In that envelope was a handwritten note from one of their teachers. Each teacher had taken the time to make sure every one of the 400+ students received a personal note from a teacher that knew them.

And I’m not even kidding when I tell you pretty much every kid forgot about their tassels and their hat and instead immediately tore into those envelopes to get at those notes.

It made me cry tears.

Teachers if you think for one solitary second that these kids do not need you please know your job means so much to so many.

The connections. The time. The agonizing over how to get a kid to read a darn book or hand in an assignment. The emails. The kid who just won’t sit down. The test scores. The meetings. The kid who you can’t get off your mind because you just know they need you. The phone calls home. The lesson planning. The kid who needed you to give them just a bit extra every day.

Not one single ounce of your efforts is wasted.

Your kids crave and need that connection to you whether they show you or not.

Watching those almost grown-up students tearing into those envelopes is something I will never ever forget.

Thank you for all you’ve given this year. Our kids needed you and once again you came through.

Thank you, too, to the administrators and support staff that held these teachers and our students up. No one could do this without you for a single second.

Know the gifts you have shared are carried forward by the next generation and so you will live on in them. They’ve watched and learned from you even when you think they didn’t see or hear a thing. You have become a part of them….and I know they’ve become a part of you.

Look around and know your work has been good. And we are so grateful…you can make one white envelope mean the world.