Help Celebrate Teachers This Week and Every Week
This week, we celebrated National Teacher Appreciation Week.
While it’s important to officially mark this week in the school year, we should not need a reminder to thank the 90,000 teachers in Virginia. We should keep them in our thoughts and hearts throughout the year.
As the saying goes, “Teaching is the profession that creates all others.” No matter what your vocation, someone taught you along the way the skills to succeed – whether it was reading, writing and arithmetic or physics, welding, or accounting.
But teachers today go beyond the tested standards. They connect with our students and add another layer of love and support as our students grow, learn, make mistakes, overcome challenges, mature, and ready themselves for their future. Students get a mentor, who will cheer them on from the sidelines, answer their emails as they encounter challenges in college, and encourage them for the rest of their lives.
One of my greatest honors as the Superintendent of Public Instruction is the privilege to recognize excellence among our instructional staff and educational leaders. I know Virginia has some of the best teachers in the country! Your commitment to your students and communities does not go unnoticed. We see you arrive at the building before the sun is up and not leave until the street lights come on. We see you set aside your lunch to host students in your classroom who need tutoring. We see you participate in professional development opportunities during the summer so your lessons are rich and engaging for your students all year. We know your Pinterest boards are packed with classroom decoration ideas, lesson plans and class projects, and ways to stay organized and be more efficient. And we know you spend so much time getting to know your students and families that you’re often invited to college graduations and weddings later down the line. Your commitment to your students is the heartbeat of public education.
I appreciate every one of our teachers each day, those who are in their last days of a legacy of teaching, and those who are just beginning this wonderful journey … one I’m so thankful a teacher prepared me for many years ago.
Please join me in thanking a teacher who is making a difference in your child’s life or who made a difference in your own life.
#ThankATeacher #VAis4Learners @VEA4Kids
