How to Honor a Teacher Who is Retiring

Teachers play a major role in shaping a school’s community, and leave a long-lasting impression on their students and colleagues. For this reason, it’s important to give a proper send off to a teacher who has served their school for years and is now retiring. There are many ways that a yearbook staff can create a special moment in honor of a teacher who’s retiring. Regardless of how long or short your yearbook is, or how you go about unveiling the book itself, there is an appropriate way to give thanks to this educator.

Dedicate the yearbook to the retiring teacher
Many schools like to dedicate the book to someone, whether it is a student who has overcome a challenge during the year or a teacher who has made that school an inspiring place. The dedication section is the perfect spot to pay tribute to a retiring teacher. Have a student or staff member write a brief note about what makes that teacher unique, and then create a collage of pictures spanning the course of that educator’s time at the school.
This is a great way to commemorate the impact that teacher has had on the school, and leaves a tangible and lasting legacy for co-workers and students to look back on. If you have several teachers retiring this year, let them share that space. Put the dedication at the front of the book in order to really grab the reader’s attention.

Honor them at a special yearbook ceremony
Regardless of whether you choose to use a page to honor a teacher who’s retiring, there are plenty of ways to salute this person as you unveil the yearbook. If you typically do an unveiling ceremony, take a few minutes to pay tribute to this important educator. You can put together a slideshow of pictures from various points in their career, or you can simply ask someone to say a few words about how that teacher has shaped their life.

Let the teacher speak
While it’s touching to offer up a page of the yearbook as a way to pay tribute to the person who will be leaving, in some instances it’s actually better to let that teacher speak to the school instead of the other way around. Give the educator a page to write a note to the staff and students. They are experiencing a range of emotions as they prepare to say goodbye, and will probably jump at the chance to put into words what their career at the school has meant to them.