Eastern Carolina schools celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day

GREENE & HYDE COUNTIES, N.C. (WITN) - Teachers are rounding the corner on the school year, but before school is out for summer, educators are being celebrated.

National Teacher Appreciation Day gives school systems and classrooms the chance to highlight their favorite teachers’ favorite things.

“Our staff loves to eat so we are eating every day this week,” said Greene County Intermediate School principal Jada Mumford.
After two years of interrupted education from the pandemic, teachers in Eastern Carolina are getting back into the swing of things.

“This is the first year that we’ve had some sense of normalcy,” said Mumford. “We were able to go on a field trip for the first time in three years to the Wood Ducks game and took almost 350 students. So, I just think it’s a great time to be able to come back together.”

Tuesday’s celebration was just one part of a whole week dedicated by the National Parent-Teacher Association to those educators going above and beyond for their students.

“There’s a lot more that a teacher does other than just educate our children,” said Hyde County administrative lead teacher Paige Smith. “You’re nurse. You’re a mom in school. You are someone to get them food if they are hungry outside of the lunch or breakfast time. So, just a kind note, letting them know that you realize that they are going above and beyond for your child and that you appreciate it, that really means a lot. "

Now seeing the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, teachers still have their plates full.

The National Education Association’s annual teacher salary report placed North Carolina as the 34th highest paying state.

The state’s Department of Public Instruction has the ranking a bit higher at 32nd.

“The pandemic was definitely a challenge for us all so it is so nice to be as close to normal as we can in the meantime,” said Smith. “Our teachers are working diligently to help our students grow and fill in those gaps that happened during the pandemic.”

The National PTA has many resources your family can use like fillable cards, poem templates, and coloring print outs.

Even just a passing encouragement to those educators can make a positive impact on their day.
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Teacher Appreciation Week runs all the way until Friday, May 6.