Surrey Schools showcases collaboration among educators for World Teachers’ Day 2025

It takes all kinds to run a school, and for this Sunday’s World Teachers’ Day, the district is recognizing the collaborative nature of teaching staff in working together to ensure the best education for students in Surrey and White Rock.

Founded by UNESCO and held every October 5, World Teachers’ Day shines a light on the amazing work teachers do every day across the globe. The annual celebration highlights the dedication of teaching staff and their lasting impact on students, in school and well after they graduate.

“Teaching is both a personal dedication and a collective effort,” said Gary Tymoschuk, Chair of the Surrey Board of Education. “Our teachers work tirelessly with colleagues and school communities to ensure our students are supported in every aspect of their growth, and we thank them for their ongoing commitment to student learning.”

This year’s theme is Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession, highlighting the teamwork of educators in their classrooms, schools and communities. Teachers are important collaborators on everything from district policies, racial equity initiatives, accessibility planning and inclusivity guidelines, to course development, new programs, school fundraisers, science fairs, art exhibitions, music performances, dance festivals, and so much more!

“Reframing teaching as inherently collaborative – supported by policies, practices and environments that value mutual support, shared expertise and joint responsibility – is essential to strengthen teaching, learning and teachers’ professional fulfilment,” reads UNESCO’s World Teachers’ Day page.

At Douglas Elementary, Angela Thiessen, now a helping teacher, remembers the challenges around connecting with new colleagues when the school opened in November 2020 amid COVID restrictions. The staff room was closed, eating together was prohibited and chances to gather were non-existent. Additionally, merging students from the former Hall’s Prairie Elementary and the Sunnyside Elementary Montessori program during this time required getting creative in building connections to school identity.

“Our community began without many of the usual opportunities to build connection,” said Thiessen. “A year after opening, we started Mentor36, the mentorship pilot project, and it was also the perfect opportunity to create a vision for what we wanted to be like as a group of colleagues.”

Thiessen said one brainstorming session with more than 20 teachers led to a shared vision of a school that promoted educator well-being, fostered a sense of belonging and expanded professional capacity, with practical ideas around how staff could see it through. This kickstarted a group effort that gave Douglas staff more opportunities to learn from one another and connect across grade levels

“From some of these initial ideas, a culture of collaboration and connection began to flourish,” she said. “Through formal initiatives such as book clubs, lunch-and-learns, school-wide projects and celebrations, and district partnerships, but also through informal open-door policies between teachers, sharing of resources, conversations over lunch tables and a genuine care for each other and the student community.

“There is a consistent desire to refine our practice of collaboration, an open invitation to be curious about new areas of learning and a group of colleagues that is equally excited to push forward with you.”

Happy World Teachers’ Day to our Surrey Schools educators -- we honour you today and every day!

If you’re interested in becoming a teacher in our district, look at our teacher postings at surreyschools.ca/careers