Appreciating our Teachers

Appreciating our Teachers

“Teacher Appreciation Week” is a time set aside for students to write letters and give gifts to their teachers. But when students and teachers aren’t in classrooms due to a pandemic, what does it look like to encourage teachers and school staffs? And how can churches participate in providing support and meeting needs? One of the ways COSILoveYou helps connect our community is through our COSILoveSchools initiative, in which churches are partnered with local schools to provide practical, tangible support. This year, we’ve had to rethink how we can empower the Church to serve schools during COVID-19. We spoke with several churches about the different ways congregations have shown support, and why teachers and school staffs need encouragement now more than ever. 

Letters of Encouragement 

COSILoveYou recently connected Antioch Church, one of our church partners, with Mann Middle School in District 11. Jodi Shields, the Community Liaison for Mann, talked about the staff’s needs: “I asked our teachers what would make them feel better, and they said notes of encouragement. Right now, teachers feel disconnected from their students. It’s challenging for them to engage the kids and feel they’re making a difference – they feel like they can’t do their jobs.” 

Antioch Church posted the service opportunity on Facebook, and volunteers stepped up to write letters of encouragement. They wrote a note for each staff member, including counselors and custodians, for a total of about 70 letters. One staff member commented on Antioch’s facebook post: “I just got my letter! Thank you soooo much. You made my day!” Christy Duncan, the Director of Global Missions at Antioch Church, said, “You never know where someone is at when they receive words of life. All you can know is that God is going to use it in some way. So often we miss opportunities to make an impact because we think it’s so little. It’s the small, consistent things that bring life and hope.” 

Pikes Peak Christian Church served Sunrise Elementary in a similar way, writing letters to all the staff members of the school. Regina Gutierrez with Pikes Peak Christian said, “The school was so grateful and on board with whatever we could do. Schools are wearing multiple caps right now, so it’s so important to uplift them so they know they’re being supported.”

Surprise Groceries

Pastor Allison Tedder from Christian House of Prayer stepped up with her church not only to serve Sand Creek International School, but also provide local daycare centers with bags of free groceries. “It was just on my heart. Teachers are the caregivers to our children and I wanted them to know that even though they’re not physically in school, we now have a greater appreciation for how hard they work to care for our children. I wanted to let them know we’re thinking about them.”

Volunteers at Christian House of Prayer donated 78 grocery bags to the school, with a bag for each staff member, as well as 118 bags to five local daycare centers. They brought the groceries while teachers were cleaning out their classrooms, as a surprise waiting for them in the principal’s office. The bags included resources for local food pantries and information about the church. “They were all so happy and thankful,” said Tedder. “When you receive something without asking, it makes your heart glad. Mostly they were so surprised that it was for everyone, and not just the teachers.” 

Why Support Schools?

Teacher Appreciation Week is the first week of May, but teachers deserve our support year-round, and especially during this pandemic. “Teachers are on the front lines of caring for our kids right now,” said Shields. “Anything helps, from providing food to covering teachers in prayer so they can support their students on a daily basis.” Duncan spoke of the importance of churches supporting schools: “As the Church, we want our communities to know that we’re not just here for ourselves – we belong to you. We live out the gospel by investing in our community, and supporting schools leaves a direct impact. We need to be the Church that poured into, gave into, and supported our city to help it thrive.”

COSILoveYou is working hard to empower the Church to uplift schools, to show that we are not alone during this crisis and we stand by our educators and the hard work they are doing to support our students. Whether it’s by supporting teachers or donating to a backpack supply drive, the faith community can be a tremendous source of support for local schools. If you are looking to connect with a school for potential service opportunities, please email us at info@cosiloveyou.devsquad.tech