We appreciate our teachers

Do you remember the last time you were appreciated for something, recognized for a job well done, and how good it felt?

May 2 to 6 is nationally celebrated as Teacher Appreciation Week. We all know a teacher or live near a school. We can all remember a teacher that made a real difference in our lives. Teachers' jobs have become more challenging, beyond just teaching our children to nurturing them, with impossible goals, inadequate budgets and more and more uninvolved parents.

The United Way of Southeast Missouri recently released the "Mobilization Plan for Ensuring the Success of Our Children" which identified strategies to help more of your youth successfully graduate from high school and be prepared for college, trade school, work or the military.

One of those strategies -- a key strategy -- is to simply appreciate our teachers, administrators, other school professionals and staff. Any day is a good day to do this but especially during Teacher Appreciation Week.

We ask you to contact a teacher you know -- or don't know. Call, text, email or send a note to let them know how much you appreciate all they are doing for our children, and, as a result, our community. Call a school in your neighborhood and find out what you can do to help support them. If your business has a marquee, post a message for the entire community to see. Just let them know you care.

We are proud of our teachers and honor them for their commitment to our children and thank them for their hard work.

NANCY JERNIGAN, executive director, United Way of Southeast Missouri, Cape Girardeau