ObservanceTuesday, May 4, 2027
National Teacher Appreciation Day
- Date
- Recurs
- The date changes each year. This page always shows the next one.
- Category
- Kids & Family
National Teacher Appreciation Day falls on the Tuesday of the first full week of May, in the middle of National Teacher Appreciation Week. It reached that spot in the calendar only in 1985, after four decades of false starts, two single-year acts of Congress, and a stretch in March that almost nobody remembers. The National Education Association, which sets the date, opens its own account of the day by conceding that the origins are murky.
History
The trail starts with a teacher. Around 1944, Mattye Whyte Woodridge, an Arkansas teacher, began corresponding with political and education leaders about the need for a national day to honor teachers. One of the people she wrote to was Eleanor Roosevelt, and in 1953 Roosevelt persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day.
That proclamation did not create a recurring holiday. Nearly three decades later the National Education Association, together with its Kansas and Indiana state affiliates and the Dodge City, Kansas, local, lobbied Congress again. Congress declared March 7, 1980, National Teacher Day — for that year only.
So the NEA went on marking the day in March on its own authority. That lasted until 1985, when the NEA Representative Assembly voted to move the observance to the Tuesday of the first full week of May, where it has stayed. Teacher Appreciation Week was established around it the same year.
The NEA's own history of the day begins by saying its origins are "murky" — an unusually candid line from the organization that runs it, and a fair description of a date that took three separate attempts and forty years to settle.
Timeline
- c. 1944 — Mattye Whyte Woodridge, an Arkansas teacher, begins corresponding with political and education leaders about a national day honoring teachers.
- 1953 — Woodridge's correspondent Eleanor Roosevelt persuades the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day.
- 1980 — After lobbying by the NEA, its Kansas and Indiana affiliates and the Dodge City, Kansas, local, Congress declares March 7 National Teacher Day — for that year only.
- 1980–1985 — The NEA and its affiliates keep observing the day in March, with no Congressional designation behind it.
- 1985 — The NEA Representative Assembly votes to move the observance to the Tuesday of the first full week of May, and Teacher Appreciation Week is established.
- 2026 — Teacher Appreciation Week runs May 4–8, with National Teacher Day on Tuesday, May 5.
How to observe
Check the date before you plan anything. "First full week of May" means the first week whose Monday through Friday all fall inside May, so the date moves: in 2026 the week ran May 4–8 with the Day on Tuesday, May 5, and in 2027 it is the week of May 3 with the Day on Tuesday, May 4.
Write to a specific teacher about a specific thing. A note naming the class, the year, and the one thing that stuck is worth more than a generic thank-you, and it is the form of recognition that survives in a desk drawer.
If you want the recognition to reach past the classroom, the NEA points out that the day is also an opening for school boards, administrators, and community members to say something on the record. A board meeting in the first week of May is a place where that lands.
The same week carries other observances: the NEA lists National Black Teachers Day inside Teacher Appreciation Week as well. Worth knowing before you compress everything into one Tuesday.
Frequently asked questions
When is National Teacher Appreciation Day?
It is the Tuesday of the first full week of May, so the date moves each year. In 2026 it fell on Tuesday, May 5, inside Teacher Appreciation Week of May 4–8. In 2027 it falls on Tuesday, May 4.
Is National Teacher Appreciation Day a federal holiday?
No. It is not among the federal holidays, and there is no day off. Both Congressional actions on record covered a single day each — the 1953 proclamation and the March 7, 1980 declaration — and the date in use today was set by the NEA, not by statute.
Why is the day in May when Congress picked March?
Because the NEA moved it. The 1980 Congressional declaration applied to March 7 of that year only, and the NEA kept observing in March until its Representative Assembly voted in 1985 to shift the day to the first full week of May.
What is the difference between National Teacher Appreciation Day and Teacher Appreciation Week?
The Week is the Monday-to-Friday span of the first full week of May. The Day is the Tuesday inside it, and the NEA treats that Tuesday as the focal point of the week.
Who started National Teacher Appreciation Day?
There is no single founder. The earliest named figure is Mattye Whyte Woodridge, whose letters around 1944 reached Eleanor Roosevelt, but the NEA's own history describes the origins as murky and names no founder.
When is National Teacher Appreciation Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | May 4 | Tuesday |
| 2028 | May 9 | Tuesday |
| 2029 | May 8 | Tuesday |
| 2030 | May 7 | Tuesday |
| 2031 | May 6 | Tuesday |
Sources
- Missouri NEA, a National Education Association state affiliate, National Teacher Appreciation Week — https://www.mnea.org/TeacherDay → the NEA's history of National Teacher Day: Mattye Whyte Woodridge, Arkansas teacher, corresponding from around 1944; her letter to Eleanor Roosevelt and Roosevelt persuading the 81st Congress in 1953; the NEA with its Kansas and Indiana affiliates and the Dodge City, Kansas, local lobbying Congress; Congress declaring March 7, 1980 National Teacher Day for that year only; observance continuing in March until 1985; the 1985 NEA Representative Assembly vote moving the day to Tuesday of the first full week of May; the "murky" origins; the 2026 dates and the day as an opening for school boards, administrators and community members.
- National Education Association, NEA celebrates National Teacher Appreciation Week — https://www.nea.org/about-nea/media-center/press-releases/nea-celebrates-national-teacher-appreciation-week-2 → National Teacher Day observed on the Tuesday of Teacher Appreciation Week; the week falling in the first full week of May; the week officially established by NEA in 1985; Teacher Appreciation Week of May 4–8, 2026.
- National Education Association, Teacher Appreciation Week — https://www.nea.org/TAW → National Teacher Appreciation Week May 4–8, 2026; National Teacher Appreciation Day May 5, 2026; National Black Teachers Day inside the same week.
Omitted for lack of a source: the widely repeated claim that the National PTA, rather than the NEA, established Teacher Appreciation Week as the first full week of May. No NEA or PTA page reachable in this run states it, so this page credits only the 1985 NEA Representative Assembly vote, which is sourced above.
Add to your calendarA calendar file for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. This date moves, so the file carries the next 9 dates. You can also subscribe to this observance or to the whole calendar.
← See everything May 4 celebrates