave teachers have an opportunity to interact with other adults and sometimes this can be refreshing.
Teachers often talk about teaching but often talk about their personal lives too.
Make Phone Calls and Check Emails
After school is a chance to make phone calls that you can’t do during the day.
The phone call can be to a concerned parent or something else that needs your attention.
Right after school is the best time to contact parent/guardians if you have any academic or behavior concerns.
This way you can go home and not have to think about it anymore.
Teachers are busy during the day and often don’t have a lot of time to check emails so this will also happen at the end of the day.
Personally, I like to go through my emails at the end of the day and then I don’t check them again until the following morning.
Grading Assignments And Assessments
Instead of going straight home teachers stay at the school to get some grading done when the school day ends.
Grading things at home isn’t easy because there can be a lot of distractions and what you could get done as school in 20 minutes may take an hour or more at home.
I don’t like to grade anything at home, my goal is to get it done while I’m at school or immediately after school.
This way I can go home and leave my work behind and focus on my own kids.
Entering Grades
It’s very common for teachers to enter grades at the end of the school day.
Teachers use the time to update grades online with the program/software their school is using so that parents and students know whether or not they are meeting learning standards.
Meetings With Staff And Parents
After school teachers may have to attend meeting with parents due to limited time to meet with them during the school day.
Teachers will also often have to attend 504 and IEP meetings with other staff.
A quick meeting with another group of teachers or an administrator to talk about students is also not uncommon.
Go To The Restroom
The school day can get busy and if you are like me you teach far from a staff only restroom and have consecutive classes to end the day you may not get a chance to use the restroom for a long time.
After school is your chance to use the restroom and freshen up a little.
I teach in a middle school and the 4 minute passing periods isn’t enough for me to run to the restroom during the day.
If I don’t get there during lunch or a plan period then it’s going to have to wait.
Bus Duty And/Or Supervision
Some schools require teachers to supervise/assist student load their buses and/or cars when the school day ends.
This is usually about 15-25 minutes to complete.
Work A Second Job
Teaching is not the highest paying job out there.
That’s no secret.
Some teachers will find other jobs that they go to or work on after school.
Not all districts pay well so this is the reality of teaching for some of us.
Tutoring Students (reteaching)
It’s not uncommon for teachers to be working with students after school.
They help them work on something they might not be understanding, giving a test retake, or explaining to them an assignment that they missed.
When the bell rings for the end of school I usually get a few students that stop by to ask a question or write down something from the board that they forgot to during class.
Some teachers tutor outside of school as another source of income and treat it as their second job.
Cleaning Supplies
Depending on what the subject is a lot of teachers are cleaning up after school.
After a busy day of investigating and experimenting in my science classes I often use time after school to wipe down counters, wash beakers, clean tools that were used, and load the dishwasher in our science department storage room so that everything is clean for the following day.
Yes, we recently got a dishwasher installed for only the science teacher to use, it’s fantastic!
I may have missed some stuff but in general these are pretty much what all teachers do after school. Hope it helped!
