Celebration of Teaching

Delta Iota Chapter – University of Louisiana Lafayette: Teacher Preparation Peer Mentoring Program 

The Teacher Preparation Peer Mentoring Program (TPPMP) at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) was created because there was something missing within the College of Education that encouraged us as preservice teachers to foster a connection with our preservice teacher peers. Our fellow teacher candidates are either completing or have finished benchmark assignments, courses, exams, and in-school fieldwork; asked instructors and advisors lots of questions; and participated in organizations to help them develop as educators. Learning from one another is an invaluable resource that teaching candidates should take advantage of because we can learn so much from our peers.

Alpha Epsilon Sigma Chapter – Western Governors University: Showing Appreciation to Educators

We decided to make shirts with words and phrases of appreciation for the teachers. Our first step was to have committee members nominate a school to be the recipient of the project. After nominations, we had our general membership vote on which school they thought should be chosen. We did this so that choosing a school would be more objective. Next, we decided to get the positive words/phrases from the community where the school is located. While we could have brainstormed the words and phrases ourselves, we thought it would mean more to the staff and teachers if the words came from their own community. After obtaining many words and phrases, we made those words into a word cloud, which we then put on a shirt. Enough shirts for everyone in the school were ordered and delivered to our committee member that works at the school. In addition, we also sent them some books that were left over from a book drive that we did so that we could help them build their classroom library. The committee member that works at the school wrapped up the shirts in ribbon and a cute card and distributed them to the teachers and staff. Lastly, we had a catered Chick Fil A breakfast delivered to the school to show our own appreciation for them.

Upsilon Chapter – University of Florida: Teacher Appreciation Week

In the Fall, we debuted our Teacher Appreciation week project with events all week, each with a different purpose that met our objectives. We created teacher appreciation cards and emails for various teachers that have impacted our lives. 18 members sent emails to those that inspired them to also pursue a career in education. We also created two posters and displayed them at the College of Education, with the prompts “I want to be a teacher because…” and “A professor who I am grateful for is…”. These posters were created by 7 members and signed by over 20 individuals in just one week. These posters stayed on display throughout the entire academic year, generating over 100 responses by May. This was a concrete example of how we celebrated professors throughout the Gainesville community and showed our appreciation for those in the field of education. Our last events centered around teacher grams, where we used funds from our various fundraisers to create mini gift bags for professors and teachers in our community. 10 members, including individuals in our service committee, created, and distributed over 25 teacher grams that were filled with school supplies, a small candle, and a note of appreciation from a KDP member. We saw the impact that this event had in the Fall and decided that it was important to continue this Celebration of Teaching endeavor in the Spring. We focused more on inspiring the future generation of teachers with this week’s events, a direct correlation to the mission and values of KDP. In the spring, we sent 19 teacher appreciation emails and gave 10 teachers in Alachua County a small gift of appreciation, varying from a Starbucks gift card to a bundle of school supplies for their classroom. Members also paid it forward by donating to various Donors Choose projects of Title 1 Teachers in Alachua County and other nearby school districts. Our member’s donated approximately $120 to various projects that would enhance the learning of students in numerous classrooms. Additionally, we created an additional poster to put on display at the College of Education, this time with a focus on the future. The prompt read “Someone that I know will be a great educator,” which was created by our Director of Service Projects, Madison Fallacara. 38 members signed this poster and shared who they believe will be an amazing educator, and by the end of the week the poster had over 100 names. For our members, we led a “self-care social” that highlighted the importance of taking care of yourself while continuing to inspire your students. Lastly, we hosted our Teacher Panel, which included two educators from Alachua County School District, one who is a first-year teacher and another who has served students for over 13 years. They shared their experiences in the classroom and inspired future teachers, and we showed our appreciation through a small gift card that they can use for classroom supplies and expenditures. Overall, every event was a success and allowed us to celebrate the educators in our lives, including ourselves.