You don't hear this often enough: THANK YOU! I wouldn't be where I am in my education and career if it weren't for you. I wouldn't be the person I am if it weren't for you. I wouldn't be as motivated or successful if it weren't for you.

Thank you for teaching me.

Of course, your job is to teach us curriculum, but you do so much more than just that. You teach us the information in multiple ways to cater to multiple intelligences. You teach us how to use the information. You teach us why the information is important. You teach us how to be nice, how to share, and how to treat others the way we want to be treated.

Thank you for leading me.

Not only do you teach us the content, but you lead us through our daily lives. You lead us through challenging times and challenging content. More importantly, you lead by example. You show us patience. You show us compassion. You show us how we can be our best selves.

Thank you for caring about me.

Regardless of all your other duties, you care about us. You care about us as people with a future, rather than just your students for the year. You see us as the sons/daughters, siblings, and friends that we are. You see us as the future spouses and parents we may be. You see us for who we are and who we could be, and you care deeply about helping us grow and accomplish that.

Thank you for being you.

Thank you for realizing that our emotions, personality, and development as people is just as important as the content you are teaching us. Thank you for spending countless hours before and after school talking to us, emailing us, calling or parents, grading our assignments, planning for future activities, and for always going above and beyond to ensure our growth and success as students and people.

Without you, I have no clue where I would be.

We wouldn't get very far in life without the knowledge we learned and experience we had in your classroom. We wouldn't be our best selves without your love, patience, and care.

On behalf of all students, I say THANK YOU to every teacher, teacher's assistant, substitute teacher, para, bookkeeper, librarian, nurse, custodian, cafeteria cook, parent volunteer, counselor, and administrator for your gracious heart. Thank you for being a member of a school that works daily to enrich the lives of our youth.

Teaching is a true work of HEART!