Teachers: the

Many small business owners find it important to show their appreciation and give thanks to the people who keep their businesses strong: their customers. At Staples, small business owners can create branded calendars or magnets with a year at a glance calendar on them. Many find such gifts perform the double duty of customer appreciation and advertising. Keep morale high Needless to say, the holidays are a stressful time of year for small business owners. They can also be stressful for employees. As the hours add up, it’s important for business owners to keep the morale and energy high among the employees. Often times this is done by giving incentives that reward performances or goals met.

Staples offers many higher end gifts, such as laser engraved Bluetooth speakers and travel bags that can be given as rewards, or gifts, to employees.—BPT

32 RuralLeaderMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 The role of teachers in today’s society cannot be understated. Outside of a child’s parents, teachers are often the primary adult influencers in a young person’s life. Yet this essential role is getting harder and harder to fill as school districts across the nation face significant teacher shortages according to the U.S. Department of Education. To counteract this critical problem, recruiting new talent to the profession has become a national priority. What shouldn’t be lost in the quest for teachers, however is the intrinsic rewards of influencing and educating young people. The educators of tomorrow must view teaching as a path toward improving lives, not simply as a means to meet the demand.

Morale remains high The modern teacher shortage can be tied to many things - including a wave of retiring educators and national education funding challenges - but teacher morale does not appear to be an issue. Research shows that 88 percent of teachers are satisfied with Teachers: the resource students need most remains in short supply