Back-to-School Facility Preparation Checklist

Our facility preparation checklist includes essential tasks to ensure school safety and organization, making the transition easier for students and staff alike. Your back-to-school preparation should include refreshing and replacing any existing markings and considering options for new visual cues. Look at the facility through the lens of teachers, students, parents, and safety, then add markings to make everyone’s school day move more smoothly. Here, we take you through the interior and exterior of your school facility, offering a thorough list of things to check and new signs and visual cues to consider to get you geared up, ready, and prepared for students’ return this fall.

1) Evaluate and Update Existing Floor Markings

Existing visual cues may be in place unless you’re starting the school year in a brand-new or recently renovated building. The first item on our back-to-school checklist is to evaluate old markings for signs of wear and tear or accuracy, and then to replace or update if necessary.

Examine existing markings for rips, tears, and stretching that could create tripping hazards. Pay special attention to markings in school hallways, which face heavy foot traffic.
Make sure instructions on repeating message floor tape or signs still apply and are clear enough to be legible.
Evaluate previous years’ approaches to organization and safety, adjust where those methods have fallen short, then update markings to match.
Ensure color-coded markings remain relevant in the new school year. For example, if grade-level hallways have moved to accommodate changing class sizes, make sure you also remove and adjust those markings.

Replace Damaged Markings with the Right Products

When updating visual cues throughout your school, remove cheap floor tape and other markings and replace them with heavy-duty Superior Mark® floor marking tape. Designed for use in industrial settings, Superior Mark® tape and 5-piece signs feature beveled edges and a recessed adhesive to stand up to heavy foot traffic. Durability is just one benefit of Superior Mark® products: You’ll find floor tape and signs in a range of colors that can suit a variety of objectives, and you can even create markings with custom messaging and graphics.

2) Prep the Parking Lot and Bus and Carpool Lanes

High-quality visual cues in school parking lots improve traffic flow during busy drop-off and pick-up times and increase safety for students, staff, and parents. Before beginning a new school year, complete the following tasks to prepare to safely welcome everyone back.

Evaluate markings for bus and carpool lanes to ensure they are clear and visible.
Ensure drop-off and pick-up areas are clearly marked with directional cues to minimize confusion.
Update reserved parking for administration, visitors, volunteers, or students as needed, using paint and stencils to add new parking spaces or pavement marking removal methods to remove unnecessary labeled spaces.
Issue updated parking permits for teachers, principals, administrative or janitorial staff, and students who park on campus.
Add or update directional markings in parking areas to facilitate safe, efficient traffic flow, especially for high school parking lots where many vehicles will be arriving and leaving at the same time.
Ensure crosswalks are clear and are supplemented with “Stop” or “Student Crossing” signage to maximize awareness and pedestrian safety for students and staff who must pass through these areas to reach the building.

3) Support Classroom Readiness

Floor tape and other markings can be helpful tools for teachers preparing classrooms for the new year and new students.

Block out classroom organization for primary furniture and seating—think corner markers for individual or clustered desks, lines along the edges of bookcase areas, or squares where students may be asked to sit. This helps visualize the best use of space and indicates where furniture should be replaced anytime it is moved out of its configuration.
Many teachers add lines to indicate where students should line up by the doorway or walk down the hallway. Pair these with custom signs with graphics that communicate classroom rules or routines for quick and easy understanding.
Pavement stencils and paint are great for adding hopscotch or other game boards to the playground or updating the sidewalk outside the classroom with designs that support learning objectives and allow students to learn while enjoying fresh air.

Special Considerations for Elective Classrooms

As you prepare for a new school year, consider classrooms that are used by different groups of students throughout a week. Having these markings in place before students return helps provide reasonable expectations to which they can adhere throughout the year.

Use gaffer tape to label backstage theater areas for drama club or designate seating arrangements in chorus and band rooms.
Use floor markings or custom signs to make it clear where equipment and supplies should be stored. Color coding can be helpful when delineating appropriate storage locations for things like sports balls and gym equipment, but be sure to add a key so students quickly understand where each item should be returned.
Especially in elementary schools where a single room might serve more than one purpose—such as a cafeteria/gym—assign a specific color to each activity and outline desired layouts for important equipment. Add corner markers where cafeteria tables should be placed or use tape to outline game courts for PE classes that use the gym. Having these markings in place makes it easy for teachers, staff, and students to know what and where things go and facilitates easy transitioning of the multi-use space.

4) Ease the Back-to-School Transition

Acclimating to the school environment can be challenging for new and returning students alike. Help ease the transition with helpful visual cues implemented throughout the facility.

Apply or update hallway stripes or directional markings for students, especially if locations or layouts have changed.
Label offices in the main office area—for the principal, nurse, counselors, and other relevant staff—so students and parents know where to go to find who they are looking for.
Replace old wall-mounted signage for bathrooms, stairwells, and other areas with ADA-compliant signs that include raised letters and Braille characters, making it easier for everyone to navigate the facility.
Add durable floor markings to guide students through daily routines. For example, arrows, dashes, or repeating message tape can direct students through the lunch line while dots or footprint-shaped carpet tape can indicate where to stand while waiting for checkout in the library.

5) Meet—or Exceed—School-Wide Safety Objectives

Student, teacher, and staff safety is of the utmost importance in a school environment. Standards may change from year to year, so check any new guidelines or requirements that have been implemented since the end of the previous school year. Evaluate existing markings to ensure they comply with requirements or meet new standards.

Ensure safety guidelines are clearly posted for visitors. Add floor tape or signs that communicate messages such as “Students Only Beyond This Point” or “Stop! Visitors Must Check In.”
Mark off-limits areas throughout the facility, such as storage closets where cleaning chemicals may be kept or classrooms with dangerous equipment, such as woodworking or welding rooms.
Evaluate existing markings for facility compliance. Ensure emergency exits and electrical panels are not blocked and fire safety equipment and alarms are clearly marked. Update existing markings if messaging is inadequate or unclear.
Install anti-skid tape on stairways or ramps to prevent slips and falls. At entrances where students could track in water from rain or snow, make sure there are anti-slip mats.
Install IceAlert warning signs near doorways and in parking lots to provide notice of slippery conditions during winter.

6) Improve Schoolwide Organization Efforts

It’s easy to keep the school organized when it’s out of session, but harder after students have returned. Use floor tape and markers to support schoolwide organization efforts in shared spaces throughout the school year.

In the cafeteria, library, or other shared space, floor markings can help ensure items—from lunch tray carts to library reshelving carts—are returned where they belong.
Keep storage closets organized with color-coded tape to indicate the proper place for floor cleaning machines, cleaning supplies, and janitorial materials.
Supply closets, office areas, and teacher workrooms can easily become disorganized, but color-coded tape can be used to designate storage areas. When paper, markers, staples, ink, or other supplies are returned or restocked where they go, precious time can be saved.

Implementing clear visual cues should be a key part of the facility preparation checklist as school administration and staff work through their back-to-school process. Have markings inside and outside the facility ready to go before scheduled orientations or open house events so new students can familiarize themselves with your layout, and returning students can find helpful reminders. Equip your school with durable floor markings and other essentials, and read more about using effective visual cues in school facilities and beyond in our Resource Center.