This week marks Teacher Appreciation Week, with Tuesday, May 4, being National Teacher Day. If ever there was a year to celebrate educators, 2021 is that year. Please, #ThankaTeacher (including teacher librarians, if your district is lucky enough to have them).  

Teachers, did you ever imagine the depths of resilience you would have to call upon this year? (We’re guessing you never imagined teaching through a global pandemic.) Maybe the biggest lesson — and gift — you've given your students is modeling how to rise up to a challenge and how to Pivot™ with the changing guidance of federal, state, and district-level decisions. Whether you taught in-person or remotely or both, you demonstrated the importance of showing up and of fostering community for your students.   

Teachers, we see you. We are grateful for everything you’ve done to provide a sense of normalcy during a most abnormal year. We’re grateful for the daily emotional check-ins, the community circles, and the space you’ve given kids to feel their feelings so they can be ready to learn and grow. 

Follow our “school stories” and "teachers" tags for more teacher appreciations, and visit Lolly's Classroom for more by and about teachers using trade books in the classroom. 

The beloved late Robin Smith's rocking chair.