How Theatres Can Honor Teachers During Teacher Appreciation

No matter who you are or what industry you’re in, it’s safe to say a teacher has positively impacted your life. Perhaps they tutored you in a subject you felt lost in, gave you the confidence to have a voice at school, or guided you into finding your true passions. For those and a million other reasons, teachers deserve to be celebrated all year round, especially this week, Teacher Appreciation Week! 

As a theatremaker, you may wonder how you can better appreciate educators in your community—whether you’re a school program, community theatre, professional non-equity entity, or something in between. Just in time for Teacher Appreciation Week, here are a few ways to honor educators who are making a difference in your community. 

5 Creative Ways to Honor Theatre Teachers for Teacher Appreciation

1. Offer a Helping Hand

While a simple “thank you” or acknowledgment of their efforts is a great start, why not go the extra mile by offering teachers a helping hand? It’s no secret that educators are often overworked and stretched beyond their bandwidth, so take this week to step in and fill the gaps.

Consider asking a teacher in your community what you could do to ease their stress – whether that’s offering to:

• Tutor kids in a particular subject
• Help grade tests or homework 
• Brainstorm ideas for new classroom activities 
• Do research for upcoming lesson plans

In short, work to lighten the load for teachers this week and every week! 

2. Create Something Meaningful 

Candy, gift cards, and coffee mugs are great, but teachers typically have plenty of that stuff. Instead, work with others in your community to create a gift that’s truly personal to them. A few ideas include:

• Photo album covering their school year: Engage with students who can offer insight, photos, and details on the highlights of the academic year. 
• ‘Year in review’ book: Showcase what students have learned during the year. Not only will this be a personalized gift, but it also shows the teacher that their students truly absorbed the lessons they taught. 
• Video compilation of ‘thank yous’: Get video clips from students, other teachers, friends, family, and anyone else positively affected by the teacher’s actions this year. 

3. Speak from the Heart

In the age of all things digital, a handwritten letter is a rarity. Capture the magic of heartfelt sentiment by writing a thank you note to a teacher in your community. Outline the positive outcomes they have created – either on you, your child, your theatre, or society at large.

For a greater impact, consider reaching out to others to create a scrapbook of everyone’s handwritten notes. Without a doubt, when that teacher feels discouraged in the future, that book will give them the reassurance and confidence they need to continue.

4. Give Them a Teacher Appreciation Shoutout Online

Taking a sharp left turn away from handwritten notes, it’s also a sweet idea to shout out your favorite teacher on your social media pages. Appreciation posts are great ways to make people feel seen and cared for, diversify your posting schedule, and branch out your follower list. Win-win! 

If you have the time or resources, consider taking that teacher thank-you video we suggested above and posting it on socials as well – as long as the other participants and the teacher are OK with it! 

5. Acknowledge Them During Performances

Consider acknowledging and thanking educators during your programming, even if it’s not during Teacher Appreciation Week. This can be before or after shows, at fundraisers, at community events, within your digital or printed program, or any other time when you have the attention of patrons, donors, and community members. 

Invite them to stand up and be recognized – this adds more personalization to your relationship with educators and helps them feel appreciated by your theatre. 

6. Offer Teacher-Exclusive Discounts and Goodies

Another way to thank educators is by offering them exclusive discounts, goodies, and experiences – just for being them! A few ideas include: 

• Free branded merchandise 
• Preferred seating at specific shows 
• Backstage tours or other behind-the-scenes offerings 
• Mentions/shoutouts/free space in your show program
• Discounted rates for food and drink
• Promo codes tailored specifically to educators to either get them discounted ticket rates or early access to ticket sales

7. Encourage Others to Say Thank You

Some people may not know about Teacher Appreciation Week. With everything happening in the world, things can understandably fall by the wayside.

Harness the power of your following and your status in the community by reminding those around you that teachers deserve recognition for their efforts. Tap your community partners or business sponsors and brainstorm ways to say ‘thank you’ in a significant way. Spreading the word about appreciation efforts will go a long way in ensuring teachers are honored in the ways they deserve. 

8. Introduce Them to On The Stage

If you know and love a frazzled, overworked theatre educator, the best way to say ‘thank you’ is to make their life easier. And what better way than by introducing them to an all-in-one platform created specifically for the arts? That’s right—spread the word about On The Stage!

OTS’ performing arts software is made for every stage of theatre management. It offers seamless assistance with ticketing, box office, marketing, fundraising, and reporting tools, all in one robust platform for free.

Just a few of the perks OTS offers to theatre educators? Well … 

• Outstanding Customer Satisfaction – We offer dedicated account managers and accessible customer and patron support that is available in real-time, meaning theatre educators can get the help they need when needed. 
• Proven Theatre Industry Expertise – OTS makes Broadway-caliber theatre management tools accessible to all performing arts organizations regardless of budget or size.
• Investment in Innovation – We regularly release features and software updates to help theatre educators stay ahead of industry shifts, drive revenue, and create professional experiences. Even more, teachers won’t need to waste time troubleshooting software issues—we’ve got it covered! 
• No Cost to Educators – We only charge a small per-ticket fee that most pass on to their ticket buyers. This means teachers can commit to OTS without breaking the bank. 
• Robust yet User-Friendly Interface – We design everything with our customers’ needs in mind. This means your teacher pal won’t need to sit down and study our technology for hours on end before deploying it. We make things as easy as possible.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, theatremakers! Make you recognize the fantastic talents and determination of educators in your area.