During Teacher Appreciation Week, we get a lot of “thank you” messages. From students, from families, from community members, and from elected officials. Those moments matter and they remind us why we do this work.
But we also know that gratitude doesn’t fix understaffed schools. It doesn’t lower class sizes. It doesn’t make student loans or rent or property taxes more affordable. And it doesn’t change the policies shaping our classrooms every day.
That’s why this week can’t just be about appreciation. It has to be about action.
If this school year has felt harder, it’s not just you. The latest data from NEA confirms what many of you are experiencing. We lost 6.74% of our teaching workforce—meaning fewer colleagues and more pressure on those who remain. Even with declining student enrollment, students per teacher increased by 5.66%, which means less one-on-one time with students. And New Hampshire continues to rank 50th in the nation for state public education funding, which means even more strain on local resources and communities.
As an educator, you see this every day—in staffing gaps, in increasing student needs, and in your own workload.
I want to be very clear: these conditions are not a personal failing. They are the result of long-term policy decisions. Together, we can and must turn the tide.
Educators like you deserve more than symbolic appreciation. New Hampshire teachers deserve professional respect, competitive compensation, safe and supportive working conditions, and a real voice in the decisions that impact your classroom and your students.
None of these things can happen without educators organizing together. Every improvement we’ve seen in public education—smaller class sizes, better pay, dedicated prep time, bathroom breaks, and more—has come because educators spoke up collectively and refused to accept less.
We know you can’t do everything; but all of us need to do something.
- Stay connected to your union. NEA-New Hampshire and your local union help turn individual concerns into collective power.
- Speak up. Whether that’s at a staff meeting, a school board meeting, or with a legislator, your voice carries weight.
- Support one another. Check in on colleagues and offer support when possible. Solidarity isn’t abstract—it’s daily.
- Engage in advocacy. The inequitable school funding system in our state is not inevitable. It can change—but only if we push for it.
- Vote—and support pro-public education candidates. The decisions being made about public education are political. Our response has to be, too.
You deserve to feel appreciated this week. Full stop. But you also deserve a profession and a public education system that is respected and fully supported. That won’t come from a single week of recognition. It will come from educators and our communities—together—demanding better.
So, as you receive those “thank you” messages this week, take them in. You’ve earned them. And then, when you’re ready, let’s turn that appreciation into action, together.
