At my DC school, maximum $20 gift cards.

How much per "Starbucks card" are people giving...very curious

What to do if the official "rule" is no gifts, but parents give gift cards anyway (or at least you suspect)? I'm going back and forth between holiday card with hand-written note saying how much we appreciate... or that plus Starbucks card.

Anonymous wrote:My DDs private HS did not allow individual teacher gifts. The Parents Association sponsored a lunch for the faculty and staff and collected gifts cards from parents who wanted to participate to be distributed equitably to the teachers. I think it was meant to try to eliminate differences between the very wealthy and less wealthy students at the school.

Ditto.

If you do give gift cards and your school doesn't have regulations, I think it's fine as long as you keep the amount modest so it's seen as appreciation only.

My DDs private HS did not allow individual teacher gifts. The Parents Association sponsored a lunch for the faculty and staff and collected gifts cards from parents who wanted to participate to be distributed equitably to the teachers. I think it was meant to try to eliminate differences between the very wealthy and less wealthy students at the school.

21:58 I appreciate your post. I recently gave gift cards to my daughter's teachers and they truly seemed appreciative. I will make this a holiday tradition.

It may sound silly, but as an elementary teacher at a private school, I really appreciate the gift cards from families at holiday time. I work very hard all week and week ends and truly love my job, but let's face it- teachers just don't make much money. Those cards come in handy for me to purchase gifts for friends and family and I know other teachers who do the same. They may not seem like all that much, but they are very much appreciated and needed, especially when there is only one breadwinner in the family.

Big 3 Upper School (high school) teacher here: agree that gifts are the exception, not the rule. The occasional Starbucks card or plate of cookies is welcome but not expected. As 15:22 suggests, the gifts may be a thank-you to an advisor or perhaps to someone who wrote a recommendation letter for college or a summer internship. Bottom line: don't sweat it.

At the high school level very little, much less than in lower school. Kids have 5-7 different teachers every year. My DD gave thank you notes with food or flowers to her college advisor junior year and her academic advisor and favorite teachers when she graduated.

At our school there's lots of individual gifts (usually gift cards). I know some schools have a more organized "class gift" contribution option as well. Ask other parents.

New to private school and was wondering what type of gifts are generally given to teachers (high school) by the students and/or families?