Next month will be quite hectic for the hard-working educators in our community. Between final preparation of students for high-stakes end-of-course exams, plus proctoring exams, and helping the senior classes through their final few weeks in school, there is a lot to do in a limited amount of time.
Educators, whose job it is to help prepare young adults for their future as leaders in business, industry, the military and politics, have two events coming up in May on which they are keeping an eye. The first is Teacher Appreciation Week in Palm Beach County, taking place May 1-5. This week serves as an opportunity to place the limelight on educators, where communities, parents and students focus on the hard work and dedication teachers make in helping to sculpt young minds.
Volunteer Appreciation Week took place last week, and just this week, six teachers were awarded the William T. Dwyer Award for Excellence in Education. The Palm Beach County School District web site has a story about the recipients. However, it doesn’t currently acknowledge Teacher Appreciation Week. Perhaps something will appear when the calendar turns and it becomes May.
This is a perfect opportunity to do something nice for your child’s teachers; it doesn’t have to be large and elaborate. A thank-you card, a cute Pinterest project with some markers, or even an apple, goes a long way in making teachers feel special and appreciated. Teaching is a profession with its own difficulties, often criticized for its low pay, long hours and constant assessments. Even if the school district doesn’t place a huge emphasis on Teacher Appreciation Week, it is a week of recognition from the community for the teachers.
On Saturday, May 20, the Palm Beach County School District is holding a job fair at Park Vista High School. Through the job fair, the district hopes to recruit new teachers for next year, whether they are new college graduates, transitioning to teaching from other careers or interested in moving to the area.
A major change made by the district in advance of the job fair was approval of the 2017-18 school calendar, which removes those pesky half-day workshops and adds several vacation days around the Thanksgiving holiday, making it a full week off from classes, barring implementation of hurricane makeup days.
At the Dwyer Awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 25, Superintendent Dr. Robert Avossa encouraged continued communication with state lawmakers, urging them to open the fiscal pursestrings and make education funding a priority. While Avossa has shaken things up, and made many changes, there is still room for improvement with unnecessary school district spending that can, for example, be reduced and applied toward salaries and other true enticements for current and future educators.
When your children aren’t with you, they are most likely in school, with their teachers. Be sure to thank the teachers, who play such an important role in shaping your children, and their future, during Teacher Appreciation Week.
