HomepageISTEEdSurge
Skip to content
ascd logo

Log in to Witsby: ASCD’s Next-Generation Professional Learning and Credentialing Platform
Join ASCD
May 2, 2022
ASCD Blog

Districts That Value Teachers Show Their Appreciation Year-Round

author avatar
A communication strategy to give credit where credit is due.
Leadership
Districts That Value Their Teachers Show Their Appreciation Year-Round
Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK
It’s Teacher Appreciation Month and our teachers deserve a whole heck of a lot of appreciation. While we cannot take away the stress our teachers have endured in the past few years, we can acknowledge it and show our appreciation by giving teachers our attention. But to appreciate teachers properly, leaders need to plan beyond one week or month and implement a communication strategy that consistently shows teachers they are valued.
When a leader communicates internally or externally, our teachers take note. And often, they notice what you say just as much as what you omit. So to show appreciation for teachers, leaders should be sure that their communication consistently celebrates success, honors the work, and gives credit where credit is due.

Celebrate Success

We know when big events are happening in our schools. These are the events and moments when our students showcase their work to the community. They are our art shows, our science fairs, our concerts, and our sporting events. Our teachers are often behind the scenes making these events happen, ensuring that students have access to opportunities and that they shine. Teachers spend evenings and weekends planning for these events in our schools and leaders take notice of this work.
But celebrating success cannot just be about special events; leaders should be looking for small moments and commending the great work of teachers as part of their daily practice. This can take on multiple forms, but here are a few ideas to try:
  • Make teaching and learning a part of your routine communication with staff and the greater community. Highlight district progress with respect to instruction, professional learning, and supporting a positive school culture. Be sure that you are paying attention to different grade bands and content areas; you may want to keep a tally to ensure that all your teachers feel represented and supported.
  • Post to social media and thank your teachers for their work with students that day. Be specific, giving your teachers a public shout-out and sharing their work with your local community. This might mean highlighting a classroom visit or a visit to a grade-level meeting. The important part is naming what you observed.
  • Make it a habit to stop and listen. Leaders that make time for their teachers appreciate their teachers. Ask about what your teachers are working on and how their year is going. When part of your routine is checking in and listening, teachers know that you care about their work.
  • Bring small postcards around with you and drop a quick “It was great to be in your classroom today” note in a teacher’s mailbox. Name what you saw that was commendable, whether it was a particular interaction with a student or just great pedagogy. What’s important is that your teachers know that you are paying attention to their work and taking the time to follow through with a note.
Every conversation, every walk around school buildings, is an opportunity to learn about the success of your teachers. When leaders take notice and make celebrating success a part of their everyday routine, teacher appreciation becomes a practice rather than a one-time event.

Honor the Work

Saying “thank you” and “great job” in moments of success is important, but when celebrating success is not coupled with support for teaching and learning, our kind words can fall flat. Great leaders understand this and support teachers throughout the year by honoring teacher time, and helping teachers help kids.
When leaders honor the work, they place an equal emphasis on professional learning and professional collaboration. Teachers need time to sit with colleagues, look through data, and plan how to improve instruction. This means building schedules that include professional learning communities during the school day and planning for collaboration outside of the school day. Leaders that honor the work remember what it’s like to be in the classroom, and they build a schedule that provides a reasonable amount of time for teachers to tackle their work.
A school’s schedule and meeting calendar can speak volumes about whether a district values teacher time. Showing our appreciation for teachers means planning a school calendar that prioritizes professional collaboration and accounts for the challenges of being in the classroom. For example, even avoiding scheduling faculty or department meetings when grades are closing is a step in the right direction.
In addition to planning professional learning communities during the school day, districts could also arrange professional collaboration time after school in a similar frequency to faculty or department meetings. Naming those days in advance for our teachers sends a message of support and understanding.

Showing our appreciation for teachers means planning a school calendar that prioritizes professional collaboration.

Author Image

Stephanie Burroughs

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

I became a leader to support teachers and students, and I love what I do. The reality is that I am beholden to my teachers. Their success is my success, and their failure is my failure. Leaders, we have a lot of responsibilities too, but our greatest challenge is to never lose sight of the fact that our classroom teachers have the greatest impact on improving student outcomes. Without our teachers, organizational change will not happen.
As we welcome spring, it feels as though we are starting fresh. Let us not lose sight of the fact that we would not have made it through this pandemic and the challenging years that are now behind us without the incredible sacrifices and amazing work of our teachers. They adapted, learning new technologies and overhauling curriculum in order to meet the needs of the moment. Our teachers responded to every policy and schedule change with the same vigor for student success they’ve always had. We made it through because of them, and they deserve far more than a “thank you for all you do.”
For this Teacher Appreciation Month, honor your teachers by reassessing how you are communicating with your teachers and about your teachers. Make the necessary changes to ensure your teachers feel valued. After all, we pay attention to what we value. Let’s show our teachers that we appreciate them through everything that we do, not just what we say in May.

Stephanie Burroughs holds a doctorate in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California. Stephanie has more than 15 years of experience in education, with almost a decade of experience as a curriculum leader and administrator in K-12 education in Massachusetts.

Learn More

ASCD is dedicated to professional growth and well-being.

Let's put your vision into action.
Related Blogs
View all
undefined
Leadership
Q&A: Principal Hamish Brewer on Leaving a Legacy
Emma Hii
2 weeks ago

undefined
Assistant Principal Leadership During a Global Pandemic
Baruti K. Kafele
4 years ago

undefined
Designing Strategic Elementary Schedules
David James
1 month ago

undefined
5 Ways School Leaders Can Handle Disagreement
Corey Pickering
1 month ago

undefined
The Paradox of Administrator Burnout
Elizabeth Dampf
2 months ago
Related Blogs
Q&A: Principal Hamish Brewer on Leaving a Legacy
Emma Hii
2 weeks ago

Assistant Principal Leadership During a Global Pandemic
Baruti K. Kafele
4 years ago

Designing Strategic Elementary Schedules
David James
1 month ago

5 Ways School Leaders Can Handle Disagreement
Corey Pickering
1 month ago

The Paradox of Administrator Burnout
Elizabeth Dampf
2 months ago