The salary boost for The Equity Project’s 90 teachers was announced as continue. In New York City, the district’s ranges from about $57-87,500.

Compared to wealthy are more common TEP’s salary nearly doubles starting pay for teachers with master’s degrees. It rivals one of the highest in California, found in the ultra wealthy – where Mountain View Los Altos teachers’ starting pay is . New teachers with master’s in Westchester County’s Scarsdale district earn . On Long Island, Syosset Central Schools pay new teachers with master’s . 

“Once it initially hit we were jumping for joy — super excited, very grateful,” said Lynette Cray, an elementary physical education teacher at The Equity Project.  

“And then we got right back into the thick of things,” Cray said. “We don’t take it for granted. We’re still just trying to be the best educators we can be and that is honestly just icing on the cake for a lot of us.”

Since making headlines in 2009 for offering all teachers $125,000, TEP had not adjusted salaries in about 15 years. At the same time, average monthly rent in Manhattan, where 1,080 students are served at three Washington Heights campuses, jumped to . 

Simultaneously, students’ academic and mental health needs mounted throughout the pandemic while the climate around teaching and education became increasingly negative.

“There couldn’t be a more appropriate time for us to re-express our commitment to the impact of great teachers,” head of school Casey Ash said. “Now more than ever, students at TEP, students everywhere need the very best, highest quality, most compassionate, most committed educators working with them.”

Though the school does receive philanthropic and independent dollars, which last year amounted to 0.7% of their annual income, teachers’ salaries and all operational costs are paid with public funding. 

To afford the higher-than-average pay, TEP minimizes central expenses and hires fewer administrators than many other schools, with 34 full time.  

“I might ask the question, how other schools cannot afford to do this? Because we are able to do so without any external funding,” Ash said. 

Last school year, 49% of TEP’s public funding went toward educator costs. Philanthropic funds were used for its alumni program and middle school facility.

With high compensation comes high expectations. Each teacher must take on a dual role to fill in gaps; are called to substitute teach for colleagues; and serve students longer than most other schools, until 4pm for middle schoolers and 3:45 for early childhood grades. 

In addition to helping children develop motor and social skills, Cray serves as social emotional learning coordinator. Outside of teaching, planning for her workshops takes at least three hours weekly. 

But for others whose dual role is family engagement or special education coordinators, the responsibilities, time and care required can increase greatly. 

Still, TEP has maintained a retention rate around national averages, 86% for the 2021-22 school year. 

Outside of financial compensation, the school offers unique benefits for teachers: a sabbatical year for those who’ve taught at least five years; more, brief vacations via a trimester system.

Ash credits the schedule as a key contributor to a sense of work-life balance and reducing summer slide or academic loss. 

“[The compensation] just opens up more possibilities for us to do the things that we need to do for ourselves to sustain being a teacher,” Cray told The 74, like taking care of their mental health or supporting family members. 

Raising teacher quality, pay and well-being have been key goals for advocates pushing for better education for low-income and underserved students. 

TEP’s students are nearly all Black or Latino and live in poverty. Nationally, they are more likely to be taught by early-career or inexperienced teachers, including those with provisional or temporary certification, than their peers. 

But at TEP, most educators have at least five to seven years of experience, according to elementary school director Joelle Fenton. They do not hire early career educators. 

Local and statewide efforts to raise educator pay and attract higher quality educators for underserved students are underway. 

is proposing a statewide $60,000 base pay as a part of their Blueprint plan. Attempts in California have tried and failed, with to address the unequal distribution of teachers. Independent School District began offering a minimum $61,500 this school year.

While boosting salary is not a silver bullet, research suggests it can have a huge impact on student achievement, . 

Bonuses of just $10,000, designed to attract and retain experienced educators to teach in low-income Texas schools, brought average test score growth in some of the lowest performing schools close to district averages, according to a . 

When bonuses stopped, some teachers left and academic growth declined.

The average bonus for TEP teachers last school year was $18,000. Latest reveal that their fifth through eighth grade students had 37% more growth in math than their broader New York City peers, and 13% more in English language arts. 

The increased compensation has also been life-changing for teachers and their families. Cray remembers literally jumping out of her seat after hearing the news in a staff meeting before she and many others immediately called their partners. 

Having gone through a four-year fertility journey and taken time off for maternity leave, the raise means she can now start contributing to goals that felt out of reach.

“We can put it towards a home and start planning that next phase of our lives,” Cray said. “It’s not the main reason I’m here but it helps me to feel validated in what I’m doing and also helps me have a livable wage to help take care of my family.”

This includes a student who writes Sonneborn every year on the anniversary of his death to let her know that her dad, John Hammerback, is the reason she earned a Ph.D.

Sonneborn’s father’s legacy is why she co-founded , a website where students and families nominate teachers for a public tribute.

“Don’t wait … Tell them now how much they changed your life while they’re still there, Sonneborn said, “it can make for such a beautiful cycle.”

Sonneborn and her partner Katherine Boone wanted to create an easy, fun and meaningful way to provide positive feedback to teachers, finding over the years that it “really does make a strong and significant impact.”

All nominees are added to the site’s “Honor Roll” — and each month since 2017 the organization one to be profiled and the subject of a photoshoot. 

“We really thought about a lot of different models,” said Sonneborn, “and in creating the Honored model we realized it was something that really wasn’t out there already.”

From charter school teachers on the east coast to district school teachers on the west coast and everywhere in between, Honored has celebrated 70 teachers recognizing each monthly honoree with a $5,000 award and $1,000 to donate to another teacher of their choice.

The organization also partners with photographers and of Pulitzer Prize-winning writers and bestselling authors, who profile the honorees in hopes of widely sharing their inspiring stories. 

“During teacher appreciation week you can bring a gift card or something, but there wasn’t an easy way to really express,” said Sonneborn … “that gratitude we as parents have for our wonderful, life changing teachers,”

“There’s a term that’s thrown around for teachers, that they’re ‘unsung heroes’ and I really think that’s accurate,” she said. “ … they’re literally changing the future of our communities and our children but without a lot of attention and appreciation.

The profiles reveal and recognize the ways educators go above and beyond just teaching students curriculum, like Teshawn Leslie, a human resources management teacher at PSJA Sonia M. Sotomayor P-TECH High School in Pharr, Texas, an early college high school for pregnant and parenting teens.

The student who Leslie told Nadra Nittle, an Education Journalist at The 19th News she wanted to give up on her future, but because of Leslie, she now strives to succeed.

“We really try to seek out those unique stories of all different types of teachers,” Sonneborn said.

One story she loves to shine a light on was Jon Anderson, who teaches at a wilderness school in Colorado for teens who have challenges in traditional school settings.

“The student who honored him said that he just had no idea where he’d be in his life without this teacher … he actually said he might not even be alive,” said Sonneborn, discussing the range of heartfelt stories she’s heard over the years.

“Our model is consistent recognition for teachers … so every week is Teacher Appreciation Week at Honored.”

Sonneborn feels her organization’s work has become more important than ever since the pandemic.

“There have been several teachers that mentioned how it’s been tough the last couple of years, but that the recognition has encouraged them to stay in the classroom,” Sonneborn said.

Honored noticed an uptick in nominations during the pandemic. In May of 2020, they published a special edition profiling several teachers called

“The last several years have been probably some of the hardest years that teachers have faced and so the more we can uplift them … the better,” she said, noting that they saw a bump in nominations during COVID, highlighting teachers that went “above and beyond.”

Honored surveyed their nominated teachers and found 90% of their nominees say that they’re more likely to continue teaching for the next five years. 95% feel more inspired in their teaching practice after being nominated; and the vast majority said they are compelled to continue focusing on relationship building after being nominated.

The site shares a statistic from that teachers who receive recognition plan to keep teaching at their schools for nearly twice as long. However, 71% of teachers say they have not recently received recognition, according to .

“Teachers aren’t going into the profession for the money. They’re going into the profession to make an impact on the kids,” Sonneborn said, “So to provide this feedback to them that they are making a difference and that they are appreciated is so important.”

Meet 2023’s Honorees and a teacher today:

Either bill would be a major step forward in addressing the that threaten to widen opportunity gaps across the country. But something far greater than salary dissatisfaction or is at play. Rather, it’s the culmination of complex and unresolved challenges that have faced educators for decades. To truly attract and retain the brightest to the career long term — and ensure that the most at-risk students receive the education they deserve — all aspects of the profession must be improved to meet the standards of today’s overall workforce.

Qualified and eager talent does exist — they’re just shunning the traditional classroom in favor of other jobs or careers that are better adapted to the times. Online schools are a great example of this, as they’ve recently seen a massive uptick in teacher applications and are attracting far more candidates than they’re able to hire. Like all skilled professionals, holders of advanced degrees in education will seek out higher pay and a better work-life balance if schools cannot provide them with what they need. 

As executive director of a foundation working to build a more innovative education system for all learners, I know just how vital teachers are to a functioning society. But I also recognize that teaching at its core is a career. If teachers, who are some of the most educated members of the workforce, can make more money and feel less stressed in a different career, why wouldn’t they explore other options? In order to alleviate current shortages and ensure the next generation is prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century, public, private and philanthropic leaders must come together to finally prioritize making teaching a respected and competitive profession.

To start, educators need greater and more capable support systems. While the role of the teacher has expanded exponentially in recent years, its support network has not — as evidenced by of stress and burnout, especially . It needs to be easier for teachers to collaborate with colleagues in school as well as other professionals who can supplement classroom learning. This could consist of librarians leading makerspace programming for students to supplement their in-class experiences or development of online platforms that allow educators to share and collaborate on best practices. Examples include the work being done at and . 

Secondly, the profession requires increased flexibility. With the nature of work changing significantly over the past several years, the traditional school structure can no longer compete with other industries that are still remote or hybrid. Though the impact of in-classroom learning is undeniable, education leaders need to consider out-of-the-box ways to give teachers the flexibility that has come to be expected by the 21st century workforce. 

One way that schools have traditionally done this is through co- or team-teaching, something districts should certainly continue to invest in. Other innovative thinkers have begun envisioning new models that leverage the expertise of local stakeholders to give teachers greater work-life balance. One such idea from is a 3:2 school week, where students spend three days in the traditional classroom and two days learning from business leaders, entrepreneurs, government officials and others in the broader community. Not only does this approach help integrate work-based learning into the curriculum — — but it provides teachers with the critical downtime and significantly reduces pressure to be the be-all and end-all of students’ experiences.

Lastly, the overall return on investment of becoming a teacher must be elevated. Legislation to increase compensation will go a long way toward reflecting the significance of the job and making teaching competitive with other fields. However, this also requires reducing the cost of getting a teaching degree and making it easier for educators to continue learning throughout their careers. This could involve universities increasing scholarships toward teaching degrees or subsidizing the cost of completing accreditation programs, which is required to teach in most public schools. This also means continuing to invest in professional development to ensure new and veteran educators have the skills they need to succeed today and into the future — like , and ‘s expanding number of tailored professional learning services.

This Teacher Appreciation Week is the moment to focus on improving the profession to meet — and ideally exceed — the standards of today’s workforce. And in doing so, it is time to double down on increasing benefits for all who serve in the nation’s schools, including custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers. , schools depend on far more than just administrators and teachers to stay up and running, and this ought to be represented in how they provide for these vital workers. 

It’s time to make working in schools one of the country’s most desirable career paths. 

Today, more than 35 years (yikes!) after I sat in her classroom, Mrs. Campbell continues to inspire me. I’ve dedicated my career to improving education policy. I wake up every day working to make public education better, not just for students and families, but for teachers like Mrs. Campbell who know that offering options helps all families.

I’m thrilled that National Charter Schools Week coincides with Teacher Appreciation Week this year, because charter schools are powered by teachers and other visionary educators who make a huge difference in the lives of more than 3.7 million students — two-thirds of whom are from low-income, Black, or Latino communities.

is the single biggest in-school factor in determining student success. There’s lots of fluffy talk about how important teachers are, but most of the time they are treated like identical cogs in a wheel. Charter schools do it differently.

Public charters offer an environment that encourages teachers to flourish, treats them like professionals and rewards their excellence through competitive pay and advancement opportunities. This allows them to chart their own course, whether it’s dedicating themselves to the classroom, moving into leadership roles or opening their own schools. Charter schools also rely on teachers’ judgment about what works for students and what doesn’t, providing the flexibility to adapt curriculum and instruction as needed.

One of the key reasons charter schools were created was to give educators the freedom to test new ways of teaching. It’s also one of the reasons the late Albert Shanker, leader of the American Federation of Teachers, supported charter schools. Even Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, is a charter school founder. Today, the sector boasts more than 206,000 teachers — and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is especially proud that these educators reflect the diversity of the students they teach. The most recently available data (2020-21 school year) show that 69.3% of charter school students were children of color, compared with 53.4% of district students.

According to the , during that same time period, 32% of charter school teachers were people of color, versus 19% of district teachers. Similarly, 33% of charter principals were people of color, compared with 22% of district school leaders. And Black charter school students are to have a Black teacher than their peers in traditional public schools.

This matters because having at least can help students of color reach higher achievement levels than students who do not. Teachers who share a similar background to their students may be more likely than teachers who do not to make a personal connection, inspire them to love learning and help them realize that they might lead their own classroom in the future.

This year, during National Charter Schools Week, the National Alliance is proud to honor seven groundbreaking teachers with our for outstanding service to their schools and communities and for going above and beyond for their students:

Andrea Thomas is a passionate educator and community leader from the Diné tribe in New Mexico. Thomas teaches at and is vice president of the Navajo Nation Board of Education, empowering her to act on her core conviction that students of all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds deserve access to excellent teachers and high-quality instruction in their own communities.

Cielo Acosta is a third-year teacher at . Like many charter school graduates, she returned to teach at the charter school where she had been a student. A passionate athlete and student-sports enthusiast, Acosta incorporates sports strategies and themes into students’ curriculum. 

David Singer started his career in urban education 20 years ago as a high school math teacher, ultimately deciding he wanted to be a school leader and builder. He helped launch Denver’s , which has grown to a network of two public charter schools serving nearly 700 children, with a third campus recently approved.

Tiffany Ortego is the kindergarten lead teacher at One City Schools in Madison, Wisconsin. Beloved by all her students, she helped create the Preschool Garden Space and created the school’s 4K Volunteer Reading and Early Literacy program. 

Third-grade teacher Nathaniel Dunn returned to his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, because he wanted to become the teacher he wanted when he was in school. Outside of the regular school day at i3 Academy, he is an EdFarm Teacher Fellow. This program enhances the learning experience of teachers and equips them to be designers and facilitators of future-focused learning.

Dr. Alissa Russell is a master teacher, instructional coach and math department head at Life School Oak Cliff public charter school, near Dallas. She uses Socratic Seminar, peer partnerships and other innovative instructional practices in her classroom. 

Jermar Rountree is a health and physical education teacher at Center City Public Charter School,

Brightwood Campus. He teaches not only game activities and sports, but also social, emotional and mental growth. He has established in-school, after-school and weekend partnerships with organizations to help kids grow in all facets of life. He was a 2023 National Teacher of the Year finalist.

These teacher changemakers offer just a few examples of how educators can leverage charter schools to advance their passion for helping students, liberate their creativity, inspire their community and expand their impact. We are honored to celebrate their contributions, and those of their 206,000 colleagues across America, this National Charter Schools Week.

may seem a simple answer, and it’s a good start. It’s not enough. 

Without giving people a root understanding of how to use the money they earn, the benefits won’t stick. Education needs to take a cue from the corporate world and consider how to eliminate debt and provide ongoing, responsive support for teachers. 

At , we have found that recruiting talented teachers is not easy in an area of the country where than in other regions. I was a casualty of this — I left teaching, a job I loved, because of finances. 

I became a kindergarten teacher in West Contra Costa in 2010, when a two-bedroom apartment in Oakland rented for $1,750 a month. Today, the price for that same unit has doubled. During my three years of teaching, my rent skyrocketed while my school lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after our ended. With dwindling funds and my cost of living increasing, I left the classroom out of fear that I wouldn’t be able to pursue my interests and dreams on a teacher’s salary. I know many other talented educators have made that same decision.

But with help, support and training, teachers can learn to manage their finances and remain. In my current role, my job is to help current and future teachers access resources to help them stay in the classroom comfortably. From this experience and best practices from others in the field, here are some suggestions for improving financial wellness for teachers:

Provide resources to teach financial literacy. People who don’t learn financial literacy from their families often don’t learn it at all. Only recently have policymakers and schools gotten . But myriad resources are available. Teacher preparation programs can step in to provide financial literacy resources to incoming educators. For example, TFA partners with to provide teachers with one-on-one financial planning coaching and support, seminars and budgeting tools. This helps teachers navigate finances so they can afford the Bay Area’s high cost of living. 

Reduce debt for teachers upfront. Over have federal student loans, so it’s no wonder they are flocking to that promise to help pay down this debt. The typical teacher accrues in debt in graduate studies alone, and most early career teachers . The average TFA Bay Area teacher receives $5,000 directly from TFA before they ever set foot in a classroom. This financial assistance includes a mix of grants, interest-free loans to pay for common out-of-pocket costs.

Lowering financial barriers to the teaching profession is catching on. For example, Aspire Public Schools has a Grow-Your-Own program that identifies talented staffers and helps them transition into positions as special education teachers. Aspire provides a first-year teacher’s salary to program participants, offers mentorship and one-on-one coaching, and foots the bill for credentialing. 

Make resources known. Resources can help only when they’re used. The California Legislature directed $24 million to help cover credential fees for prospective teachers. This could have been a valuable resource to cover an expensive out-of-pocket cost of entering the profession — if teachers had known about it. But the Legislative Analyst Office published a that found 10,000 teachers didn’t realize that a fee waiver was available.

Teachers are called to educate and empower students, but first they must feel equally empowered to take care of themselves. With the understanding to manage their finances and relief from debt on their way to the classroom, prospective teachers — especially educators of color — will have the agency and confidence to choose and persist in a career that may not make them a lot of money, but will align with their values. It’s how to make sure amazing teachers will stay in the classroom.

Dorian Barrero-Dominguez is senior managing director and head of program at Teach For America Bay Area

Since the pandemic hit, everything in education has gotten so much harder.

Over the last two years, teachers have faced enormous challenges. They have provided social-emotional support to students who lost family members. They have switched at a moment’s notice to online learning, taken temperatures, isolated from loved ones when COVID struck their classrooms and persevered through illness themselves. All this on top of their primary purpose: to educate children.

As a result of this pressure from the pandemic, many college graduates are choosing not to pursue careers in education. But I believe we are at a unique moment in time to fix this and not only recognize teachers for the professionals they are, but also pay them what they rightly deserve.

As a CEO of a charter school network in Denver, I’m committed to providing the best place for teachers who are committed to upholding the school’s values and for all students to realize

their full potential through a rigorous and loving elementary education. While I know that money isn’t the reason anyone goes into education, I have heard loud and clear through surveys and listening sessions that compensation needs to be more competitive for teachers.

Rocky Mountain Prep has overhauled the entire compensation schedule for all lead teachers for the 2022-23 year so it is higher than surrounding school districts’. This is a multimillion-dollar investment that recognizes there is no greater impact on students than the quality of the teacher at the head of the classroom.

The first change is to the salary scale. Compensation aligns with years of experience and is incredibly competitive for the Metro Denver market. For example, first-year lead teachers at Rocky Mountain Prep will go from a base salary in 2022 of $47,250 to $52,000 in 2023. By comparison, first-year lead teachers earn $47,291 in Denver Public Schools and $43,471 in Aurora Public Schools.

The second change is recognizing teachers who work in Title I schools, serving the children most affected by poverty. In addition to existing stipends, Rocky Mountain Prep is adding a $2,000-a-year bonus for all lead teachers at each Title I school. 

The biggest change is the introduction of the PEAK Teacher program, which will award extra compensation and opportunities to educators who exemplify Rocky Mountain Prep’s core values: Perseverance, Excellence, Adventure and Kindness. Too often, teachers leave the classroom because other careers offer what education doesn’t: generous pay, opportunity to grow and develop, and autonomy. For the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, we will recognize our network’s 16 top-performing teachers, who offer both the rigor kids need in order to achieve the highest levels possible and the love that is essential for inspiring children to do their best.

These educators will receive salaries of $80,000 to $110,000 per year. They will each get their own professional development budget to spend as they see fit, the opportunity to weigh in on key network-wide decisions, recognition at all-network events and a special dinner and celebration in their honor.

PEAK Teachers will serve as ambassadors of the vision of Rocky Mountain Prep at their schools and play important roles in speaking to members of the broader Denver community about education and the work happening in our classrooms.

Such salaries and perks would be seen as simply expected for those who excel in their work in other professions. Yet in education, they are nearly unheard of. The best teachers deserve more than a “Best Teacher” mug and discounts at stores. They deserve to be paid like the hardworking, skilled, talented professionals they are.

Tricia Noyola is CEO of Rocky Mountain Prep.

The situation feels especially bleak in schools like mine, in Washington, D.C., that serve mostly vulnerable families. Helping at-risk students thrive during the best of times is a challenging job. Their life circumstances and backgrounds often put them at a disadvantage. Now, their families have been the ones hardest hit by the health and economic consequences of the pandemic. Their mental health is suffering as a result — which, combined with two years of disrupted learning, has made academic gains even harder.

That’s a big reason why Mayor Muriel Bowser recently announced a boost in funding for public schools. She has proposed a 5.9% increase to the city’s per-student funding formula, which equates to a $200 million increase in school budgets. During the announcement, Bowser spoke about the importance of supporting the social, emotional and mental health of students at this time. 

At Rocketship Public Schools, we agree, and we believe the key to helping students right now is to invest in the well-being of our teachers. Public education has often sacrificed teacher health in order to meet the social-emotional and academic needs of students. But here’s the reality: Teachers can’t serve students’ emotional and mental needs if their needs aren’t being met as well. Our school wellness manager likens the effort to “putting your oxygen mask on first before helping others.” 

It’s time to rethink how schools approach wellness and extend mental health supports that are regularly provided for students to school staff, as well. This undertaking has to be as multifaceted as the issue itself. 

The employee wellness program at Rocketship Public Schools includes professional development to give teachers practical tools for managing their well-being. These sessions are led by from the Wise Center at Georgetown University Hospital and cover all areas of health — including physical, occupational, intellectual, social and emotional. 

While the sessions were designed to provide our staff with the knowledge and skills to prioritize their well-being, the program also offered a safe place to discuss topics that staff might have felt were taboo in the workplace before. One of our teachers said that afterward, she was able to confidently have a conversation with her supervisor about work-life balance and set clear boundaries that made her day feel more manageable. 

Our teachers also have access to individual counseling through a third party and get multiple breaks throughout the school day. Wise Center experts conducted walk-throughs to see our schools first hand and recommended changes to teachers’ work environments based on the needs they identified. Each school also has the flexibility to design its own initiatives to support a positive staff culture, which have included everything from support groups to cafe carts. 

Rocketship had some teacher wellness supports in place pre-pandemic, but when COVID hit and schools went virtual, we had to adapt and shift our approach. Having these mental health measures in place seemed more important than ever. And by summer 2020, it became very clear that we needed to do even more. Those efforts seems to have paid off: Last spring, 90% of Rocketship teachers told us they planned to return to work this year. In contrast, at the same time, almost half of all D.C. public school teachers said on a Board of Education survey that they had considered leaving the profession because of the challenges of teaching during COVID-19. 

Then we returned to in-person instruction this fall, and we’ve had to battle one wave of the pandemic after another. Our school leaders, who would normally start the year leaning heavily into instructional coaching, became de facto COVID operations response teams as well as substitutes, covering classrooms, lunch and recess. Safety protocols to maintain social distancing and minimize close contact naturally led to staff working more independently, with fewer opportunities to collaborate with colleagues. This resulted in a lack of trust and teamwork. On a staff survey, teachers reported overall feelings of burnout, including loss of personal connections and stamina, just a couple months into the year.

Burnout has impacted all three of our campuses this year, despite our ongoing investments in teacher well-being. I can only imagine how teachers have suffered at schools and districts that haven’t made staff wellness a priority yet. It also became clear we must do still more.

All of us connected to education – whether as educators, parents or engaged citizens — have to recognize that the well-being of teachers and students is deeply interconnected. When adults experience stress and its physical manifestations, children who are around them acutely sense it. The rise of stress in our society is almost palpable, and schools have seen the consequences of this play out as incidents of . 

With additional city funding from Bowser, Rocketship will be able to expand programs and resources, including hiring more staff dedicated to supporting community well-being within our schools. The bottom line is that we have to invest in the health of families, students and teachers to truly support our students’ emotional and academic needs, and to forge a path back to normalcy. We at Rocketship D.C. encourage other cities, districts and schools to do the same.

Candice Bobo is DC executive director of Rocketship Public Schools.

A special education teacher who taught a 14-year-old with Down Syndrome to read. Remotely and during the pandemic.

An art teacher who helped a student come to terms with her father’s death.

A second grade teacher who moved out of her home so she could educate kids in person.

Every year teachers touch countless students’ lives with inspiring lessons, heartfelt advice and ice cream parties.

This year, those gestures have taken on extra meaning — and many teachers have risen to the challenges posed by the pandemic, putting in extra time and energy for their students.

To mark Teacher Appreciation Week, The 74 talked to parents and students around the country about the educators who have made a difference for them over the past year.

This Teacher Taught a 14-Year-Old With Down Syndrome to Read. Remotely. During a Pandemic.

Hannah Land
Nominated by parent Krystal Gurganus
Special Education, Spartanburg 7 School District
Spartanburg, South Carolina

As the mother of a teen with Down Syndrome, Krystal Gurganus has seen her son Landon face his share of challenges. So it came as a shock when special education teacher Hannah Land taught Landon to read this year – remotely. In the middle of a pandemic.

“I’ve never heard my child read before. And he’s 14 years old,” said Gurganus. “So this was in that moment when I was sitting beside him on a computer, and I hear him read an actual story for the very first time, that was not only emotional, but it was mind-blowing that this teacher was able to engage my child through a screen and to get him to do that when we’ve never been able to do that.”

Land was also able to teach Landon to add and subtract this year, surpassing his goal of simply being able to identify numbers.

That was “one of those moments of ‘Holy moly’ … he is adding and subtracting. Not only identifying his numbers, but she’s taught him how to do something I never thought he would be capable of,” Gurganus said.

“She’s just kind,” she added. “She’s able to break that [communication] barrier down and still get to know her kids.”

This Teacher Offered Her Own Story to Help Her Student Through a Personal Loss

June ArcaMay
Nominated by Eliza Grullon
Digital Illustration, The High School of Fashion Industries
New York, New York

When her estranged father died suddenly in October, Eliza Grullon emailed her teacher June ArcaMay to say she’d be missing some Zoom classes.

That message kicked off an ongoing conversation and relationship that helped Grullon get through a tough school year.

ArcaMay “sent me an email explaining not only how to deal with it, but how to not blame myself because I was feeling a lot of guilt … when it wasn’t my fault,” Grullon said.

“I wasn’t emotionally stable, I couldn’t do anything really,” Grullon continued. “It was honestly, just a struggle to try to get up in the morning. And [ArcaMay] would check in with me, she would email me and say, ‘Do you need extra help? Do you need more time?’ And she actually ended up telling me a story about how she was with her dad … She never felt a close relationship with him at all … She made me feel like I wasn’t entirely alone.”

ArcaMay also checked in with Grullon’s mother to see if the family needed anything, offered to give them her printer so Grullon could keep up with her classwork, and made sure she didn’t fail the class.

“If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been as stable, honestly, as I am right now,” Grullon said.

This Teacher Bought Tablets for Students in Need — Who Weren’t Even in Her Class 

Michalle Fain
Nominated by parent Shnia Davis
Fourth grade, KIPP One Primary
Chicago, Illinois

When Michalle Fain learned her student Julius and his siblings were having trouble keeping up with their online classes because they didn’t have enough devices, she used her own money to purchase two tablets for the family.

Fain has always been “that teacher that just goes above and beyond,” said Julius’s mother Shnia Davis. Fain got a green screen to enhance her Zoom lessons, and “the way that she taught was… almost like the kids were watching a show,” Davis said. When she wasn’t teaching or making educational , Fain checked in with the family often to make sure they were getting the school lunches and helped replace Julius’s computer when it broke.

“She really has a passion and a heart for these kids,” Davis said.

This Teacher Moved Out of Her Home So She Could Teach In Person 

Shameem Patel
Nominated by parent Stephanie Reyna
Second grade, KIPP Destiny Elementary School
Dallas, Texas

When her school resumed in-person classes last fall, second grade teacher Shameem Patel took a drastic step so she could be there for her students.

Patel moved out of the house she shares with her mother-in-law and husband into an apartment so she could see her students without putting the older woman at risk for COVID-19.

Since then she’s been living away from her family and teaching a class of 45 students — 11 in person and 34 at home.

Patel is like “one of those famous teachers that you see on Facebook and television” and think, this is the kind of teacher every kid should have, said Stephanie Reyna, whose daughter Arianna is in Patel’s class.

“Arianna is the middle child. She feels like she doesn’t get that attention from me,” Reyna said. “But Ms. Patel gave her that attention and she gave her that time. And she made her feel special… So I liked that she was helping me make Arianna feel that much better.”

This Teacher Helped a Student-Journalist Report on a Peer’s Death

Julia Satterthwaite
Nominated by Oishee Misra
Journalism, Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California

When student Oishee Misra had to meet with the parents of a student who died to write his obituary for the student magazine, she asked her journalism advisor Julia Satterthwaite for guidance.

Satterthwaite told her, “Don’t worry, you’re a great reporter, you’re going to do great. I know that you know how to approach this situation, with tact and with grace,” Misra recalled. The teacher also suggested some questions to ask and offered tips for the conversation.

“That validation was really reassuring to hear, just because I was so nervous,” Misra said.

“I feel really lucky to have had [Satterthwaite] for all four years of high school, and I really feel like I wouldn’t be the person that I am today without all the love and support and guidance that she’s given me,” Misra said.

This Teacher Talked a Student Through How to Help a Grieving Friend

Richard Wieda
Nominated by Syfur Rahman
English, The High School of Fashion Industries
New York, New York

When the pandemic first hit New York City last spring, high school senior Syfur Rahman faced a difficult situation: one of his close friends lost a parent to COVID-19, and Rahman wasn’t sure how to show his friend he cared.

His school was closed for spring break, but Rahman emailed his teacher Richard Wieda and got a response right away. Wieda shared his phone number, so Rahman called.

“We talked about it — how to address the students’ problem and how to get back to him and how to show him that I care. And then he gave me advice. … [He said] give him your phone number and always have his back, try to support him [even though] … some people might not feel comfortable sharing out during tough times,” Rahman recalled. “I always go back to that instance, where [Wieda told me], try to take care of people you really care about and follow up with them.”

This Teacher Made a Special Trip to a Student’s Home to Tutor Her

Sheberia Wolfe
Nominated by parent Sherrie Chaney
Third grade, Glen Oaks Elementary
Fairfield, Alabama

When Sheberia Wolfe saw that Brittney Chaney was struggling to adjust to virtual learning last spring, the teacher wasted no time in doing what she needed to do. “She actually came to pick my daughter up, took her and tutored her for a couple of hours, brought her back home,” said Brittney’s mom Sherrie.

Brittney, 9, has been getting straight As all year and also joined a dance program and a mentoring program Wolfe organized outside of school.

This Teacher Made Her Lone Student on Zoom Part of the Classroom Fun 

Jacqi Morris
Nominated by parent Amanda Leugers
First grade, Pandora-Gilboa Elementary School
Pandora, Ohio

When Brennan Leugers’s doctor said he should learn remotely this year because of a health condition, his teacher figured out how to make him feel welcome in her class even though he was the only one learning remotely — and her district didn’t require her to accommodate him.

When the class had an ice cream party, Morris brought the treat to the Leugers’ home early so Brennan could participate in real time. When Brennan was student of the month, she brought him balloons and other treats, but also made sure there was a balloon tied to the desk where his computer sits in the classroom — so the whole class would know he was the month’s winner. When Morris takes a class picture, someone holds up Brennan’s computer so he’s in the photo, too.

“She has not only included him in just being on Zoom, but he is literally in the classroom,” said Brennan’s mom Amanda Leugers. “So he raises his hand, he gets called on, he participates in group projects. … He doesn’t even realize most of the time that he’s not physically in the classroom because he is so involved in everything.”

This Teacher Uses Read Alouds to Get High Schoolers Engaged in Read Alouds 

Ruthie Dreyer
Nominated by Sylvie Slotkin 
English, NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies
New York, New York

English teacher Ruthie Dreyer does all kinds of things to connect with her teenage students: She sends them compliments in the Zoom chat, shares stories from her own life and even makes videos of herself doing the class reading as if she were a YouTube influencer who happens to know a lot about If Beale Street Could Talk and The Great Gatsby.

“She opens every video and she’s like, ‘Hi, guys, welcome to another video,’” said sophomore Sylvie Slotkin. While she’s reading, “she’ll pause and she’ll sometimes relate it to something having to do with pop culture, or she’ll just explain a particularly difficult passage.”

“Sometimes you’ll even catch a glimpse of her getting up and getting her drink — it’s very personal … Even though I know she’s not reading directly to me, [I feel like] I’m like really being taken care of and she really cares about her students.”

This Teacher Makes Sure Her Second Graders Never Miss a Zoom

Porsha Hodge 
Nominated by parent Cindy Gonzalez 
Second grade, KIPP Austin Comunidad
Austin, Texas

Cindy Gonzalez has been working at a clinic throughout the pandemic, which means her daughters have to manage their own remote school schedules.

Isabella, her second grader, was struggling to keep up until her teacher Porsha Hodge helped the family create a new routine. When it’s time for the live classes to start, Hodge calls or texts Gonzalez, who uses the cameras in her house to check whether Isabella is getting ready for class. Gonzalez can talk to her kids through the cameras, so she reminds Isabella to get logged into Zoom.

Hodge also takes time to call Gonzalez after the workday to let her know if her daughter has missed any assignments.

Gonzalez, who is a single mom, said Hodge saw her frustration and how much she wanted to help her daughter succeed in school, and “she put in a lot of effort to help me help Isabella.”

“I was so relieved,” Gonzalez said. “Because otherwise… I was about to give up.”

Parents have never been more in awe of the work that teachers do. They are seeing firsthand just how hard it is to keep kids focused and productive on school days — let alone teach them anything. Many completely stand behind what Shonda Rhimes last month: “Been homeschooling a 6-year old and 8-year-old for one hour and 11 minutes. Teachers deserve to make a billion dollars a year. Or a week.”

At the same time, a growing number of parents are frustrated with the patchwork of remote learning in their communities. Many schools scrambled to get kids the devices, internet connections and online learning platforms they needed to continue learning without any significant disruption, with varying degrees of success. Others didn’t — or wouldn’t.

Students whose structured learning has stopped will never get that time back. Depending on grade and subject, students’ learning gains could be what we’d expect under normal conditions.

Any ire directed toward teachers about this situation is misplaced. They want nothing more than to be reunited with their students, and in many cases, they’re independently working to make the most of this situation.

Having to adjust to this drastically different way of teaching, many educators are putting in more effort, not less. They’re revising, scrapping and rewriting lesson plans that are no longer possible because class isn’t being held in person. They’re , , emailing and calling parents to make sure students have everything they need. In short, they’re giving it their all as usual, in the most unusual of times.

Of course, not every teacher is going through this fire drill right now. Before the pandemic, more than a million students were already learning in online schools that look quite different from the current national experience. Those kids start the school year with the tools they need. They log on every day. They engage with the content, frequently interact with their teachers and their peers and learn on secure platforms where hackers can’t interrupt them.

The difference is that the teachers in these schools are properly prepared. They receive training from experts in online education, people who have continually innovated and improved the model to increase student success. They work diligently to adapt their traditional methods of in-person instruction to virtual classroom environments, and their curriculum and tools are built to be used online.

Virtually all of today’s suddenly online teachers didn’t have the chance to learn these things before being pushed into remote instruction, because their administrators didn’t think it necessary. Those who did could have probably used more time to study up on the multitude of free resources online learning experts have since put out there. Yet, amazingly, some teachers, through their own determination and passion for education, are doing an incredible job making sure America’s kids don’t fall behind.

As we look forward to the next school year, we need to do better than just crossing our fingers and hoping things go back to normal. Districts need to use this experience to develop thoughtful and thorough emergency response plans that include sufficient resources for students and teachers. Remote learning works, when it happens on proven platforms and is delivered by teachers who are adequately trained, equipped and supported.

We’ve always applauded teachers. But this year, in seeing what they face on a day-to-day basis and how they’re educating kids despite the odds, I’d say they deserve a standing ovation.

Kevin P. Chavous, a former District of Columbia City Council member, is an attorney, author, education reform activist and president of academics, policy and schools at . In April, he was named to the .