Day 2 Organizing Paperwork

On the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook, the twenty day blogging challenge created by Kelly Hines was mentioned and I decided to give it a shot. So here is the challenge for today:

“Share an organizational tip from your classroom. What is one thing you do that works for you?

In John: Help! I’ve Fallen into Paperwork, and I Can’t Get Out! From Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers, John shares ways that he keeps his paperwork organized. Then he asks,

“Veteran teachers, do you have any helpful tips for maintaining the paperwork you have as a teacher?  Techies, any suggestions for using less paper?”

I thought I would add to the list that he mentioned and combine it with Day 2 of the Blogging Challenge.

1. I keep a folder for every student which I make on the first day of school. In that folder are parent communications, examples of student work, referrals or anything else that I might want to take to a conference about that students.
2. It is important to file all things that need to be filed by the end of the day and not pile them up so it becomes overwhelming. Otherwise they get in a pile and never seem to get filed which means I never can find them when I need them.
3. I have started to scan a lot of papers and file them on my computer. Of course I always make a backup in case anything happens to my computer. I have actually found it easier to find the paper I need on the computer rather than hunt through miles of real paper to find it.
4. If there is some form that needs to be filled out with a deadline, I fill it out by the end of the day and turn it in. I also keep a log on my computer as to what form it is, the day I turned it in, and where or who I turned it in to. This helps me refer back to it in case the person says they never got it.
5. I try to email as much as possible. This keeps me from having to keep up with paper letters as documentation when I have an email with the date and time of contact.
6. I try not to use worksheets except for emergency lesson plans when I am absent. I like having students work on projects for units where they are creating something which is my assessment. This eliminates the worry of cheating and the burden of grading papers.

What are your secrets for organizing paperwork? Please share.

Image: 'stack'
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Found on flickrcc.net