Well, it’s been another roller coaster of a year, and we’re all feeling pretty exhausted. Whether you’re back to face to face learning, or you’re still remote or hybrid, this is a great time to show appreciate for the teachers you’ve worked with this year!
Finding ways to share that your work together is meaningful and powerful for you, and hopefully a growth opportunity for them too, is a great way to end the academic year.
1:: The Pop In
In person, or through a remote check in, stop by their classroom and just say a little bit of a thank you to them in person. Here are a couple of sentence starters that might help you show your appreciation when you stop by their classroom:
- I would like to collaborate more with you because I want to learn first hand how you…..
- I think something that your students benefit from is how well you model….
- I wonder if you know how much I appreciate your skill when you….
- You remind me of how much craft goes into planning, I noticed this when you….
- You’ve helped me refine my goals for the next year, you did this when you….
Those are five ways you can demonstrate that you have been paying attention to the relationship and collaboration you have built with these colleagues.
2:: A Thank You Note
A second strategy would be to drop a thank you note in their mailbox, email, or right in their classroom. An actual written card seems silly and trivial, but it shows that you actually care and you have something you want to say and share with them. Taking the time to hand write a note like that, especially if it’s on a nice card or something that’s meaningful for you or your colleague is a nice way to say thank you and show appreciation for the work that you’ve done together this year.
3:: Do Something Special
Do something for that person, something that maybe they don’t have a lot of time for, or that would help relieve some stress. You could:
- offer to take over one of their duties, either right now, or when you’re less busy at certain times of the year, when teachers are super stressed.
- provide a just in time resource for their classroom that will help keep students “engaged” at the end of the year (like a Kahout quiz or activity)
- pop in and take a group of students for a fun activity that fits with the learning happening in their classroom
These are great ways to take something off their plate and help them feel like you are offering something really valuable to them in that moment in time.
4:: Share Their Work
Share their work with a wider audience, and most importantly, to share their work and say why it’s so great. Maybe share something you might’ve said in my first tip, or maybe something that you have seen in their classroom that you’d like to share with a wider audience. It’s easy to just share, but explaining the impact of why this work is so powerful is essential. So when you share, be really thoughtful about why you’re sharing that great work that that teacher did.
5:: Offer Custom PD
Find a resource that they’ve been looking for or customize a PD resource just for them! At this time of year, teachers are super stressed and busy and frazzled. So is there something that you can do to help make their lesson easier in that moment, something customized that, based on your relationship that they’ve been really looking for, that you can provide kind of just in time for them.
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