You know I can answer some of your questions, particularly about the first day of school. First of all, teachers only have a week on contract before school starts. Getting all of this information and logistics together in that amount of time is mind-boggling. Not only that, but the teachers themselves would love to know this information i in advance. One year, I was given three days' notice that I would be teaching a class that had no materials or lesson plans available. It would have been good to know because I could have used the summer to prepare. Keep in mind that anything done over the summer was on my own time without pay. So, teachers and administrators are working frantically that week before school, and as one principal used to say, he was happy if everyone had somewhere to go and got fed. If you want changes, lobby to give teachers more paid planning time before school. And all of those after-school events? Teachers are not paid to be there. They do it on their own time. Preparations? Same. Quite often, if there are refreshments, they pay for them as well. Check out teachers salaries, and you might change how you feel about preparing in advance.