Teacher Appreciation Week is almost here! Are you ready?

Administrators, what do you do usually to thank your staff during Teacher Appreciation Week? Breakfasts? Candy? Gift cards? Dress-down days?

Looking for some new ideas? Here are six outside-the-box ways to let your staff know how important they are to you.

1. Help them relax. Hire a mobile chair massage therapist to come to your school for a day. To avoid chaos, circulate a sign-up sheet beforehand, and make sure there are enough slots open for everyone.
2. Take them to lunch. You might not be able to take each of your staff members to lunch personally, but maybe you could take one grade level or teaching team at a time. They’ll appreciate both the lunch and the time with you. A smaller lunch provides a great opportunity to talk to your staff more directly about their classroom concerns and what you can do to support them. Knowing they have your ear and that you want to work with them to solve the problems they see every day will give them a much-needed end-of-the-year morale boost.
3. Take over their class. Could you and the rest of your school’s administrative team take turns subbing in teachers’ classrooms for 30 minutes so that staff can take a short, personal break? Choose a time when teachers have a preplanned activity scheduled, or plan a short activity of your own—read to students or use this time to get to know them a little better. If you’re in a bigger school, you can host a drawing, with the winners receiving a planned break from an administrator.
4. Get students to help. Encourage students to write personal thank you letters to their teachers and school support staff. Any educator will tell you that a thoughtful letter from a student is the most rewarding gift!
5. Consider a group gift. What does your staff need? A nice new coffee maker or a new comfy couch in the staff lounge? Could you redecorate or revitalize your break room? A thoughtful group gift that all your staff can benefit from is always a good idea.
6. Remember, a simple “thank you” goes a long way. One of the best gifts you can give your teachers is a heartfelt thank you. Everyone loves personalized notes, so if you have the time, write individual letters to teachers throughout the year to recognize their accomplishments and hard work. But if you can’t manage that that, a sincere, face-to-face “thank you” is a close runner up.

Teachers, what gifts would you most like to receive from your administrators? Leave your thoughts in the comments below! And keep your eyes open for a Teacher Appreciation Week giveaway coming soon from ATPE!

Keep reading the ATPE Blog for more great tips and tricks for Texas educators. Want to be sure you never miss a blog post? Follow us on Bloglovin’.

Not an ATPE member? Join Texas’s largest and most influential group of educators today!