Dear Teacher,

Dear Teachers-

The summer is wrapping up and many of you are returning to work. I guess I should say “officially” returning to work because I know that many of you have spent your summer break working hard to get ready for your new students, almost as soon as you wrapped up the school year in June.

I wanted to write you and to say Thank you.Thanks for showing up to work in a profession that many are walking away from.

Thanks for investing your time, your talents, your energy, and your heart into students that may or may not ever give you the appreciation that you deserve.

Thanks for sitting through professional development workshops to learn new techniques to help you better meet the needs of a ridiculously vast number of student needs and issues.

Thanks for spending your lunch break helping your students open their milk cartons, tutoring a student who is struggling, or trying to find out why one of the little girls in your room is sitting all by herself.

Thanks for showing up early to meet with concerned parents and for staying late to help those students that don’t have anyone else at home to do so.

Thanks for making sure that my kids have a snack on the days that I forgot to pack one.Thanks for reassuring scared parents on the first day of school as they stand with tears in their eyes trying to not cry while handing over their most precious possessions in the world- their children.Thanks for showing up on days that you feel like quitting.

Thanks for taking care of my children when they don’t feel well, when they’re having a bad day, or when they may just be acting plain mean.

Thank you for teaching my children things that I’m not able to- for being patient when you want to not be, and for being encouraging when you’re sitting and listening to them sound out words at the pace of a snail.Thanks to those that serve as club advisers, athletic team coaches, or show up to watch ballgames and performances that your students are a part of. You are such a huge influence on their lives! You make a difference and you let them know that THEY MATTER when you show up. Thank you.

Thanks for doing car duty in the morning, lunch duty when you’d rather be eating or catching up on all the paperwork you need to do, and bus duty in the afternoons. Your supervision helps me to not worry and to know that my child is safe.

Thanks for putting up with angry phone calls from parents that question you before they know the whole situation. For the times that you’ve been harshly judged or mistreated or simply treated without the respect that you deserve, I’m sorry.

Thanks for showing up to teach my children when you’d probably rather be at home with your own.

Thanks for not giving up. Thanks for showing up.

You matter.

YOU MATTER.

The influence you have over the students in your classroom Is huge. You get to build them up, even when they maybe have never heard affirming, kind words before.You have the opportunity to affirm the person that they were made to be, the skills that they have inside of them, and the potential they have to change the world. WHAT A GIFT!You have the responsibility of not just imparting knowledge, but also life skills.

You get the task of meeting not just their educational needs, but also their emotional and sometimes physical needs.

It’s a big job, friend.

Know this: I’ll be praying for you.

I believe in you and the work that you are doing.

I KNOW that you are one of the absolute biggest factors in whether or not my children will love school or hate it.

You have the ability to make your classroom a safe space for learning, fun, and community. I pray that you do.

When there is a student in your classroom that is feeling sad or lonely, I pray that you have eyes quick to notice and the words that will be quick to heal.

When you pass  a student in the hallway, I pray that you offer a smile and a word of encouragement.

When you are sitting in yet another faculty meeting, I’m praying that you’ll be able to keep the point of all of this right in front of you- to love and teach and reach these students regardless of the barriers you face.

Those barriers often seem overwhelming. I pray for endurance for you to keep trying.

I pray for wisdom for you to figure out difficult situations with challenging students (and adults).

I pray for you to find JOY in your calling- and that you can have eyes that can see the infinite potential you have each day to literally change lives. Not just lives, but generations to come. With the skills and knowledge you are giving students, you’re not just helping them, but also their future children
and grandchildren.

YOU matter, teacher.

We are so very grateful for you.

We’re sending you the best we’ve got- and praying that you’ll give us the same in return.

We are for you.

Even when it may not feel like it.

We’re for you and we’re behind you. And we are CHEERING YOU ON!