Gifts For Teachers Overview

Crafting policies about gifts for teachers is one way we, as educators, can look at what we value, why we value it, and how we put those values into practice. Humans are drawn to ritual, and the rituals of gift-giving are common in many cultures, especially the United States (and especially for children.) How do we blend these overarching cultures with the cultures of our classrooms?

There’s a lot to cover with gifts; I also have posts on gifts for children, as well as gifts for families from children.

I am unashamed to say that I like receiving presents from students. I love the cards, I love the wrapping, I love the way some families and children are so sheepish about sharing and the way some cannot wait to thrust their handmade and hand wrapped creations at me. (I will say that I also love giving gifts to people for all of these reasons – I’ve never personally been particularly anxious about gifting. It’s a love language.) Of the many gifts I’ve received as a teacher, there are three that I will always remember:

• The child who made me a clay model of the book character I dressed up as for Halloween for an end-of-the-year gift
• The family who brought me a decaf mocha with oat milk for my birthday (this is my order, I will defend it to the death)
• The mother who bought me a Valentine’s Day card from the dollar store and wrote on the inside “thank you for being my baby’s 1st teacher”

I don’t expect gifts, but I certainly do appreciate them; most of all, I appreciate notes. I have a comically large binder filled with page protectors that I’ve stuffed with every card and drawing a child or family has given me – in some classrooms, I’ve even had this out for children to look through. When I’m bummed out, I sit on the floor and crack it open, thinking about what those children are up to now, reminding myself that at one point in time, I was considered “th bst techer in th wrld”.

Clearly, I’m not against students and families getting gifts for teachers, but I do agree that limits can be helpful for everyone. A total ban on gifts for teachers has always struck me as strange. As a person who likes to show appreciation through words and items, and at the same time, I’ve never wanted a family to feel obligated to give me a present for doing my literal job: where’s the happy medium?

I think it’s found somewhere in encouraging displays of appreciation in ways that aren’t ostentatious and that are by choice and choice alone, not a requirement. Let the families that want to give give; let those that don’t sit it out.

Your primary source in any gifts for teachers policy should be your licensing agency. In many places, there are ethical concerns about receiving gifts over a certain amount of money: it can be considered a conflict of interest or even a bribe. This is more often the case with public preschools and anything funded through government programs, so be sure to check.

After you have the non-negotiable guidelines out of the way, what you plan to do becomes much more personal: what kind of context are you in? What have families in the area historically shown trends towards doing? What are you most comfortable with? Do you want to impose a suggested money limit or offer gift ideas? Does cash make you feel weird, or make the most sense?

Some programs have room parents or parent committees, and expect those individuals to coordinate gifts for teachers by reaching out to other parents, collecting funds or gifts, and distributing them at a specific time. This can be a great solution if you have a handful of parents who want to find a way to contribute, and you trust them to broach the topic with their peers respectfully.

Other schools let parents do whatever feels best for them without restrictions, and still others limit gift-giving to specific times or events (like winter holidays, birthdays, or the end of the year.) It’s not uncommon for some schools to encourage families to participate in Teacher Appreciation Week by having a ‘theme’ every day (Monday a fruit; Tuesday a flower, Wednesday a card…) or, again, ask parents to contribute funds that a committee then utilizes.

My biggest suggestion for teacher gifts is to create a survey that teachers answer about the sort of things they like, then make it available for those that need it (be it a committee or just the parents in a classroom, as well as other staff.) This removes some anxiety around finding gifts for teachers, as well as ensures that someone with a severe nut allergy doesn’t receive a pound of cashew brittle. (They’ll be gracious about it, of course, assuming that they haven’t gone in to anaphylactic shock.)

These sorts of surveys are also useful if the school plans to recognize teacher birthdays, buy teachers lunch during work days, or have any sort of gift exchange program at the holidays.

I consider bonuses a separate conversation from gifts for teachers, but I do want to make a point about what a director or administration team might choose to do to show appreciation for teachers. My first reaction is to encourage these individuals in positions of power to work to create a darn good environment for teaching, where administration supports staff as requested, provides opportunities for growth, and backs the teachers when needed.

Whatever you choose to do, do it for everyone: if you send a birthday card, make sure you know everyone’s birthday. If you make a donation in their name to a local non-profit, make sure you include your entire staff. If you have a staff member with a dietary restriction, please make sure you order them something to eat for the staff lunch, because there’s nothing worse than being told “well, there’s iced tea!” with a totally straight face. (That’s a real story.)

Where to Include

At Playvolution HQ, we recommend using the Three Handbook Method.

Consider adding this policy to your Operations Handbook.

Considerations

• Assistant teachers are teachers; please don’t leave them out of any sort of gift situation. Nothing makes my blood boil like those who treat assistant teachers without respect.
• While we’re on the subject, the people who maintain your program grounds, like cleaning staff, deserve a treat, too – factor them in when providing guidelines, or make sure that you’re talking with your staff about how to show them some love.
• Adults are not immune from the hurt feelings of seeing a colleague get something that they didn’t, however silly that feeling might be.
• Even if you think you know that all families understand that gifts for teachers aren’t required, please put it in writing. It takes five seconds and gives someone who might not be ready to disclose a financial situation an easy out should they need it.
• If you have a member of your staff that seems a little gift-grabby or attention-addicted, how will you address it? (I would suggest always bringing it back to ethical concerns.)

Sample Policies

NOTE: The following samples are real-world examples relating to this post’s topic and are provided as a reference for creating your own policies and procedures. Sharing them here is not a recommendation of their content.

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample 3

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