Thank You, Teacher Project, Frequently Asked Questions:

How long should my letter be?  Keep it short and sweet – under 150 words.  With this length, we can post your thank-you letter and create a lovely one-page image of your letter for your teacher to treasure and post on her bulletin board at school or her refrigerator at home!

Can I send a thank-you letter to my principal?  To my mentor? To a fellow teacher I admire? To my yoga teacher?  To my child’s coach? To my favorite librarian?  To my child’s director? To my workshop facilitator? To my dean? To my parents who I’ve always thought of as my first and best teachers?  Yes – to all the above. While our main focus is on teachers in the schools, it’s likely that we all have several special people who have been important teachers in our life – in the classroom and beyond.  You can choose any teacher you’d like to thank and you can thank more than one – just write a letter for each one and we’ll post them.

Can I write a thank you letter to a teacher I had when I was a child who isn’t teaching any longer?  Yes! We will post letters to any teacher you choose – from your past or present. If you’ve lost track of them or they are no longer with us, we can still post your thank you letter. If you know their address, you can also choose to send them a thank you letter and gift book package.  Or you can designate some other teacher to receive the gift book package in their honor.

What if someone else has already written a thank-you letter to my teacher?  We will post all of the thank you letters we receive.  Just think how great it would be for a teacher to go online and see multiple thank you letters!

With multiple thank you letters, will my teacher receive more than one copy of the same book?  We know teachers won’t want multiple copies of the same book! So we’ve worked out the following system. With the first gift book package, teachers will receive a copy of  Teaching with Heart.  With the second, teachers will receive Teaching with Fire. With the third, teachers will receive Leading from Within.  With the fourth, teachers will receive The Courage to Teach.  With the fifth, teachers will receive Stories of the Courage to Teach.  Beyond that? We’ll figure it out and let you know.  In each case, we will let you know which book will be sent to your teacher.

When will my thank you letter be posted?  Once you fill out the form, your letter will be posted online within the week. We will send a notice to you and your teacher  (if you include their email in the form) when it’s posted online.  If you choose to send your teacher the gift package, we will include the link to the online posting with the package.

When will my teacher receive their gift book package?  We will mail your package within the week of receiving your letter and payment.  The book will then be shipped via USPS priority flat rate and will arrive within 3-4 days.  

Why do you send copies of the letters to their principal or supervisor?  We believe it’s important that teachers receive recognition for their work and the positive impact it has had on others. If you don’t know the name of their principal or supervisor – just leave that space blank.

The gift package costs $30 – what does this include? It includes a copy of the Teaching with Heart book, printed letters for the teacher and their supervisor, and the shipping and handling. It also helps to cover some of the time and effort that goes into creating and maintaining this project.

Will you ship books internationally?  Yes, though because of the increased postage costs, we will have to charge more for the package.  Once you supply us with your teacher’s school address, we will check with the Post Office to see how much it costs and then get back to you with the total cost. We will confirm this with you before proceeding.

We’d like to support ALL the teachers in our school. Can we arrange for bulk orders of Teaching with Heart? Sure – that would be great!  To arrange for bulk orders, contact Wiley Customer Care.  Through December, 31, 2016, a 30% discount will be applied to a bulk order of 25 copies or more from a K-12 school or district. Wiley Publishing, 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 800-356-5016, CC-Managers@wiley.com

How are the Thank You, Teachers Project and the Teaching with Heart, Fire and Poetry website funded?  At this point, this is all done on a volunteer basis. There are no outside funds provided for these projects.  Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated!