American Education Week runs November 16–20, 2026, honoring the teachers and support staff who keep public schools going, plus the families behind them. Its roots go back more than a century.
The Week Before Thanksgiving Week
Every year, Monday through Friday of the week before Thanksgiving week. For 2026, that’s November 16 to 20, five school days in a row.
Founded by the National Education Association and the American Legion in 1921, it isn’t a day off. Schools stay open, and that’s the point.
A Response to World War I
Alarm over the draft started it. In 1919, leaders of the NEA and the American Legion met after learning that 25 percent of World War I draftees were illiterate.
Another 9 percent were physically unfit. The two groups wanted ways to build public support for schools.
Concern ran deep on both sides. Illiteracy among recruits worried the American Legion, a veterans’ group, as much as it worried teachers.
At its 1921 assembly in Des Moines, Iowa, the NEA called for a yearly week. It would be “observed in all communities annually for the purpose of informing the public.”
December 4 to 10, 1921, brought the first one. The U.S. Office of Education joined as a cosponsor in 1922, and the PTA followed in 1938.
Support kept widening. The co-sponsor list now runs past a dozen groups, from the American Federation of Teachers to the National School Boards Association.
Why It Still Matters
Public schools are the focus, along with everyone who works in them. The American Legion Auxiliary urges thanks for cooks and custodians as well as teachers.
Each school day has its own theme. Monday is Kick-Off Day, and Tuesday is Family Day, when parents are invited in.
Wednesday honors education support professionals. Thursday is Educator for a Day, and Friday thanks substitute educators.
Military families get special attention in DoDEA schools. The agency uses the week to thank parents and the military communities that back its students.
Its schools, DoDEA says, give stability to children coping with deployments and long separations.
Scale explains the fuss. In fall 2022, 49.6 million students attended public schools, including 15.5 million in high school grades. They were taught by 3.2 million full-time-equivalent teachers.
Spending is part of the picture too. Public schools spent $15,591 per student in the 2021–22 school year, by NCES figures.
Ways to Take Part
Ready-made artwork and ideas sit on the NEA’s American Education Week site, DoDEA points out. The Auxiliary adds its own list of low-key ideas, from treats for staff to a thank-you ad.
- Send a thank-you note to a teacher, and another to a bus driver or cafeteria worker, on Wednesday.
- Visit your child’s school on Family Day if it opens its doors.
- Sign up as a guest or “celebrity” reader for a classroom.
- Host a staff breakfast or luncheon, an idea from the American Legion Auxiliary.
- Place a thank-you ad in a local paper or write a letter to the editor.
- Thank a substitute teacher by name on Friday, the day set aside for them.
- Print the Auxiliary’s fillable thank-you card and hand it to school staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does American Education Week move each year?
Yes. It’s tied to Thanksgiving, so it moves when the holiday does.
Who started American Education Week?
A teachers’ association and a veterans’ organization, working together after World War I.
How many K-8 students were in public schools?
About 32.5 million, plus 1.5 million in prekindergarten, in that same NCES count.
What were the 2025 dates?
It ran November 17 to 21, with the same five daily themes.