With student finals approaching, summer is just around the corner as another school year comes to a close. It’s also a time for parents and educators to give thanks and recognition to teachers for a job well done.
May 7–11 marked Teacher Appreciation Week, as teachers throughout the nation unwrapped presents or received flowers, thank-you letters, food, and gifts from parents, students, and school administrators.
Schools around the country paid homage to their teaching staff last week.
In Louisville, Ky., the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) of Pleasant Grove Elementary prepared lunch every day for the teachers and made cookies. “We come in Monday and roll up a note to teachers not to pack their lunch. We make them lunch, bring pizza with chips and pops, and leave surprises on their desk every day,” said Mrs. Phillips, a PTO member. Reese’s Pieces candies were laid on teachers’ desks with a card saying: “Without you, we would fall to pieces.”
The Atlanta School, a small, private school in the state’s capital, showed teacher appreciation with flowers and a dessert table that featured Tiramisu. School administrator Paulette Adams said students also brought in flowers, and added there were too many desserts to remember them all.
In Florida, Miami’s 59-acre Mega-Magnet Coral Reef High School gave teachers flowers and chocolate-covered apples, as the PTO prepared lunches for the teachers.
South Carolina’s Palmetto State E-cademy, a virtual school, presented teachers with gift cards to local coffee shops. Principal Tammie Powell said teachers are preparing for graduation, when the faculty will come face-to-face and share stories.
At Boston’s Snowden International School, “The principal is surprising the teachers and staff with little gifts in their mailboxes every day of Teacher Appreciation Week,” Karen Stevens, a community coordinator, said last week. But students also began writing notes to their teachers for a booklet to be made and presented at a teacher appreciation luncheon in June.
Balloons weighed down with thank-you letters were delivered to teachers at New York’s Townsend Harris High School at Queens College. Lisa Mars, assistant principal of the arts, said students wrote notes to teachers giving special thanks.
Salt Lake City’s Mountain View Elementary School staff were really touched this year by the generosity of parents as they honor teachers. Principal Jim Martin said there was plenty of food: muffins, homemade breakfasts and lunches, as well as tokens of appreciation.
“This is the first year of a parent-teacher association after not having one for a few years. In the past, the administration sponsored teacher appreciation activities, but this year the parents have really gone all out to really honor the teachers, such as getting up extra early to make the teachers breakfast,” said Martin.
Charjean Elementary in Memphis, Tenn., presented the 3rd Annual Teachers’ Day Luncheon at the “Charjean Café.” Students performed songs and musical instrumentals, and recited poems. Teachers were treated to lunch with Teacher of the Year proclamations, with quotes on teachers from Mark Twain and Albert Einstein presented.
A teacher appreciation banquet, sponsored by the Memphis Education Association (MEA) and local businesses, featured guest speaker Josh Pastner, coach of the University of Memphis men’s basketball team.
“Teacher Appreciation Week is a time to honor hard work ... I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a favorite teacher, and now is the time to recognize their importance to our lives,” said Keith Williams, MEA union president, in a press release.
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