Teacher Appreciation Week is May 2-6
Ensure teachers feel recognized at work.
Some parents take Teacher Appreciation Day very seriously. They purchase thoughtful gifts for their children's teachers every year.
School administrators, the teacher's union, school boards and parent-teacher organizations should also recognize educators each year. Tell teachers you value what they do: prepare our children for their futures.
Give teachers the extra credit they deserve. Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week in the first full week of May. Order early to ensure products arrive by May 1.
Also, remember the other professionals whose work is critical to schools and children; and the days dedicated to celebrating them.
More education-related appreciation days, weeks and months:
February
School Counseling Week -- first full week of February
School Resource Officer's Day -- February 15
March
National School Breakfast Week -- first full week of March
April
National School Librarians/Library Week -- first full week of April
School Librarian Appreciation Day -- April 13
National School Volunteer Week -- third full week of April
May
Physical Education and Sports Week -- first full week of May
School Nurses Day -- May 4
School Lunch Hero Day -- May 6
October
National Principal's Month
School Custodian and Grounds Appreciation Day -- October 2
Coach Appreciation Day -- October 6
National School Bus Safety Week, School Bus Drivers Appreciation -- third full week of October
November
American Education Week -- the week before Thanksgiving
National Education Support Professionals Day -- the Wednesday of American Education Week
Substitute Educator Appreciation Day -- the Friday of American Education Week
Include everyone in recognition programs by adding these dates to your calendar.
What do teachers want for appreciation gifts?
Pop quiz. How many coffee mugs does one teacher need? If three parents gift a coffee mug each year, they will have 18 mugs in six years. Change up your teacher's presents with something new and different they can use in the classroom or for themselves.
There are thousands of customized promotional gifts for teachers. These are a few suggestions to get you started.
Promotional School Supplies
It is thoughtful to give teachers something they can use for themselves. But U.S. teachers spend their own money -- $500 or more each year -- purchasing school supplies. Ease that financial burden by giving them classroom supplies.
We can put your school logo on staplers, rulers, spiral notebooks, Post-it notes, or other needed office or school supplies. Your teachers will use these in their classrooms for pupils who forgot them that day or students who did not come with their own.
Bulk Pencils and Colored Pencils
A No. 2 pencil is one of the most affordable custom writing tools teachers want. Students need them to take notes, write their assignments, and do homework. Colored pencils are also economical and sturdier than crayons. Older students may prefer them.
Custom Hoodies
Classrooms can get cold. Instead of a cardigan, give teachers a customized hoodie. Your logo can be the school's motto, its name, or your school's sports mascot. Do teachers take turns on bus duty? A bright, school bus yellow hoodie can help students and parents identify the helpers in drop-off and pick-up lines.
Personalized Polo Shirts
Does your district insist on business dress, or are jeans and collared shirts acceptable? Then their wardrobe should include custom embroidered or silk-screened polo shirts. Encourage teachers to wear their polo shirts during field trips, school-wide assemblies, in-service instruction days, or because it is Tuesday.
Promotional Fidget Toys
The noise made by a fidget spinner might drive teachers up a wall. There are quieter fidget toys. These toys soothe students having a bad day, struggle with sensory inputs, or need something to help them prepare for the next part of their day.
Teachers can use them, too, when they need to distract their brains -- like if they are struggling to finish lesson plans or grade papers.
Customizable Insulated Food Containers
A food container is more than a lunch bag for an apple and sandwich. Other food containers include bento boxes with reusable bamboo utensils, divided salad containers and insulated soup mugs.
Cooking at home can be a great way to relieve stress and eat healthier. If your teachers are into meal prep, give them branded containers to bring lunch to work.
Promotional Power Bank
Yes, classrooms have outlets. But if your teachers are also coaches, dance and school trip chaperones or take students on museum field trips -- their batteries need a charge. School branded power banks charge their phones and tablets. Multiple ports allow multiple teachers to charge during emergencies.
Customized Foods and Snack Packs
Sometimes it is nice to get a snack pack. We call promotional snacks consumables for a reason. Once eaten, there is nothing left to wash, display or store. Stash away prepackaged food for days when taking a lunch period is not an option. They can also save these snacks for student prizes or give them to children missing their lunch.
Promotional Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer became both hard to find and essential during the early days of the pandemic. Many school districts and states supplied schools with hand sanitizer when schools reopened. But sanitizers were on school supply lists long before then. Ensure your teachers now have supplies for regular cold and flu seasons in their classrooms.
Custom Wireless Earbuds
During the pandemic, most schools went remote. Some are now doing hybrid schedules, with some students at home and others in the classroom. Did you give your teachers wireless earbuds, allowing them to move away from the screen while still engaging with students? If you did not, it is not too late. Give customized wireless earbuds to each teacher for their new workload.
Branded Drawstring Bags
Drawstring bags are among the most affordable custom bag options. Teachers like them because they are easy to stash in a drawer, tote along during field trips, and send soiled clothes home to parents.
Customized USB Flash Drives
Give teachers flash drives to back up their individual computers. Schools quickly recover from ransomware attacks and other technology breakdowns when teachers back up computers.
Give school-branded flash drives with the name of your IT or security team's phone number printed on them.
Study up on new ideas for teacher appreciation from Logotech. Then, register for an account or contact your Logotech Account Manager. You will ace the gift-giving test.
