Strategies To Reduce 'Back To School' Stress

It was amazing today to see the back to school signs and merchandise out on display at the stores today, only halfway through July. Along with this ritualistic outlay of goods came the angst ridden families starting their school shopping for school that here in New York is one and a half months away. I found myself reflecting on how we as educators could mitigate this stressful situation. I know that there is a
"big picture" corporate aspect to these sales but there are changes that could effectively reduce the anxiety often associated with "back to school".

Really? Thats just the way to the frozen food isle.

First, we could really promote the idea that learning never stops by constantly modelling it. There are so many opportunities for meaningful learning year round, especially during the summer. Traditionally teachers have been the repository of knowledge and the keepers of information. Now in the google age, this is an obsolete notion. No one person could possibly know all that "stuff". Extrapolating the idea further, learning doesn't just occur while in the classroom either. Any methods that encourage students to take the learning with them should be encouraged! When we successfully show that learning never stops, students and their families will become less stressed about school because learning is ingrained in their experience.
Second, teachers could use standard based grading. This technique focuses on demonstrated skills rather than compliance behaviors. For example, were you able to calculate the density? as opposed to did you complete your homework on time and put it in the bin at the beginning of class? Summative assessments are allowed to be retaken as many times as needed to demonstrate understanding, thus promoting relearning and information gathering. Daily formative feedback allows both the student and teacher to effectively guage where knowledge levels are at any given time. These strategies focus less on the numeric outcome and more on the process which ends up being much more meaningful for students in the long run.

There are many ways that we can reduce the stress levels of students (and staff) coming back to school at the beginning of a new year. I've only mentioned two. Do you have any ideas that could help make the start of a new year more enjoyable and less traumatic for students?