Send a note or card during the year to say "thank you" to your child's teacher. Teaching can be a very difficult job with little positive feedback. Getting positive feedback during the course of the year can be very encouraging. You can tell the teacher verbally, but putting it in writing makes it even more special.
Tell the school principal what a great job you think the teacher is doing. Praise is often given privately, while complaints are often presented publicly. Too many times, school principals only hear the negative. Write a note or letter to the principal so that he/she can forward it to higher-level administrators or put it in the teacher's file.
Have your child tell his teacher "thank you." Kids may not even think about saying "thank you" to their teacher. But what better way is there for teachers to get thanks than straight from the students they have helped?
Volunteer to help your child's teacher. A good teacher is often stretched very thin. Teachers have to teach tons of educational objectives, individualize lessons for students, teach behavior standards and values, take care of lesson plans and grades, and make sure that holidays are observed. Helping them out is the greatest way you can say thanks. Helping does not have to take a lot of time. Some parents have more time than others do. If you have time to give, ask what you can do to help. Volunteer to read to children who are struggling, to make photocopies for them or to help prepare things for a holiday celebration. Volunteer to be a "room mother" and organize things with other parents.