Dear NEA-NH Member,
Today marks the beginning of Teacher Appreciation week in America. I don’t know about you, but this year I’d appreciate some real appreciation for the work we do.
Don’t get me wrong, the thank you notes and thoughtful gestures we receive this time of year from our students and supportive parents make my year brighter – and I know you feel the same way.
But this year feels different. Being an educator is one of the hardest jobs in the world and it’s never been harder than right now.
New Hampshire’s Commissioner of Education is once again attacking educators and attempting to divide us. This year the attacks on our profession feel personal. Educators in New Hampshire have been chronically underappreciated and underpaid. Many of us are exhausted and demoralized and as a result, our colleagues are leaving the profession in droves.
We persevered through the hardest school years in recent memory and are now confronting an unprecedented staffing crisis across nearly every job category. We continue to work in chronically underfunded public schools. Radical politicians continue their efforts to censor what we teach or punish us for doing our jobs. New Hampshire educators are growing more disillusioned and exhausted every day.
We are at a tipping point this Teacher Appreciation Week.
This crisis is preventing us from giving our students the one-on-one attention they need. It is forcing us to give up class planning and lunch time to fill in for colleagues who are absent due to COVID. And, it is preventing our students from getting the mental health supports they need.
This year, in addition to the mugs, gift cards, special lunches and breakfasts, we are saying, loud and clear—we want RESPECT and we want to be heard, appreciated, and compensated as trained professionals.
Something has to change in New Hampshire and we can start that effort by ensuring the rest of the state knows what is happening and how it is impacting us and our students. My recent editorial was printed in the Union Leader yesterday. Now it’s your turn. We’re asking for 200 Letters to the Editor to be written and submitted by our members this week.
What do you want for Teacher Appreciation Week this year?
- For the town to approve your contract to bring your pay in-line with that of other professionals?
- For the town to approve a school budget that ensures students have the resources they need to succeed?
- For the town to elect pro-public education school board members, Representatives and Senators?
- For the Governor to appoint a new Education Commissioner?
Write a letter-to-the-editor and let everyone know what you want this year for Teacher Appreciation Week. Use these steps to help get your letter written and shared and encourage your family and friends to do the same.
- Using your own experiences, write a letter that expresses what you really want this year for Teacher Appreciation Week: Respect, funding, adequate pay, resources, or a new commissioner.
- Using this link, submit your letter to the paper of your choice that’s closest to your school district or home.
- Once you’ve submitted a letter, we ask that you visit our tracking page to send us a copy of your letter so we can amplify your message as well on all of our communication channels.
Our goal for the week is to bring to life the powerful voices of educators sharing their stories of what they really need to feel appreciated and respected.
I never tire of telling people how proud I am of all our members and the dedication you show in the face of such adversity. We know the truth, no matter what the Commissioner or any elected official or detractor says. There is nothing we wouldn’t do to sure sure our students, our children, are safe, welcomed, and supported so they can become the success story that is inside each and every one of them.
To all of our members, the most dedicated band of professionals I know, Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! You’re efforts do not go un-noticed or unappreciated.
In Solidarity,
NEA-New Hampshire President