High School Teachers Share How to Say Goodbye to Seniors

The end of high school can be an emotional time for seniors -- and their teachers.

"It's really bittersweet," says Starr Sackstein, an English and journalism teacher at World Journalism Preparatory School in Flushing, New York. "You feel really, really excited and happy for the journey that your kids are on, but it is also really sad because you've spent all this time watching them grow up and in a lot of ways you are very invested in their growth."

She says this time of year is a good time to reflect and share good memories with seniors as they prepare to embark on their next chapter.

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Saying goodbye to high school seniors in an extra special way can make graduation even more memorable and doesn't have to require much money.

How Sackstein says goodbye to her seniors depends on how close she is to them, she says. She's had little parties and written thank-you cards before.

Teachers on Twitter agreed that small celebrations and letters were a good way to say goodbye.

@alipannoni with a movie, slide show of four years of #AVID pictures w. fav music and quotes for each kid. Bittersweet for sure.

-- Meggie (@meggieicsd) June 11, 2015

@alipannoni @USNewsEducation I write all letter w/ lessons I've learned. Read aloud (of course I always cry). Then handwritten note on back.

-- Mrs. Proulx (@Mrs_Proulx) June 11, 2015

@alipannoni I write seniors each personal note of thx for what I've learned & give SAS postcard to drop me a note w/ good news from college

-- Sarah Nichols (@SarahJNichols) June 12, 2015

Allison Evans, an English teacher at Cardinal Gibbons Catholic High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, gave her seniors a letter this year with a penny printed in 2015 -- their graduation year.

Other high school educators come together to make something special for their students. At Gaithersburg High School in Maryland, the staff created a goodbye video of themselves dancing and acting goofy for seniors.

"Not only do the students look forward to it, but the teachers also," says Nilda Keres, an art teacher at the school. She's organized the video's production for several years.

She released this year's video on Twitter and Facebook a couple weeks ago to feverish excitement.

"Some of the tweets were like, 'I have been waiting for this since my freshman year and it's finally happened,'" says Keres. "They had little crying emoji s and all that stuff."

Staff at North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania have been participating in a similar type of video for years -- though students create it. This year, the video featured the popular songs "Shake it Off" and "Uptown Funk."

"It means so much because it's more than just teachers saying goodbye to their kids," says recent graduate Alexa Duffy, 18, who led the creation of the teacher dance video this year. "It's showing that they can have fun and that they want to show the kids -- if they haven't seen it throughout the year -- their funnier side and give them a good laugh before they leave North Penn."

Another way to say goodbye: Create a class appreciation poem with a line from each student about someone else in the classroom, writes Rebecca Alber in a post on Edutopia.

As far as staying in touch with seniors once they graduate, many teachers are OK with connecting with former students on their personal social media accounts.

@alipannoni I hug them, exchange social media info, and keep in touch with them. I visit them at college, send cards and care packages.

-- John Nichols (@pgrove222) June 11, 2015

@alipannoni @USNewsEducation I accept friend requests on FB. For all my students, I did postcards this year. pic.twitter.com/YhOvnFiuGA

-- Brianna Crowley (@AkaMsCrowley) June 11, 2015

Evans, the English teacher in Florida, says her students are very interested in what her life is like outside of school since she is one of the younger teachers at her school. She allows students to connect with her on social media after they graduate.

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"Then they realize I'm not all that interesting anyway," she says. "They'll see food and my dog and my fiance."

However teachers decide to say goodbye, it should come from the heart.

"Think of something that you know they would always remember you by," says Keres, the art teacher. "Whether it be just one day buying them a doughnut or whatever. You know, something special that was just for them and they really seem to appreciate it in the long run."

Have something of interest to share? Send your news to us at highschoolnotes@usnews.com.

Alexandra Pannoni is an education staff writer at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at apannoni@usnews.com.