D21 gave them gift cards to a local coffee/tea shop that is very close to the high school, along with a thank you card.
Cute story along these lines: A couple of older teachers I know shared that they were out to dinner one night and someone sent over a bottle of wine. When they looked around to see who it was, it was a couple of former students- all grown up and 21 
For the LOR teachers, we got them little stuffed animals with the college logo on them. Nothing huge,just something that fits on a desk or shelf.
We plan to give the teachers cookies with my Dās college logo, a gift card to a local restaurant group (6 restaurant options at various price points) plus a thank you note. Iām glad you mentioned the card stock in the school colorsā¦ I hadnāt thought of that.
@Camasite, thanks for that perspective. We are planning to do this for all her current year teachers plus the ones who wrote the LORs (prior year teachers and an EC advisor). These will be given at the end of the school year. Your comment about the content of the thank you note makes senseā¦Iāll mention to my D so she concentrates on their guidance and teaching and not mention the LOR.
Thanks for that insight. Thatās surprising to hear. We have always gotten our teachers something after the fact and after the kids have committed to show their appreciation to their teachers especially for going out of their way and willingness to write their notes. Their teachers spend hours meeting with the students asking them additional questions, etc. to make sure they hit everything they need and want to in their letters, we want them to know their hard work is greatly appreciated, especially when it can be such a thankless job at times. We also at the end of the year once the kids graduate get the club teachers something small to also show our appreciation. We wait until the end of the 4 years on purpose and after theyāve committed to schools on purpose.
While our district teachers are very high paid, this year they have worked extraordinarily hard and itās been rough as not all parents understand how hard remote teaching can be. Iām so thankful for the amazing high school teachers my kids have had, even when things at our high school suck sometimes!
The problem with cookies as I learned when I did a graduation party for my other kids is that there are copyright issues with the logos and/or they just become so expensive. I had thought about buying something like a mug from the school he ends up at, but since he may not know until May and the last day of school is May 17, Iām worried we may not have everything back in time. Also, I have to admit, when I was teaching full-time I hated getting mugs! We did cookies for my oldestā¦so yummy.
I thought we would never be back in person, so this is a game changer. I would get them t-shirts or something but for female teachers size can be an issue so I donāt want to offend anyone there either. I will have to put on my investigator hat to see what they like! It didnāt work well two years ago with 2 of these 3 teachers plus the same counselor, but maybe Iāll have better luck this time. If not, then they may just get the same gift card as two years ago. Canāt really go wrong there.
Good point about the cookies, but since my friend is making them I think we will plead ignorance of any potential copyright issues. Ha. This is not her business. She just loves to bake. We do plan to include a list of ingredients for any allergy considerations.
Totally the way to go then!
Iām with you. I wouldnāt dare try to determine size for any clothing items! Iām sure they will appreciate whatever you and your S come up with. Sometimes I think I go too far trying to come up with a creative and personal gift when the recipient would probably appreciate the more practical gift card.
We gave the teachers that did the LOR a gift card to a local bakery. There was a teacher appreciation drive by right before the holidays and S gave it to them with a Thank you card.
I am sending Tiffās Treats cookie deliveries to S21ās teachers who wrote LORs as well as to his counselor who worked really hard to get schedules sorted and worked out for all three of my kids.
Iām starting to take notes of all these great suggestions/plans. We also should include her school college counselor and class dean (who has been a huge support to my D for all 4 years of high school.)
Thank you for this insight. My kid is very hands off. Yesterday I suggested gift cards for his LOR teachers. He was so offended because I assumed he hadnāt already written them a thank you note?
Just found out his faculty advisor at school is pregnant, due in weeks. I suggested picking up a copy of our favorite childhood picture book for her. Nope, that would make him uncomfortable. Back off, please. And heās right. But my favorite pregnant barrista may just get a copy of Voyage to the Bunny Planet by Rosemary Wellsā¦
@NateandAllisMom I had to check with my girl friend whose son is a freshman this year at the UW. For reference, she has a sophomore at UNC and one at UC Irvine. My new hires have graduates so donāt have current knowledge and I know I would get up at 5am to call 206-547-STAR at the UW to get into my GE classes back in the day. I always got my classes (chem was 350-500 people and Psych 101 about 900 people back in the day).
Hereās what she said: āUW software is 1000x better than UC and UNC.ā Her freshman son who is in bioengr (basically, the engr, CS, premed, STEM people all take similar classes at least the first year) has no issues. Yes, you have to be quick. But sheās mentioned that if her son dropped a class, his roommate sitting side-by-side with him could immediately add it. Her son has been on the waitlist but was able to easily get the classes. Right now Iām guessing heās in the Gen chem, bio, and Calc/physics series.
She said her UNC and UC kids would have to deal with the mass scramble to get classes and it can be high stress.
@srparent15 I know itās not creative, but our counselor and teachers have been super appreciate of Amazon giftcards. They can spend on what they want and need. If you canāt think of anything to get them, I am sure theyād still appreciate Amazon.
Oh, I kind of like that idea! The one male teacher though is a total athlete. I might just get him a Dickās Sporting goods gift card. His wife actually works in the same district as I do so I may just send her an email.
My first kid I missed the counselor. I honestly didnāt think about it. My twins we made it up to him (same one), plus he did us a huge favor because I had requested they each have a different counselor than one another so one had him and one had someone else, but the other one really sucked so I then begged during soph year if I could switch her to him and he was willing to take on the extra courseload with her and I was so grateful (not that she would be any trouble but still an extra senior rec), then my youngest has him too. I am so sure he will be happy to be rid of us after 4 kids! But it was my oldest who was the hardest so after that, piece of cake!
Thanks for this info. I know you were replying to @NateandAllisMom, but Iām also interested in UW and am waiting to see if my S gets in. Following all info re UW.
Iām just a sample size of one. As a teacher I have a lot of students who are children of first generation immigrants or from difficult family backgrounds who basically on their own to navigate the college application process themselves with whatever help I can provide. And then at the other end of the spectrum I have plenty of parents who hire consultants and such micro-manage every detail. I try to treat them all equally.
I think for most teachers, gifts of appreciation are always welcome. At Christmas and graduation and so forth. What makes things a little uncomfortable is when there is the possible perception of a quid pro quo. I try to write recommendations that are generous but fair. But that isnāt always exactly what the parents expect. If I donāt feel like I can write a good recommendation I will tell the student they are better off finding someone else to do it. Which almost never happens. Usually those kids know better than to even ask me.
My daughter gave wrote the thank you notes/gave them a gift card right after they were uploaded to Naviance. Not college related as she hadnāt been accepted anywhere let alone chosen a school.
Just wanted to get some info regarding S, ORM, a TX HS junior at a large public school (~500 students).
PSAT: 99th percentile (220+ NMSQT score).
GPA : 4.5 (W) ranked in the top 20 in class
APs thus far: Calc AB, Calc BC, Physics 1, Physics C (E&M, Mechanics), Chemistry, Human Geography, World History. (Got 5s in 6 of them and 4s in 2 of them).
APs in Junior: Biology, Statistics, English Language & Composition, US History with dual enrollment in Organic Chemistry I (A), Organic Chemistry II & Economics at a local university.
SAT: Expect to get 1550+
ECs:
Summer Plans:
Any idea of how he can strengthen his chances to get into a top school for Chemistry/Biochemistry (pre-med track) or for BS/MD at Brown, Rice or NU?