Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5-9, 2025) is fast approaching, and it’s the perfect opportunity to show the educators in your life just how much their dedication means to you and your child. While the traditional apple for the teacher is a sweet gesture, today’s teaching realities call for more meaningful expressions of gratitude. Did you know…
- The average teacher works 10-12 hours per day, including evenings spent grading and planning
- 47% of teachers report high daily stress during the school year, on par with nurses and physicians
- Teachers are increasingly expected to be content experts, technology specialists, social-emotional coaches, and crisis interveners all at once
Here are 10 thoughtful ways to celebrate the teachers who are making a profound difference in our children’s lives.
1. Coordinate a “Appreciation Ambush”
Have students arrive early one day and line the hallway leading to their teacher’s classroom. When the teacher arrives, students can hold up signs with specific things they appreciate about their teacher and cheer as they walk to class. This celebration of their impact can be emotionally powerful for educators.
2. Create a “Why We’re Thankful” Video Compilation
Record short clips of each student sharing one specific way their teacher has helped them this year. Compile these into a video and share it with the teacher. Include parent testimonials too! The specificity makes this gift particularly meaningful.
3. Organize a “Supply Shower”
Teaching is one of the few professions where employees routinely spend their own money on work supplies. Recent studies show teachers spend an average of $750 annually on classroom materials.
Have each family contribute classroom supplies from the teacher’s wish list. Display them with a note saying, “We know you shower our children with knowledge and support every day—this is our small way of showering you with supplies to make teaching a little easier.”
4. Provide a Week of Lunch Coverage
Many teachers spend their “lunch break” continuing to work, making copies, helping students or preparing for afternoon classes. Arrange for parents to cover lunch duty for a week so teachers can actually enjoy a full, uninterrupted lunch break—a true luxury in the teaching world.
5. Establish a “Class Legacy” Project
Work with students to create something lasting for the classroom that future students will use. This could be a classroom library corner, a special learning center, or an outdoor garden bed. Include a plaque recognizing the teacher’s impact.
6. Compile a “Quotable Moments” Book
Throughout the year, record funny, insightful or touching things the teacher says. Compile these quotes, along with student illustrations, into a book presented during Teacher Appreciation Week. These captured moments often remind teachers of their best teaching days.
7. Arrange for “Secret Supporters”
For each day of Teacher Appreciation Week, assign different families to secretly handle specific tasks: one day someone brings coffee, another day someone makes copies, another day someone supervises recess duty. Teachers consistently report that time is their most valuable resource.
8. Create a Classroom “Helping Hands” Fund
Establish a small fund that the teacher can access throughout the year to help students who might need assistance with field trip fees, school supplies, or other classroom needs. Teachers often pay for these things from their own pocket.
9. Organize a “Grateful Graffiti” Wall
Cover a bulletin board with paper and provide markers for students and families to write messages of appreciation throughout the week. By Friday, the board will be filled with colorful notes of gratitude that the teacher can save.
10. Tell Your Teacher a Joke!
Bring a smile to your teacher’s face with these school-themed jokes:
- What do you call a teacher who doesn’t give homework? A dream come true!
- Why was the math book sad? It had too many problems!
- Teacher: “Why are you late?” Student: “Because of a sign.” Teacher: “What sign?” Student: “The one that said, ‘School Ahead, Go Slow.'”
- How do you make a tissue dance? Put a little boogie in it!
What’s the difference between a teacher and a train? A teacher says, “Spit out that gum!” and a train says, “Chew, chew!”
Kisha DeSandies Lester is the Strategic Communications Director at National PTA.
