If New Hampshire appreciates its teachers, now is a good time to show them

Yahoo

05-05-2025

"At the state and federal level, anti-public education politicians are trying to turn public funding into blank checks for private schools." (Photo by Dave Cummings/New Hampshire Bulletin)
Every day, teachers are nurturing and supporting our precious students in classrooms across New Hampshire. Teachers dedicate their careers and their lives to providing young Granite Staters with the tools they need to build bright futures and live out their dreams.
May 5-9 marks Teacher Appreciation Week nationwide — an important moment to ensure the teachers in our lives know how much they mean to us and our communities. It's important to show — and tell — our gratitude.
I am so grateful for every New Hampshire teacher. To those who taught me how to teach, to my colleagues in the classroom who supported me and guided me throughout my career, to the dedicated professionals who I trust to teach my three sons — thank you! You inspire me every day, and you inspire the next generation to be their best selves.
This year, I hope you'll join me to show your appreciation and show up for teachers. We can drop off a gift card and we can drop by a school board meeting. We can tell teachers how much we care about their work. And we can tell our policy makers to protect our neighborhood public schools.
At the state and federal level, anti-public education politicians are trying to turn public funding into blank checks for private schools. They want to give more handouts and tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires while breaking our public schools and taking resources away from teachers and students.
We can't afford to let them turn funding for public school students and teachers into private school vouchers. We can't afford to let them slash programs like Medicaid and children's health insurance that keep students healthy and ready to learn. We can't afford to let them cut programs that keep our kids safe, like the Office of the Child Advocate. These harmful proposals — and more — are all contained in the current state budget draft.
We know what appreciation would look like in action. Teachers would have classrooms that are stocked with supplies they need and full of the joy that students deserve. Teachers would come to work at schools that are safe, welcoming, and well-funded. Teachers would have the careers they deserve that can support their families and support our communities in every corner of this state.
Whether you speak out on your social media accounts or call your lawmakers, when we transform our appreciation into support for teachers we protect and strengthen public schools.
Teachers go above and beyond for their students every day — even in the face of anti-public education politicians' attacks on their profession and their school. They bring joy and determination to their work to ensure every student — no matter the color of their skin or the ZIP code they live in — has the resources they need to succeed.
We know the overwhelming majority of Granite Staters support the teachers at their community public schools, which are attended by nearly 90% of students and 95% of students with a disability. Now it's time for us to go above and beyond for teachers and turn our appreciation into actions that will protect our public schools and help teachers get the support and resources they deserve.