Join Americans across the country in celebrating our public school communities during American Education Week (AEW), Nov. 13-19. This year’s theme is “Together for Safe, Just & Equitable Schools.”

AEW honors the educators who work in our nation’s public schools, from teachers, school psychologists and speech language pathologists to custodians, paraeducators and administrative staff. Each day of the week has a theme for celebrating school communities.

Download graphics and shareables here and celebrate your schools along with educators across the country with the following themes:

Monday, Nov. 14: Kickoff Day

Across the country, schools will celebrate excellence in education by hosting kickoff events and activities.

Tuesday, Nov. 15: Family Day

On this day, schools across the nation invite parents into the classroom to experience what the day is like for their child. This year, it’s not feasible to have parents physically in schools, but there are other ways to involve parents:

Invite parents virtually into classrooms via video conference to read to students, talk about their career or share other educational information outside the normal curriculum. If the parent is tech-savvy, have them record a video you can show.

Wednesday, Nov. 16: National Education Support Professionals Day

National Education Support Professionals Day was first celebrated in 1987 after NEA’s Representative Assembly, the Association’s decision-making body of nearly 8,000 member delegates, called on the organization to honor the contributions of all school support staff. National ESP Day is observed on Wednesday of American Education Week.

Ideas for celebrating: Host an appreciation event for ESPs in your school or district. Share photos (or screenshots) of the event on social media. Arrange a safe food or gift delivery for ESPs in your school or district. Encourage teachers, students, and parents to mail or email a thank you letter to ESPs in their schools.

Thursday, Nov. 17: Educator for a Day

Traditionally, community leaders would be invited to experience the day as educators and experience the challenges of teaching and the needs of students, with the guidance of school employees.

This year, having community members come into the classroom is not an option for many schools due to health and safety practices. However, educators can be creative about marking the day in other ways, including asking students to dress as if they were in their future career and talking about that profession’s role in the community.

Friday, November 18: Substitute Educators Day

Substitute educators provide a critical link in the education of public schoolchildren by serving as a bridge to provide continued quality education to children in the temporary absence of regular classroom educators.

Substitute Educators Day seeks to encourage increased respect for substitute education employees, and advocate for all school substitutes to receive wage and health benefits for those who work most to all of a full school year.

Visit CTA’s AEW home for more information and ideas for celebrating.