Principal Appreciates Teachers With Tasty Treats

Maureen Gildein, the principal at Shady Grove Elementary School in Advance, NC, saw that her teachers were wiped cleaner than a blackboard. So far, their school year has been filled with new initiatives that have required extra meetings for her staff. After sensing that they were feeling somewhat overwhelmed, Gildein decided to take action.

"When I saw the "deer in headlights look" on numerous staff members, I knew it was time to let them know we understand and value all their efforts."

Last weekend, Gildein spent her time baking apple, pumpkin and banana bread. She was determined to do give something extra back to her staff who had put extra time in implementing these new initiatives.

"I cut and wrapped a piece for every staff member and put each treat on a plate and placed it in their mailbox so they could enjoy this at the start of their day," said Gildein. "They thanked us for the bread, but I believe they appreciated the message on the plate even more."

With each treat came the message "We know your plate is full, but hope you will make room for dessert."

The message was surrounded with the words: meetings, grades, teaching, assessments, duties and PLCs.

Originally, Gildein had done each plate by hand. Then her assistant principal, who she praises as a master time saver, created a template on her computer with the message and surrounding words that could be glued to the plates.

According to Gildein, this inexpensive and quick way to raise morale received a great deal of positive feedback from her staff.

"I believe it lightened their load a bit to know that we understood they have a lot on their plate."

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