What’s your school doing next week for National Teacher Appreciation Week?

That’s right: May 3-7 is National Teacher Appreciation Week. (We always thought every week should be National Teacher Appreciation Week, but we digress.) This gives us an opportunity to recognize those educators who are in the trenches, every day (and many nights and weekends) dedicating themselves to preparing out students for graduation, college and life in a global, 21st century economy.

Thanks in part to a three-year, $10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Atlanta Public Schools has once again shown its commitment to quality teachers with its Effective Teacher in Every Classroom (ETEC) Initiative. This program provides a range of ways to ensure and monitor teacher effectiveness. “Our goal with ETEC is to create a comprehensive support system for teachers based on measures of student achievement,” APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall wrote in a letter explaining the initiative. “This system will give teachers the tools and feedback needed to increase classroom effectiveness; evaluate all teachers fairly and consistently; and help APS better attract, retain and reward the best teachers. Throughout the course of the initiative, you will have many opportunities to continue contributing your thinking through teacher forums, surveys, focus groups and meetings.”

So this is one big way APS is showing its appreciation for our teachers, who represent our most effective way to improve student achievement. But as APS moves forward with this initiative, we’d also like to know how your school plans to celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week. Please email information about any events or activities to: dsimmons@atlanta.k12.ga.us. We’ll be happy to share your experiences on www.TalkUpAPS.com.