Thank a Teacher!

It’s a hard year to be a teacher. In the classroom, we’re supporting students who need an elevated amount of socioemotional support as they re-learn to navigate social interactions, the return of an intense workload as schools try to make up for the “lost learning” of last year, and the inner anxieties of spending day-in, day-out in buildings filled with majority unvaccinated students. All of that on top of the usual stressors of the teaching profession. It’s a lot.

This is a perfect time for our community to show some love to the teachers who are supporting our Tacoma kids so much.

Last year, a group of us came together to write personalized letters of gratitude to each of the 30+ teachers and staff members at Oakland High School, here in Tacoma. I heard such amazing thanks from their staff in the form of emails and a few of their own hand-written letters, that I’m inviting us into this community practice again!

This year, we’re sending these letters of gratitude to the teachers and staff at Foss High School, one of Tacoma’s comprehensive high schools and the school home of just over 600 students and roughly 55 staff (teachers, office staff, administrators, para educators, etc.). This is just one small way of honoring and thanking our teachers, who are working so hard in this difficult pandemic school year.

If you’re interested in joining me in this, check out the “How it Works” steps below and sign up using the “Sign Up to Write a Letter” button!

Step One: Sign Up to Write a Letter!

Use the Sign Up link above to sign up to write a letter. You’ll be asked for your email address, how many letters you’d like to write, and for a small donation toward the cost of the prepaid coffee cards!

Step Two: Receive a Name!

After you’ve signed up, you’ll receive the name of one of the school’s staff members, their position at the school, and my mailing address to send your completed letter.

Step Three: Start Writing!

Now is the fun part. With the name you’ve received and a piece of paper (or a card), go ahead and write the school staff member a short letter thanking them for all the hard work they’re doing supporting our Tacoma kids!

Step Four: Mail the Letter to Andy!

After you’ve written the letter, go ahead and send it directly to me using the mailing address you will receive with the staff member’s name. If you’re using a greeting card/envelope, just write the staff member’s name on the unsealed envelope, place into another envelope, and send it my way!

Step Five: Thank Yourself!

This is one small way we can support our teachers and school staff in these difficult times. As a teacher myself, I promise you, these small gestures from the community mean the world. So celebrate! You’ve just brought more joy into the world!

Step Six: Andy Delivers to Foss!

After I’ve received all of our letters, I’ll add in pre-paid coffee cards to each, seal them up, and hand-deliver them to our friends at Foss! (Note: the image above is from last year. This year, no stamps needed! We’ll be hand-delivering!)