Whether you're a student, a parent, or an administrator, chances are there's a teacher (or many teachers) in your life who you'd like thank. We've gathered a few ideas you can use to show special teachers how much they mean. Take our suggestions and run with them! These are just a few possibilities to get you started.
IDEAS FOR ADMINISTRATORS
One of the important qualities shared by great teachers and great administrators alike is the ability to say thank you and acknowledge a job well done. As meaningful as it is for a teacher to receive recognition from parents and students, they appreciate recognition from their administration just as much.
TEACHER APPRECIATION OVER EASY
Prepare breakfast for all the teachers one morning during the week.
DO A WRITE-UP
Write poems, letters, or notes of appreciation and leave them in teachers' mailboxes. Read them at morning assembly or over the intercom.
GOOD MORNING
Take orders the previous night so that coffee and pastries from the local coffeehouse are waiting for the teachers when they arrive at work.
PERSONALIZE IT
Print teachers' names on coffee mugs, T-shirts, or other items to commemorate the years' efforts.
TAKE NOTE
Write teachers notes like "Well done!" for going above and beyond or accepting a challenge. Let teachers know that you see how they care about students, and their efforts are appreciated.
AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Plan an end-of-the-day stress relief game such as volleyball or softball. Provide free snacks and refreshments.
MAKE IT A SURPRISE
One morning in the teachers' lounge, surprise the faculty with muffins, fruit, and coffee.
ADOPT-A-TEACHER
Organize an event in which parents and administrators cover teachers' classrooms for an hour during lunch so that they can enjoy a meal outside of their classrooms.
HOMEMADE HOMEROOM GIFTS
Have each teacher's homeroom class decorate a shoe box or flowerpot that the teacher can use to store special notes, cards, gifts, and other treasures.
DRESS IT UP
Decorate the staff lounge and the hallways of the school with Teacher Appreciation Week themed pictures and banners.
WALK OF FAME
Create your own Walk of Fame for your teachers. Get a piece of donated red carpet or put red butcher paper down in the entry hall. Make gold stars with a teacher's name on each, and have the school meet the teachers as they arrive one morning.
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS
Perform random acts of kindness for teachers--have their classroom windows washed or use professional development funds to hire subs to supervise classes for an hour so teachers can take a break or meet with colleagues.
"OPERATION (INSERT TEACHER'S NAME)"
This project is planned for teachers who are serving in the military and have been called up for service. The parents, other teachers, and students can collect useful items to send to them in "care packages" (for instance: soap, deodorant, sunscreen, snack items, cards, letters, banners). This allows the schools to do something productive in a worrisome time and, best of all, lets that teacher know that they are supported, missed, and remembered.
MORE IDEAS
I have been fortunate enough to experience many celebrations during the past 30 years, from luncheons to flowers. But the most touching celebration is the one that comes from the children ... from their hearts. A card, a note, a picture that says "you are loved and appreciated" is the best. I have saved many "little celebrations" over the years from children and each one carries a memory and a piece of soul that will last forever. I look at them often.
--Percy Hill, K-8 Physical Education & Health
I had a creative mom one year who took the students outside and had my students create letters with their bodies--then she photographed them. When she put all of the photos together, they spelled out "THANKS FOR A GREAT YEAR!" All of my students were in the photos!
--Roxann Rose-Duckworth, former elementary teacher, current College of Education professor
Our two staff bathrooms were very plain and utilitarian. One year, the PTA/PTO spent a whole weekend at school to surprise us: On Monday, when we arrived at school we discovered that the bathrooms had been redecorated--wallpaper, new paint, pictures on the wall, a little dresser to hold our personal items, fresh flowers. The following year, the PTA/PTO brought kids into school over a weekend and put their handprints in red, blue, or yellow paint on the walls of the front foyer as a welcoming touch.
--Sharon Locey, MS Teacher
