Opinion
Recruitment & Retention Letter to the Editor

A Note of Appreciation 

July 12, 2022 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

I so appreciated Laurie Carr’s essay in the June 8 issue of Education Week and concur with how important it is to appreciate our colleagues (“How to Build a Healthier School Culture”).

Before I retired as a special education administrator, I made a habit of sending a personal thank-you note at the end of the school year to every staff member in my office. In each note, I tried to recount a particular incident that was special.

Also, on Monday mornings, I would email an inspirational or motivational quote just to kick off the week with some positive reflection. If I had to be out of the office on a Monday, several people would let me know they really missed it. This showed me how much my special note was appreciated and needed.

I had a wonderful staff that worked together so cohesively and I think they knew how much I appreciated and valued them, as well.

Terri Cooter
Retired Administrator
Moore, Okla.

A version of this article appeared in the July 13, 2022 edition of Education Week as A Note of Appreciation

Events

Jobs Regional K-12 Virtual Career Fair: DMV
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Cardiac Emergency Response Plans: What Schools Need Now
Sudden cardiac arrest can happen at school. Learn why CERPs matter, what’srequired, and how districts can prepare to save lives.
Content provided by American Heart Association
Teaching Profession Webinar Effective Strategies to Lift and Sustain Teacher Morale: Lessons from Texas
Learn about the state of teacher morale in Texas and strategies that could lift educators' satisfaction there and around the country.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says This State Invested in Helping High Schoolers Become Teachers. Did It Work?
The decade-old program significantly boosted the pipeline of diverse new educators.
4 min read
Learning Support Teacher Susannah Campbell speaks with prospective applicants during William Penn School District's teachers job fair at the high school's cafeteria in Lansdowne, Pa., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. As schools across the country struggle to find teachers to hire, more governors are pushing for pay increases and bonuses for the beleaguered profession.
Learning-support teacher Susannah Campbell speaks with prospective applicants during the William Penn school district's teachers job fair in Lansdowne, Pa., on May 3, 2023. New research of a Maryland program that develops high schoolers' interest in teaching shows that such efforts can pay off.
Matt Rourke/AP
Recruitment & Retention Download Ease the Teacher-Hiring Process with AI (Downloadable)
Clear criteria and privacy protections are critical when using technology to smooth the hiring process.
1 min read
A line sketch of an adult female and male educator holding a laptop and overlayed on an AI agent created template that reads CANDIDATE SCREENING TEMPLATE.
Photo illustration by Gina Tomko/Education Week + Canva
Recruitment & Retention AI Is Changing Teacher Hiring. Here’s How
Teachers may not be aware that AI underpins both commercial and DIY hiring systems, raising concerns.
8 min read
Daniel Perez, a recruiter with Teachers Accelerator Program, talks to a job seeker during a job fair Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Miami.
Daniel Perez, a recruiter with Teachers Accelerator Program, talks to a job seeker during a job fair on Oct. 1, 2025, in Miami. New data from the EdWeek Research Center suggests that more than 50% of districts use AI tools during the teacher-hiring process.
Marta Lavandier/AP
Recruitment & Retention Opinion Want to Retain Teachers? Ask the Right Questions Before Hiring Them
Teachers will want to stay in schools that meet their needs as professionals and as humans.
11 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week