Teacher appreciation week begins on Monday, May 6th, and I can’t think of a better time to let your child’s teacher know how much you appreciate the work they are doing! Every day, teachers stand up so that your kids can stand out. They are faced with an enormous job that rarely gets left at work. So as they pack up the bags of papers to correct or lessons to review, they often are still pondering how they can get the shy little ones to talk more or the clumsy ones to try again. Their minds are searching for better ways to teach fractions or ideas for books that will help their students fall in love with reading. They are talking to their colleagues and asking for their advice or suggestions on how to get better results. They are remembering the permission slips they must type up, the emails they need to send and the reports they want to look over. 

The list of things filling their mind is never-ending and ever-growing. With overladen armloads of bags stuffed to the brim, we see our teachers make their way to the car and hastily place them inside. Securing them just enough to prevent them from spilling over and undoing all the organized chaos that went into packing them. With a deep breath and renewed spirit of forward movement, our teachers settle into their cars and drive home to begin their second life. At home, they switch hats. Off goes the teacher, counselor, advocate, referee, cheerleader, monitor, detective, nurturer, listener, bandager, and entertainer hats, and on goes the mom, wife, sister, aunt, neighbor, volunteer, chef, uber driver, partner, planner, and gardener hats. Our teachers continue through their day running errands, making dinner, heading up clubs, and volunteering for sports, all while the thoughts of “their” students run through their minds. 

In some cases, they are wondering if their students will all be fed, loved, and cared for that night. You see, just because teachers go home for the night doesn’t mean they aren’t still thinking about the needs of their students! We often say the job is 24/7. 

Whether teachers are remembering the incredible job their students did that day or just a hilarious moment where students left them laughing (sometimes only on the inside), students are on their minds! This is part of what makes working with children and students a tremendously rewarding career! I am so very grateful to the nearly 350 teachers in Ukiah Unified who give their time, talents, and treasures to their students each and every day! Please join me in thanking the Ukiah Unified School District teachers for their dedication and passion for seeing students succeed. Students are the center of everything we do!