Why write letters of appreciation to teachers?

Writing letters of appreciation to teachers that you supervise can help to cultivate a culture of appreciation at your school. Recognizing achievements and showing appreciation can provide a variety of benefits, including:

• Better morale: Knowing that you see how hard they work and appreciate what they do for your school community can help teachers feel more valued, resulting in better morale.
• Improved performance: Providing positive reinforcement with a teacher appreciation letter can encourage staff members to continue to strive for goals set in performance and classroom evaluations to benefit students.
• Reduced burnout : Educator burnout is a serious concern and is more likely to occur when teachers don’t feel appreciated. Regular recognition through letters of appreciation can help show staff that you value them.
• Increased employee retention: With educator shortages in many areas, retaining your staff is a top concern. By boosting morale and helping to prevent burnout, letters of appreciation can aid in your employee retention efforts.
• Stronger relationships: Expressing your gratitude can help foster trust and grow your professional relationship with staff members, making them more likely to turn to you for assistance when needed to ensure better learning outcomes for students.

How to write a thank you message to a teacher

To write an effective teacher appreciation letter, follow these steps.

1. Choose your greeting

Begin your letter with a greeting, such as “Dear,” “Hi” or “Hello.” Then, address the staff member by name. Refer to them however you normally would in conversation. If you typically call them by their first name when speaking one-on-one, feel free to do so here. Otherwise, you can use their title and last name.

2. Say thank you

Begin the body of your letter with a statement of thanks. Doing this first will set the tone for the rest of your message and assure the recipient knows the content will be positive so they can feel at ease while reading. 

3. Give specific details

An effective teacher appreciation letter should be personalized. Calling out specific actions the staff member takes that you appreciate will make your message more meaningful. 

While you can refer to something specific that a teacher did for an individual student, avoid mentioning the student’s name if possible. For example, you might say something like, “I appreciated how you took the time to give a student in your third-period class extra help by staying late on Tuesday,” rather than, “I appreciated how you stayed after school to give extra help to Carl Jones.”

4. Describe the impact

After you’ve mentioned specifics, put the teacher’s contributions in a larger context. To motivate them to keep up the good work and allow them to feel like an important part of the community, tell them what they do makes a difference for the entire school.

5. Say thank you again

Finish off the letter by saying thank you again to drive home your message of gratitude. You may also want to provide words of encouragement here, such as “Keep up the great work!” or “Looking forward to seeing all you accomplish next year!”

6. Finish with a closing

Sign off your letter with a closing, such as “Thank you” or “Sincerely,” and then sign your name. Under that, write your job title and the name of your school.

Teacher appreciation letter templates and samples

To jump-start your writing, use these templates as frameworks for thank-you messages for teachers. Refer to the samples for guidance on how to tailor the templates to create a custom letter.

Teacher appreciation letter template 1

Hello [Teacher name],

Thank you for [description of what you’re recognizing the teacher for]. [Insert more details about the contribution, accomplishment or achievement.]

[Explain the impact of the contribution, accomplishment or achievement in one or two sentences.]

Once again, thank you for [description of what you’re recognizing the teacher for]. [Add optional customized encouragement.]

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your job title]
[Your school name]

Sample using template 1

Hello Syd,

Thank you for all the hard work you did this year. Month after month, I saw you spending free blocks with students who needed extra help and giving up your lunch hour to meet with parents. You were also always among the first to volunteer your time to assist with after-school activities, such as our field trip to the Natural History Museum and the end-of-year picnic.

Your dedication to providing valuable support to the students and partnering with parents helps us fulfill our mission to provide the highest quality instruction and the most positive learning environment possible to all of our students. Plus, your involvement in activities has helped to make our school feel like a true community. 

Once again, thank you for everything you did to make this school year a success. I look forward to working with you to make next year the same.

Thank you,
Emily Nguyen
Assistant Principal
Pagett Elementary

Teacher appreciation letter template 2

Dear [Teacher name],

I’m writing to express my gratitude for [description of what you’re recognizing the teacher for]. [Insert more details about the contribution, accomplishment or achievement.]

[Explain the impact of the contribution, accomplishment or achievement in 1 or 2 sentences.]

Thank you again for [description of what you’re recognizing the teacher for]. [Add an optional customized encouragement.]

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your job title]
[Your school name]

Sample using template 2

Dear Mr. Jones,

I’m writing to express my gratitude for the effort you put into preparing your AP American History class for this year’s exam. The record number of 4s and 5s your students scored speaks to the quality of your instruction and your dedication to our students.

Our AP program is a point of pride for our school and helps prepare our students for the rigors of post-secondary education. Your work this year has helped improve the program considerably and put our students on the path to success in college.

Thank you again for all that you did this year. Keep up the great work!

Sincerely,
Parth Patel
Principal
Pagett High School

Teacher appreciation letter FAQs

When should I send a teacher appreciation letter?

You can send a teacher appreciation letter whenever you wish. Some administrators send thank-you messages to teachers at the end of the academic year. Others only send letters of appreciation to teachers to recognize specific accomplishments, such as receiving an award for organizing a successful event, or acknowledge times when a staff member goes above and beyond.

What’s the best way to deliver a teacher appreciation letter?

How you deliver a teacher appreciation letter is up to you. If you’re writing to all staff members, you may find it quicker and simpler to send personalized appreciation emails. However, a card or paper letter may be more meaningful, as your staff members can save the correspondence as keepsakes without having to print. If you decide to print or hand-write your letters, you can place them in teachers’ in-boxes, leave them on their desks or deliver them face-to-face.

Do I need to send letters of appreciation to all the teachers on my staff?

If you intend to send end-of-year appreciation letters, you may wish to send one to every member of your staff to ensure you’re recognizing everyone. Performance and achievement recognition won’t be sent to everyone, but you should look for opportunities to send thank you messages to teachers as often as possible.