Giving Compass' Take:

• Michael Niehoff , as a former education site leader, offers the five best ways to appreciate and recognize teachers for the hard work that they do.

• Niehoff talks about creating a culture of teacher support and appreciation rather than devoting an official calendar day in the year.  Will it be difficult to create a culture of appreciation because it means shifting the value that we put on the teacher workforce?

• Read about how New York City honored seventeen exemplary teachers for their hard work and dedication.

It’s May, and once again it’s Teacher Appreciation Month. Appreciation and recognition of our teachers is so important. Now, as a former site leader, I’m reflecting on what really matters to teachers. Here are five ways to recognize and appreciate teachers:

  1. Creating A Culture of Teacher Support & Appreciation-If you ask teachers, most will indicate that they do want appreciation and recognition for their hard work. However, they will also often say that they would rather have that appreciation and recognition be an ongoing, sincere and cultural acknowledgment versus an official event or days on a calendar.
  2. Autonomy- Autonomy is about freedom, trust and ultimately professionalism. Teachers will never feel appreciated unless they have control over their own destiny.
  3. Flexibility- If we want personalized learning for students, then we need to also welcome personalized teaching and professional learning for educators. This can be anything from covering teachers classrooms while they take care of personal business, as well as various professional goals and activities educators may have.
  4. Digital Appreciation-Technology allows us to extend beyond that annual teacher appreciation week. It can start with personal emails or texts recognizing outstanding work in and out of the classroom. But it can expand to using social media tools, school websites, blogs and other tech outlets to feature our teachers.
  5. Let The Students Do It- Finally, maybe one of the best things we can do for teacher appreciation is to get the students involved.

Read the full article about appreciating teachers by Michael Niehoff at Getting Smart