It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, a time to thank our teachers for their dedication to our students.
Teachers deserve our thanks all year long, but this week is a special opportunity to recognize their invaluable contributions.
We have lots of hard work ahead of us in Maine as we build a public education system based on the needs of each learner – a system that recognizes that our students all learn best in different ways and at different speeds.
As we take on this important work, the plain truth is, we can’t get the job done without great teachers.
That’s why one of the five core priority areas of our strategic plan, “Education Evolving,” focuses on ensuring that our kids are taught by great teachers and that our schools are led by strong leaders. And it’s why the most important piece of education legislation passed this year is a bill that guarantees teachers regular, constructive and fair evaluations, along with relevant professional development.
This week, let’s make sure we thank our teachers for the hard work they’ve done, and for the hard work they’re taking on each day to improve educational opportunities for our students.
I appreciate the recognition and I thank you – in my 27 years of experience, Maine has some truly great educators who get to impact truly wonderful kids every day, and this is especially true at my school. I just want to remind folks that fair pay scales for teachers across the whole state and a retraction of the changes in retirement benefits that created the “cliff” will go a long way toward showing how much the citizens and leadership of Maine value what we do.