Teacher Appreciation Is More Than a Week in May

Teacher Appreciation Week is a good thing.

I love seeing schools celebrate teachers with breakfast in the lounge, handwritten notes from students, snacks, treats, and all the little extras that help people feel seen. Teachers deserve every bit of that recognition.

But a week of appreciation in May cannot make up for a year where teachers feel unheard, unsupported, or disconnected from campus decisions.

That is the part we have to be honest about as school leaders.

The real appreciation teachers remember is not always the breakfast taco or the gift card. Sometimes it is the principal who listens before making a decision. The administrator who shows up in classrooms consistently. The leader who protects teachers’ time, pays attention to their workload, and follows through when they ask for help.

Teacher appreciation is bigger than a week. It shows up in how teachers experience leadership all year long.

Include Teachers in Decisions That Affect Their Work

Teachers do not need to be included in every decision. That would be impossible and, honestly, exhausting for everyone.

But they should have a voice in the decisions that directly affect their instruction, their students, and their daily work.

Professional learning. Campus priorities. PLC structures. Instructional focus areas. School improvement planning. These are places where teacher voice matters.

One of the strongest practices I have seen is inviting teachers into learning walks. Not as a “gotcha” or evaluation process, but as a way to build shared understanding across the campus.

When teachers and administrators visit classrooms together and talk about instruction, the conversation changes. People begin to notice patterns. They see what is working. They get clearer about what students are experiencing from room to room.

The questions become more useful:

• What are we seeing across classrooms?

• Where are students doing the most thinking?

• What instructional practices do we want to strengthen together?

That kind of work builds ownership because teachers are not being handed another initiative from the office. They are helping shape the direction.

Get Into Classrooms

If teachers rarely see their principal in classrooms, it is hard for them to believe instruction is truly the priority.

I know principals are pulled in every direction. The job is full of interruptions, emergencies, parent concerns, district requests, and operational problems that cannot always wait.

But classrooms are where the real work of the school happens.

When you spend regular time in classrooms, you lead with better information. You see the pacing, the student responses, the instructional strengths, and the places where teachers may need support. That makes your feedback more useful and your decisions more connected to the real work happening across the campus.

And teachers notice when you show up. They notice when you understand the pacing challenges, the student behaviors, the curriculum demands, and the small wins that happen throughout the day. They also notice when the only time you enter the room is for a formal observation.

Being present does not have to be complicated. A few short visits each day can make a difference if they are consistent and grow over time.

Check In Before Things Become Problems

Some of the best support happens in quick, ordinary moments.

A principal walking the building in the morning.

A short stop at a classroom door.

A simple, “How’s your morning going?”

Those moments may seem small, but they give you information you will never get from your office.

You notice the teacher who looks overwhelmed. You see the class that is starting the day unsettled. You catch small issues before they turn into bigger ones.

On a large campus, you may not be able to get everywhere every day. That is fine. Divide the building. Rotate hallways. Make a plan that is realistic enough to actually happen.

The goal is not to perform visibility. The goal is to stay connected.

A Leadership Lesson My Teachers Taught Me

Years ago, while serving as a middle school principal, I made a mistake that completely changed how I think about teacher voice.

After taking a group of teacher leaders to a PLC refresher training, I came back energized with ideas and immediately added a new expectation for our PLC teams. I created a document I wanted every team to complete and submit after each meeting because I thought it would bring more structure and accountability to the work.

Instead, it mostly created frustration.

A couple of my assistant principals, who regularly attended the PLCs for the grade levels they supervised, came to me and said, “This is stressing teachers out, and honestly, it’s not improving the actual conversations happening in PLCs.”

They were right.

We already had a staff meeting scheduled that week, so I addressed it directly with the faculty. I apologized. I told them I had heard their concerns, and I let them know we were dropping the requirement.

Then we shifted the conversation.

Instead of me telling teachers what better PLCs should look like, I asked them what would actually help their teams grow and improve student learning.

The discussion was far more productive than the form I had created.

Teachers shared strategies that were already working inside some PLC teams. They talked about routines that helped keep conversations focused. They offered ideas for looking at student work more meaningfully and using data without turning meetings into compliance exercises.

The best part was that the ideas came from them.

Hearing colleagues talk about real practices that were working in their meetings carried far more weight than another directive coming from administration.

I walked away from that meeting with a much better understanding of teacher voice and how quickly good intentions can turn into added pressure if leaders are not careful.

Share the Daily Work of the School

There is something powerful about a principal who is willing to do the ordinary work alongside the staff.

Stand in the car line.

Serve on bus dismissal duty.

Cover classes when subs are short.

Be visible during the parts of the day that are often stressful and underappreciated.

When I was an elementary principal I learned nearly every student’s name by working the car line every day. This went a long way in connecting with students, teachers, and my community and it was a wonderful byproduct of being present.

When you greet students and families every morning, you build relationships in a way that no newsletter or formal event can replicate.

You also send a clear message to your staff.

You are not above the work.

You are in it with them.

Keep Growing Alongside Your Teachers

Teachers are asked to grow all the time. They attend professional learning, adjust instruction, implement new curriculum, analyze data, and respond to feedback.

They respect leaders who are also willing to grow.

If your teachers attend a professional development session, go with them when you can. If your campus is learning something new, participate as a learner. Be honest about what you are working on as a leader.

You do not need to overshare or turn every meeting into a personal reflection. Just be transparent enough for teachers to know that growth is not something you only expect from them.

Be Steady

This part does not get talked about enough.

Teachers need emotionally steady leadership.

They need to know they can bring you a concern without worrying about which version of you they are going to get that day. They need to know hard conversations will be handled professionally. They need to trust that problems will not be met with blame, sarcasm, or frustration.

That does not mean leaders have to be soft. It does not mean avoiding accountability.

It means staying grounded.

Schools are emotional places. People are tired. Kids bring real needs. Families are under pressure. Teachers are carrying a lot.

The principal sets the tone.

A steady leader makes the building feel safer for adults, and that matters more than we sometimes admit.

Appreciation Is a Leadership Practice

Teacher Appreciation Week is worth celebrating. Bring the snacks. Write the notes. Plan the fun surprises. Let teachers feel celebrated.

Just do not let that be the only version of appreciation they experience.

Teachers feel appreciated when their time is respected.

They feel appreciated when their voices matter.

They feel appreciated when their principal understands the work because they are close enough to see it.

They feel appreciated when support is not just promised, but followed through on.

The best appreciation is not limited to one week in May.

It is built into the way we lead every day.