Teacher Appreciation Week

​Teachers mean a lot to all of us, but especially to our students. As Kaden Hockenberry, an 11^th grader at Forbes Road School District said, "Roses are red, Violets are blue, it's Teacher Appreciation Week and we appreciate you!" We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Each year, the National Education Association (NEA) designates the first full week in May as National Teacher Appreciation Week. No matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you are, teachers are excited to do all that they can to help you succeed in and out of the classroom. Teachers are our caregivers, cheerleaders, and friends, and Teacher Appreciation Week is a chance to show them just how much we respect and support them, and how glad we are to have them in our lives.

Teacher Appreciation Week has been around for a while, but it took a lot of advocating and hard work for the celebration to be extended and recognized for a whole week. In 1953, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt convinced Congress that there needed to be a special day to recognize and honor the work educators do. Congress agreed, but it took another 27 years for it to become a national day. Then, in 1984, the National Parent Teacher Association felt that teachers should be celebrated with more than just one day each year, so the celebration was extended to the first full week in May and has been recognized and celebrated ever since.

Teachers are the talk of the town this week, so we let some students tell us what Teacher Appreciation Week means to them, and what their favorite thing about their teacher is:

• "Teacher Appreciation Week to me is a time where we can acknowledge all our teachers do to keep us safe and to teach us. It's a time for us to thank our teachers for all they do." Riley Broadwater, Forbes Road School District, 8^th grade
• "Teacher appreciation means respecting your teachers." Kaitlin McDonald, Forbes Road School District, 8^th grade
• "Pay homage to teachers because they deal with a lot from students." Jonathan Kellogg, Forbes Road School District, 12^th grade
• "It means that we get to appreciate our favorite teachers for who they are and what they do… I basically appreciate all the teachers." Anyanka Copeland, Middletown Area School District, 2^nd grade
• "My teacher is kind, smart, playful, hopeful, and PRIDEful." (PRIDE is an acronym for Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Discipline, and Excellence) Alaysa Flores Aragones, Middletown Area School District, 2^nd grade
• "My favorite thing about my teacher is that she helps me with doing my work." Wyatt Nice, Middletown Area School District, 2^nd grade
• "[She] reads books to us and gives us a lot of time to write." Joseph Rosario Adames, Middletown Area School District, 2^nd grade
  

While it's no secret that we appreciate all of PA's educators, administrators, and school staff year-round, Teacher Appreciation Week gives us an opportunity to really reflect on everything we love about our teachers and say with all our hearts, teachers: We appreciate YOU! The work isn't always easy, but we're #PAProud of how you show up for your students each and every day, help them learn and grow, and support their hopes and dreams.

How will you show your appreciation and #ThankATeacher this Teacher Appreciation Week?