When I was still working full time in schools, I used to joke that once spring break came and went, the school year was basically over. People would laugh, but educators know exactly what I mean.

Some parts of the school year seem to move at an entirely different speed. September disappears in a blur of new routines and relationship-building. March somehow lasts approximately seventeen years. Then suddenly it’s May or June, and everyone is tired, overstimulated, and still trying to finish strong. Teachers sometimes call it “May-cember” (or “June-cember” here in Washington), and the comparison feels accurate. The energy in schools resembles December: packed schedules, class concerts, report cards, and students whose nervous systems are already anticipating summer break. Oh, and themed dress-up days. So many themed dress-up days.

(Don’t get me wrong, educator-me loves a good theme day. Parent-me still shudders remembering last year’s “dress up as your favorite book character” day, when my child abruptly decided he no longer wanted to be Harry Potter and we spent the morning frantically searching the house for anything remotely resembling another book character.)

Walk through almost any school building this time of year and you can feel it immediately. The hallways are louder, bulletin boards are half taken down, and backpacks overflow. Emotions are closer to the surface. Some students seem more dysregulated. Others seem disconnected, checked out, or overwhelmed by changes in routine and expectations. I see it in my own children too — bigger emotions, deeper exhaustion after school, and the strange mix of excitement and dysregulation that comes with transitions.

Adults are feeling it too. I’ve lost count of how many educators I’ve heard say, “I’m just trying to make it to summer break.”

By this point in the year, even the copy machine sounds emotionally overstimulated.

One idea from a recent book study that has stayed with me is that emotionally safe schools prioritize regulation before compliance.They recognize that behavior is communication, and that transitions, even positive or exciting ones, can place demands on nervous systems.