Why Behavior Feels Harder at the End of the Year—And It’s Not Random

Uncategorized May 05, 2026

By this point in the year, many school leaders are seeing the same pattern:

Instructional time is slipping.
Behavior is increasing.
And routines that once worked… aren’t holding anymore.

At the beginning of the school year, as educators, we know we need to emotionally prepare students for the changes that come with transitioning into a new grade, a new classroom, and often a new school. We do this consistently, every year—and often very effectively.

But what about the end of the year? The end of the year is different. It feels different. And it often looks different, too. We aren’t dealing with the nervous energy of new beginnings. There’s a familiarity to the day-to-day—but still, something shifts.

That’s because the end of the school year is, in itself, a transition. And at its core, a transition simply means change.

A change in structure.
A change in expectations.
A change in rhythm.

And students feel that change—whether it’s being named or not.

Why This Matters

This isn’t just true for students. Adults feel it too. There’s a subtle increase in mental load. A pull between what’s happening now and what’s coming next. The anticipation of change paired with the responsibility of maintaining the present.

Though it often feels like it arrives subtly, the end of the school year carries weight—for both students and staff. And that weight often shows up in ways that feel unsteady. And in schools, that unsteadiness has a cost.

It shows up as lost instructional minutes.
As increased inconsistency across classrooms.
As added strain on staff who are working to hold things together.

How It Shows Up in Schools

By this point in the year, many school leaders begin to notice a pattern:

Behavior spikes.
Engagement lulls.
Routines that once worked no longer feel as effective.

These shifts can feel unpredictable. But they aren’t random. What we’re seeing is not a sudden breakdown—it’s the result of slow, steady changes in the structure of the school day.

The Change Before the Change

The end of the year doesn’t arrive all at once. It builds.

Schedules begin to shift.
Testing alters the rhythm of the day.
Content becomes less predictable.
There are more one-off events—field trips, field days, assemblies.

There’s less instructional continuity. More unstructured time. By the time we feel the end of the year, the structure of the day has already changed significantly. And with that change comes a natural increase in dysregulation.

A Human Response to Change

None of these shifts are inherently negative. In many ways, they’re expected.

Students may feel:

excitement
uncertainty
a lack of predictability

Adults may feel:

fatigue
urgency
the pressure to maintain control

It’s a lot. And the responses that follow are not signs of failure—they’re human. But “human” doesn’t have to mean chaotic.

What a Regulated Classroom Actually Does

One of the most powerful aspects of a regulated classroom is that it doesn’t remove emotion—it stabilizes the environment around it. Students still feel the shifts that come with the end of the year. Teachers still experience the pressure of maintaining a learning environment.

But a regulated classroom provides a consistent container for that change.

This is exactly what the Regulate to Learn™ framework is designed to address—by strengthening three core systems across a campus:

Environment
Transitions
Response

When these systems are aligned, classrooms don’t rely on individual teacher strategies—they operate with shared, predictable practices.

And the outcomes are different.

There is:

less disruption
faster re-engagement
protected instructional time
calmer adult—and therefore student—responses

It’s not the absence of emotion. It’s emotion, contained.

This Isn’t a May Problem

What becomes visible in May is not created in May. For better or for worse, this is built from the very beginning of the school year. Regulated classrooms don’t happen by accident. They are practiced—every day, across the year.

They are built into routines.
Reinforced through repetition.
And upheld consistently across classrooms.

By the time May arrives, those systems either hold—or they don’t.

What Change Reveals

Change acts as a kind of stress test. When regulation hasn’t been consistently practiced, it becomes most visible when change increases. This shows up:

after lunch or recess
after breaks
during testing periods
and especially at the end of the school year

But when regulation has been practiced, those same moments feel different.

Transitions don’t consume instructional time.
Re-engagement happens more quickly.
The system holds.

The same system—practiced all year—buffers the change.

It’s planned. It’s practiced. It’s predictable.

Looking Ahead

If this end-of-year stretch has highlighted how much instructional time is being lost—or how inconsistent things feel across classrooms—it’s likely not about effort. It’s about systems that weren’t built to hold this level of change. And the good news is, that can be addressed.

This summer, I’m working with schools to build consistent, practical regulation systems from the start—so transitions are smoother, behavior is more predictable, and instructional time is protected across classrooms.

If you’re planning ahead for next year and want to see what this could look like in practice, you can learn more here: Regulate to Learn Framework

And if you already know you want to bring this work into your school, you can schedule a time to talk here: Schedule a Time to Map Out Next Steps for Your School