I am a big believer in the power of celebration. People who know me personally know that I am constantly celebrating in my personal life. Birthday? Let’s celebrate! New job? Let’s party! Quit that old job? Let’s toast! Engaged? Whoo-hoo! I am always on the lookout for ways to acknowledge people and celebrate with them.
I am also a big believer in the power of celebrations for professional progress and milestones. While I have friends that work in many different industries, from engineering to healthcare to botany and everything in between, I lean into this even more with my friends and colleagues in education. In a profession that often focuses on challenges, acknowledging and celebrating the good things happening in education not only fosters motivation and growth but also builds a culture of positivity and inspires further progress. Whether it’s academic success, innovative teaching methods, or personal development, celebrating these victories helps create a more inclusive and thriving educational environment—and shows just how much is going right in our schools.
As long as great work is being done, it should be acknowledged.
Typically, this happens in the form of celebrating students. As educators and education leaders, we attend countless graduations, awards ceremonies, and recognition events. I recently went to 12 events recognizing student achievement in one month alone!
However, it’s just as important to celebrate the adults who make great things happen, too. It’s undeniable—and unfortunate—that education is often a profession where teachers feel unappreciated. Research supports this: Only 46 percent of educators feel they have respect from the general public (Will, 2022), and about 1 in 10 teachers (9 percent) report needing more support from government, administrators, and other key stakeholders (Braga et al., 2024). Yet studies show that when educators are recognized for their work, it transforms school culture, builds leadership capacity, and creates stronger communities (Movsessian, 2018). When educators feel supported and valued through meaningful acknowledgment of their work, they’re more likely to stay in the profession and create environments where students feel empowered and encouraged.
One of my favorite parts about celebrating achievements in education is seeing how this recognition spreads through a school community. Schoolwide celebrations of accomplishments—whether through assemblies, newsletters, or social media—help spread a message of collective success. These celebrations also promote inclusivity, as they often highlight the diverse talents and accomplishments of individuals across disciplines, departments, and roles.
I’ve been in situations where educators have expressed to me that they feel that only certain departments or educators tend to get recognized (i.e. the math team or the world language lead teacher) and other departments or educators (the physical education team, the art teacher) seem neglected. To ensure balanced recognition, many schools create monthly rotation systems for department spotlights in newsletters and assemblies. Some also form diverse recognition committees with representatives from each department to help surface outstanding work that might otherwise go unnoticed. I completely agree—as long as great work is being done, it should be acknowledged.
Building a Foundation for Recognition
The bottom line is that people want to work in places where they are appreciated and celebrated. However, building a school culture of recognition does not happen overnight. So, how can you get started?
I like to encourage school and district leaders to begin this journey by locking in on the principles that they want to embody whenever it comes to celebrating. Every school is different, every district is different, every institution is different—so it’s important to have some “guiding principles” that help folks understand the “why” behind the celebration. To do this, think about the “why” and exactly what you’d want the “why” to lead into. The ultimate goal of celebration is not just to acknowledge people who are doing a good job, but to use these moments as inspiration to build community, enhance learning, and raise awareness of what’s going on within the building or district. A rising tide lifts all ships, after all.
Here are the three principles that I live by.
When we celebrate, we acknowledge.
I frequently meet educators who question public celebrations—some worry it might create competition or make other teachers feel left out, while others might see it as taking time away from the “real work.” What they don’t realize is that visible recognition serves to inspire and unite the entire school community. Public acknowledgement and recognition puts, as a mentor of mine calls it, “greatness on the spot.” It allows for people to see what’s actively happening around them and can inspire them to do more with their school community. These celebrations do not need to be gargantuan, either—they can be as simple as “shouting out” achievements (such as obtaining new certifications) or innovative practices (such as trying out a new tool or platform) in a weekly newsletter. A little bit of acknowledgement can go a long way.
When we acknowledge, we empower.
An empowered person is an engaged person. Somebody is more willing to connect with their colleagues, give feedback to their superiors, be engaged in their meetings, and give back to their school community if they feel that their efforts are being seen and appreciated.
Public acknowledgement and recognition puts 'greatness on the spot.'
For example, at one middle school, a teaching team was publicly celebrated during a staff meeting for their innovative approach to family-teacher conferences. Their collaborative method brought together the entire teaching team, family, and student in one meeting. Together, they created specific action items for everyone involved—such as increasing a student’s nightly reading time from 20 to 30 minutes to build stamina. The team then followed up with families and students asynchronously to check on progress. When other teachers saw how well this system worked, they eagerly asked to learn more. The response was so positive that the team ended up creating a professional development session to share their approach with the entire faculty.
When we empower, we support.
Last but certainly not least, there’s the support piece. With so many faculty and staff members (educators in particular) feeling as though they need more support, empowering them to share what they’re doing encourages others and also allows school leaders to give them the support that they may need to continue innovating. At the middle school that revamped their system for family-teacher conferences, administration was able to lean into the positive response and feedback and reach out to teaching teams before conferences to offer various kinds of support—whether that be participating in conferences, connecting with families beforehand, or gathering additional resources for teachers.
Three Strategies for Meaningful Celebration
Once you’ve got your principles in place, you can begin to build out your strategies for how you’d like to celebrate faculty and staff members. Again, every environment is different, so it may be a good idea to survey faculty and staff members to get their ideas and see how they can be best implemented. Below are three strategies I’ve seen in action that have helped celebrate adults and build a positive school culture.
1. Find ways to celebrate wins, no matter how big or small. When it comes to celebration, get creative! This is not just true for folks being recognized, but also for folks who would like to give recognition. This could include “Faculty/Staff of the Month” awards, celebrating milestones like work anniversaries, or creating a “wall of fame” showcasing positive contributions. For example, when a school celebrates a successful new teaching approach, it can inspire other educators to adopt similar methods in their own classrooms, leading to a broader, more streamlined impact on student performance.
2. Invite faculty and staff into collaborative decision-making sessions. Involving teachers and staff in decision-making empowers them and fosters a sense of ownership over the school’s culture. I’ve seen this done in multiple ways—sometimes there is a faculty/staff input committee, sometimes there is a district or school institution committee, or sometimes faculty and staff are invited to give informal feedback via surveys or town halls. At any rate, the end goal is the same: People are getting their voices heard. By seeking input on policies, events, or even classroom strategies, adults feel respected and valued for their expertise. This also strengthens collaboration, building trust and camaraderie among staff members.
3. Provide opportunities for professional development and growth. If you can believe it, this could absolutely be an opportunity (and is a great incentive) to celebrate people! Professional development can be time-consuming and expensive, and needs to be well coordinated. But offering ongoing professional development opportunities allows adults to grow in their skills and expertise. These could be training sessions, conferences, or collaborative learning communities. Encouraging your faculty and staff to pursue further education, leadership roles, or passion projects—as well as connecting them with appropriate channels and people to pursue these items—also boosts their sense of accomplishment and engagement.
Despite the challenges faced in our profession, progress is happening, and these victories deserve to be shared and celebrated.
Celebrating the good things that happen in education is vital for fostering motivation, encouraging progress, and creating a supportive educational environment. These celebrations showcase what’s going right in education: Educators are innovating, students are growing, and schools are becoming stronger and more supportive communities. It is a reminder for us as educators and education leaders that despite the challenges faced in our profession, progress is happening, and these victories deserve to be shared and celebrated.
