AMPLIFY YOUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS STORY
It’s important to share examples of the amazing things happening in our public schools across Wisconsin. Amplifying the work of our public schools and the students, educators and staff who bring them to life helps to show that they deserve the conditions they need to do what they do best.
Take inspiration from these five videos in the PUBLIC SCHOOLS UNITE US SERIES, created by Eau Claire-based award-winning videographers Micah Davis and Steve Betchkal of Soul Shine Creative Studios. Contact us to tell your story – every public school district in Wisconsin has great educators like these!
Read here: A Conversation with Video Creator Micah Davis of Soul Shine Creative Studio
CELEBRATE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
Public Schools Week 2024: February 26 – March 1
See Governor Evers’s Proclamation of Public Schools Week 2024 here.
How to get involved:
- Contact your lawmakers. Tell them why you support public education and tell them to fully fund your local public schools. Here’s a sample letter to get you started!
- Thank-you cards, Valentines, and other tokens of appreciation: Send cards, notes, and cookies to the educators and staff in your school. Don’t forget administrators and your district office! Make it a party by holding card-making events with parent groups, student orgs, and other local teams.
- Guest lessons: Invite a retired teacher, a parent, or a student to conduct a lesson in the classroom.
- Showcase student work: Decorate a public space with kids’ drawings and artwork. Make sure to post a picture on social media with the hashtag #PublicSchoolsWeek and #PSW24.
- Host a dinner: Share in a community meal with current and retired educators and staff from your school.
- Community slideshow: Have members of the community submit photos showing why they love their public schools — and combine them into a slideshow.
- Attend a school board meeting during the week to express your appreciation.
- Bookmark the Learning First Alliance’s Public School Proud website for opportunities to register your events (no matter how small) and other Public Schools Week resources.
- Create a local hashtag and try to get it trending in your community. Example: #WeLoveMiltonSchools
- Write a letter to the editor or op-ed for your local paper sharing why you love your schools.
- Contact your local paper and news stations to inform them of your events and invite them to cover the week!
- Schedule interviews or call into local radio stations to express your public school pride.
- School board resolution: this really shows that your district is on board with your plans
- Join us at the Wisconsin State Capitol for our Public Schools Week Day of Action on March 1 in Madison! LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE
- Cap off Public Schools Week at our 10th Anniversary Party on March 1 in Madison! RSVP HERE
- Share Public Schools Week 2024 content on social media: download and share the graphics below, and/or consider making one your profile picture on social media!
EDUCATOR APPRECIATION
Teacher appreciation week is annual event that we view as a reminder not only to appreciate, celebrate, and thank the teachers who have made a difference in our own lives, but also to put #AppreciationInAction by demanding the cultural and political conditions, compensation, and professional respect these amazing teachers really need to do what they do best.
To the educators in our state: thank you for everything you do. Your work is at the core of Wisconsin’s future, and you bring our public schools to life every day.
#AppreciationInAction is one of the key pillars of what it means to be a public school champion, and we hope you’ll join us in taking concrete steps to show educators that you care — and that you’ve got their back. We must act to oppose deprofessionalization and divisive rhetoric, lift up and spread the positive stories about what teachers in our public schools really do, and take action to deliver the conditions our teachers really deserve.
THANK YOU, WISCONSIN TEACHERS!
Ways to show your appreciation in action:
- Download and share the graphics below, and/or consider making one your profile picture on social media!
