Today is teacher appreciation day. We here at NCTQ would like to send a warm thank you to all of those out there who teach and improve the lives of children. We'd also like to add an extra note of gratitude to NCTQ's Teacher Advisory Group (TAG), outstanding educators who provide an additional voice to our research. 

As we approach the end of the TAG's first year, we want to thank them for the numerous ways they've helped us, including: 

• sharing insight and offering new perspectives that have influenced and improved several NCTQ publications
• writing and contributing to our PDQ blog covering topics such as teacher collaboration, grit, data, classroom management, and teacher prep
• engaging with fellow teachers and NCTQ staff at an education policy research retreat
• conducting TAG teacher to teacher school visits organized entirely by our teachers
• participating in nuanced discussions about policies concerning teachers such as the Common Core, career ladder roles, and teacher evaluation
• providing feedback to the work of other education policy organizations

• reaching out to their local districts, unions, and, broadly, through social media to promote TAG

Over the course of this year, our TAG teachers have enriched our work, and we hope they've found the experience similarly enriching. On a tangential note, we also recommend that all teachers celebrate today with free tacos.