Teacher Appreciation

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all of my fellow educators! I have a few weeks left of this school year and I am feeling alllll the end-of-the-year feels; stress over grading, excitement for graduating seniors, and panic over fitting all of the material in that we need to cover.
 I want to share a little bit about my journey as an educator for those who don't know me well. I student-taught at Lafayette Jeff. My first year teaching was spent at Clinton Central Jr./Sr. High School in Michigantown, Indiana. This school housed about 500 students total, 7th through 12th grade. There, I taught English 10, English 10 Honors, ECA Remediation, Yearbook, and Speech. Years 2 through 5 have been spent back at Lafayette Jefferson in Lafayette, Indiana. We hover around 2,000 students. I taught ECA Remediation, Developmental Reading, and Composition my first two years here. Now, I teach English 11 and Yearbook. I started coaching here at LJHS right out of college, wearing Clinton Central colors by day and Jeff colors by night. I coached freshmen for two years, assisted varsity for two years, and am now starting my second year as head coach. I love being a Broncho (yes, that is how we spell it) and I find myself more and more attached to these great kids as time goes on. 
Teaching is hard. Dealing with discipline is hard. Grading is hard. Planning is hard. But, loving when a student tells you how much they learned from you, receiving thank you letters from former students, celebrating football game wins or spell bowl wins with students, watching a student succeed when there were times that you were the only one who believed in her or him- That is all so easy. And soooo worth it.
In honor of this week dedicated to us teacher folk, I wanted to share a few places that offer year-round deals simply for being a teacher. Enjoy it, teachers, as we all know you work hard and deserve it!

Ann Taylor Loft: 15% off Ann Taylor Loft purchases year-round, plus access to exclusive deals & promos.

Banana Republic: Take 15% off your in-store purchase with a valid teacher I.D.

Champion: 10% discount available through Champion and affiliated brands Hanes, One Hanes Place, and Just My Size.

J.Crew: 15% off your in-store and online purchase.

Talbots: 15% off in-store purchases. 

Container Store: The Container Store offers special discounts to U.S. teachers through their Organized Teacher Discount Program. Offer is available until December 31, 2018.

Hobby Lobby: Hobby Lobby offers a 10% discount on in-store purchases. Items must be paid for using a check or bank card provided by the school. Regular coupons available online.

Home Depot: Educators employed in public schools can apply for a tax-free exemption on classroom purchases made at Home Depot.

JoAnn Fabric: JoAnn Fabric offers an exclusive 15% discount both in-store and online to U.S. teachers who can show proof of identification.

Michaels: Michaels offers a 15% discount on in-store purchases every day to U.S. teachers who can show valid teacher identification.
 
Otterbox: Educators get 25% off, plus free shipping on Otterbox and Lifeproof rugged cases.

Overstock.com: Overstock.com offers free Club O Gold memberships to U.S. educators. Identification must be verified through TeacherID. 

Quiksilver: 15% off Quiksilver apparel for teachers. Verify eligibility with SheerID.

Roxy: Teachers save 15% on surfer styles from Roxy. Verify eligibility with SheerID.

Staples: Staples offers exclusive deals to U.S. educators after identification is verified through staples.com.

Adobe: 60% off your first year of Adobe Creative Cloud. Proof of eligibility required.

Apple Store for Education: The Apple Store for Education offers discounted rates on Mac, Ipad, and other Apple accessories. College faculty, staff, and home school teachers are eligible for this promotion.

AT&T: AT&T offers select educator discounts on monthly phone service plans through AT&T’s Signature Discount Program. Employee ID or school email is required.