Twenty-Five Ideas for
Celebrating American Education Week
American Education Week was first celebrated in 1921. Begun as part of an effort to raise America’s literacy rate after WWI, American Education Week now serves as a special opportunity to shine a light on the great things that schools do.
Included: Twenty-five ideas for celebrating AEW, plus links to other resources.
Each year, American Education Week (AEW) is celebrated during the last full week before Thanksgiving. This year, AEW will be celebrated November 11-17. Sponsored by the National Education Association, the theme for this year’s celebration is Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility.
During the week, each day has a special focus.
Monday is AEW Kick-Off Day
Tuesday is Invite Parents to School Day
Wednesday is Education Support Professionals Day
Thursday is “Educator for a Day” Day
Friday is Substitute Educators Day
More Resources for American Education Week
Here are some links to additional resources for American Education Week (AEW) from the National Education Association (NEA).
The NEA offers many suggestions for recognizing each of these special days. A selection of those activity ideas appears below. For a complete list of activities, see the AEW Online Toolkit: Activity Ideas on the NEA Web site.
TWENTY-FIVE IDEAS FOR
CELEBRATING AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK
Kickoff the week by providing breakfast for the staff on Monday morning.
Provide each student with a blank thank-you card to fill out and give to someone who works in the school.
During AEW, place a box of apples (or apple muffins or apple pies) in the staff lounge along with a note that reads “In celebration of American Education Week, an apple for the teacher.”
Arrange for local businesses to provide gift certificates or discount coupons for staff members.
Ask all staff to wear suspenders to show their “support” for Education Support Professionals on their day. (Wednesday is Education Support Professionals Day.)
Write a letter of thanks to the community, and invite your local newspaper to publish it as a Letter to the Editor.
Plan a “What I Like Best About My School” contest for all students. Students in lower grades can draw pictures. Others write short essays. Award savings bonds for the best entries. Display the winning entries in the school lobby during American Education Week. Have some students read their essays during the week’s daily announcements.
Ask your local newspaper to devote a full-page “ad” to publishing student comments about the things they like best about their schools. The newspaper might even be willing to publish photos.
Post a large U.S. map in the school lobby. Have each teacher and staff member sign his/her name by the location where he/she was born.
Hold a contest to design a school flag.
Hold a student vs. teachers volleyball game. The event might be used to raise money for student awards.
Invite students to come to school dressed as if they were dressed for their future career.
Invite a local radio station to pose “quiz questions” about your district’s schools.
Have students circle the school and give it a big “hug.” Invite the local media to cover the event.
Teachers might change classes for one day during American Education Week.
Students might make cookies and give them to school bus drivers along with “thank-you” cards signed by all the students on their route.
Hold a “faculty trivia” contest. Invite staff members to share trivial information about their lives that students might not know. Which student(s) guesses correctly the teacher associated with the most trivia statements?
Provide special recognition to parent volunteers who support the school in many ways.
Arrange for a collection of gently used books to be donated to a local shelter or hospital.
Send letters to area churches asking them to publish an announcement about American Education Week in their weekly bulletins.
Invite students to write essays about “What I Would Do If I Were Principal.” Post the essays for all to read.
Encourage your entire school community (or your entire community!) to wear school colors on the Friday of American Education Week.
Challenge all classes in the school to create a bulletin board tied to this year’s American Education Week theme.
Join the Conversation
How does your school celebrate American Education Week? Click to join the conversation.
Send a "Thank You" card to each staff member. Include a raffle ticket in the card. Then hold a raffle for a special prize(s) including gift certificates to local businesses.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Celebrate American Education Week
Celebrate this event and strengthen the bonds between your schools and your community with these activities suggested by the National Education Association for AEW 1990.
Educators Before They Were Lawmakers
More than 75 members of the current U.S. Congress were educators before they became lawmakers. Read what those lawmakers had to say when asked how their background as educators has impacted their lives.
Twenty-Five Ideas for