The Newport-Mesa Unified School District board declared the first week in May as the Week of the Teacher. While I am not discounting food and flower gifts, a gift that teachers really seem to covet is a handwritten note about what a difference they have made to your child. One teacher told me she framed the one I wrote her and hung it in the bathroom to inspire her to start each day with a positive attitude. At the secondary school level, a parent has six or more teachers for each child, so the remembrances that seemed so easy in elementary school become more cumbersome when multiplied by six. If you don't have time for a note, try to leave a voicemail message about an assignment your child liked or a project that caused some family discussion at the dinner table.
Many teachers have e-mail now too.
Those ensure communication without class disruption. Because most parents only communicate with teachers to complain, it must be a chore for teachers to listen to their voicemail. It reminded me so much of our schools that I wondered if the scriptwriter was from Newport-Mesa. The students played a trick on the young teacher the first day, but the sage principal tells her not to get discouraged. The president of the parents and teachers association tries to get the young teacher fired when her son gets a bad grade.