Nationwide, teachers recognized for hard work
Published 9:59 am Friday, May 11, 2018
- Teachers at Sam Houston Elementary are treated to a pancake breakfast Tuesday as part of Teacher Appreciation Week for 2018. (Courtesy photo)
By Lorenzo Salinas
Teachers across the nation are being recognized for their hard work and dedication to their students in light of this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week.
The school districts in Port Arthur and Mid County are no exception, making a point of celebrating the educators who day in and day out make it their mission to teach the next generation.
Port Neches-Groves Independent School District took it as an opportunity to introduce something sweet to not only their teachers, but to everyone in the district.
“It’s a treat box full of goodies from Debbie’s Delight,” Cheryl Jourdan, executive secretary, said.
The box is a gift from the school board and contains treats like cake balls, dipped Oreos and spiced crackers.
“It’s a pretty little box with a purple bow on it,” Jourdan said. “It has a label on it that says, ‘For all you do, we appreciate you.’”
The label also has the names of all the school board members along with the superintendent. The box was distributed to every single employee of the school district Wednesday morning.
“That’s every teacher, every custodian, every cafeteria worker, every employee,” Julie Gauthier, assistant superintendent, said. “We love our teachers and our community loves and supports our community. We wish it could be like this every week.”
In addition to the treat box, Gauthier said every campus had its own PTA that provided different awards like meals from restaurants and extended lunches where teachers could have hourlong lunches.
“That way they’re not inhaling their food,” Gauthier said. “They could sit and enjoy it.”
Gauthier said it had been an incredible week for teachers and the school district as a whole.
“We definitely love our teachers,” she said. “It’s a special calling; what they do every day is incredible.”
Sabine Pass ISD has a theme every year for the weeklong event.
“Our theme this year is to get away to a tropical beach. It fits right in our area,” Kristi Heid, superintendent, said.
Heid explained that when teachers use the elevator, there’s a pile of sand nearby with beach chairs and Adirondack chairs.
Monday through Friday, the district offers breakfast and lunch to faculty.
“And they’ll receive little inspirational gifts every day,” Heid said. “Truthfully, the administration looks very forward to this week.”
At the Port Arthur school district, each day of the week had something special for teachers of several campuses.
At Tyrrell Elementary, the motto of the week was “The Greater Your Storm The Brighter Your Rainbow” with a hash tag: #tyrrellstrong.
On Monday, T-shirts were given out with the colors of the rainbow being represented with different shirts. The next day teachers were treated to breakfast, while for the rest of the week they received special treats like cookies, boxed lunches and a snack cart with drinks and chips.
At Sam Houston Elementary, good food was provided for teachers each day, with a bevy of cuisine from various organizations like Memorial Baptist, Life Church Breakfast, Jason’s Deli, Rao’s Bakery and Carpenter’s Way.
Teachers could choose from pancake breakfasts, cookie trays, nachos and breakfast bag treats. On Friday, the school’s PTA will serve a BBQ lunch.
At Lincoln Middle School, it was a mixture of edible treats and mailbox delights. Each day saw Lincoln teachers receive either a free lunch or cards and treat bags in their mailboxes. The end of the week was planned with pizza and cupcakes being served during lunch.
“Thank you for going above and beyond to ensure our students achieve academic success!” La Sonya Baptisite, principal, said in an email to faculty. “I appreciate the challenge and skill involved in the work you do and applaud you for dedicating your lives to teaching.”
Teacher Appreciation Week runs through the first full week in May.
