I am a gift-giving parent (included dozens of people in holiday giving at our K-8) but stopped completely in high school. It didn't seem appropriate unless DC was independently moved to give something small to a teacher who had gone above and beyond. They did give small gifts at the end of senior year to writers of letters of recommendation and other teachers they had formed good relationships with.

Anonymous wrote:We were told it is awkward and unseemly as these teachers will be the ones writing college recommendations and giving the grades that make or break your kid's college options. You can send a note or card and join the group gift the parent group does that is divided among all teachers, admins, coaches, and school staff, which typically is pretty substantial.

Not all schools do group gifts for teachers, etc.

We were told it is awkward and unseemly as these teachers will be the ones writing college recommendations and giving the grades that make or break your kid's college options. You can send a note or card and join the group gift the parent group does that is divided among all teachers, admins, coaches, and school staff, which typically is pretty substantial.

Thank you!

As a teacher, gifts will be accepted!!!

I've been a teacher for over 25 years. Both public and private. Your kid's teachers appreciate any expression of thanks.
The following are great: notes from kids or parents, small gift cards to Starbucks, Dunkin, a restaurant, Trader Joe's, etc.
Things I've particularly enjoyed: warm socks, a soft blanket, a coffee table book related to my discipline, teas or coffee, a yeti or similar
Things I caution you to shy away from: baked goods (except the time I had a kid who's dad was a pastry chef), candy, other food - this is mostly because a lot of people have food allergies that you may not be aware of so they feel like the food is wasted on them.

Do not feel obligated to do anything. Just know we always appreciate any gift and if there is a particularly special teacher you'd like to acknowledge don't feel obligated to give something to every teacher. ex: my kid has had the same art teacher for three years, she's amazing so we got her a special gift this year.

I've taught at one of the Big 3s for many years. About 20 years or so, the gift giving from students to teachers was a bit out of hand. Students would often bring in gifts that were expensive and sometimes inappropriate (bottles of champagne). Our school started to rein this in by telling parents to give more modest gifts that reflected appreciation. These included gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon, etc., but nothing above the $25 range. I don't receive as many gifts as I used to, which I'm fine with. Having said that, it is appropriate to give your DC's teachers small tokens of your appreciation if you want, including a card written by your child thanking the teacher for instruction, etc.

We were told this was not done at our Big 3.

It's not usually done; however, I am sending in a small gift card for each of DC's teachers. FYI - private school teachers do not make much. At smaller private schools or the ones without major endowments, classroom teachers make considerably less than public school teachers. I am not trying to make up the pay gap - but just give them small gift cards for a cup of coffee at Starbucks or a couple of items at Target.

When your child is a senior, and asks 2 teachers to write their college recommendations, those are the ones who receive a thank you card written by your child, along with a gc. And the counselor, who also wrote a rec letter.

Anyone else? No, not done

Not really
We gave a couple to advisor and teachers who went above and beyond but not every one

Are these done?