American Education Week occurs on the week before Thanksgiving, from the 13th through the 17th of November this year. It began in 1921, sponsored by the NEA (National Education Association) and the American Legion. According to the Department of Defense Education Activity, the goal of American Education Week was to generate public support and awareness for education, since 25% of the country’s World War 1 draftees were illiterate, meaning that they could not read or write. One year after the first Education Week, the US Office of Education became a co-sponsor, and the PTA joined in 1938. American Education Week celebrates the importance of learning and recognizes educators, school staff, and more.
NEA Schedule for American Education Week:
13 – Kick-off day: The first day of the week, or kick-off day, is celebrated by schools familiarizing students and staff with the theme days and the ways they will be celebrating.
14 – Family day: On Tuesday, some schools invite parents to join their students to see what it’s like at their school. (Rosemont, however, will not be participating.)
15 – Education support professionals: As students, it’s hard to support our teachers for Wednesday because we have little money and jurisdiction within the district, but we can support our educators with the tag #WeLoveOurESPs in social media posts. (But the National Education Association also suggests hosting events for ESPs and hiring catering for schools.)
16 – Educator for a Day: On Thursday, you can celebrate by dressing up as their future career and explaining their part in our community, but dressing up isn’t an official spirit day for the school.
17 – Substitute Educators Day: For the last day of American Education Week, the idea is to support the substitute educators and advocate for their rights as teachers (wage and health benefits for those who work all year and full time.)
Here at Rosemont, we can celebrate National Education Week by following the schedule for the week and honoring our educators and people who work at schools here in America. You’ll notice most of the ideas of celebrating American Education Week are not celebrated by Rosemont, because it is a lesser-known holiday.
To get ideas on more ways to celebrate National Education Week, visit: https://www.nea.org/resource-library/american-education-week-november-13-17-2023
