By Ashley Archambault
I have worked as a secondary teacher since 2019 and have previously taught both middle school and high school English. In the past, I used to envy elementary teachers for only having to remember the names of 30 students each school year. When I first started teaching, I struggled with keeping track of 3–4 times as many student names per year—and even per semester sometimes!
I currently have a school principal who believes the most effective teachers are those who form meaningful relationships with their students, and I agree. As teachers, our brains need to fire on all four cylinders in order to thrive. If we can remove the hurdle of pairing a large number of names to faces quickly, then we can have the brain power left to be the most effective teachers we can be, making a positive first impression with our students and setting ourselves up for a successful school year.
Over the years, I’ve developed the following steps to help myself remember the names of 90 students or more in less than a week. These tips can be used by any type of teacher at any level, and even by the office staff and librarians who try to get to know every student in the entire school.
Ashley Archambault is a Florida native and has been a secondary English teacher since 2019. When she’s not teaching, she can be found reading, writing, or taking a hike with her family.
