2018 Teacher Appreciation Week Freebies and Discounts: A Comprehensive Guide

Teacher Appreciation Week in 2018, observed from May 7th through May 11th, brought a wide array of freebies and discounts from various businesses across the United States. National Teacher Appreciation Day, designated as Tuesday, May 8th, served as the focal point for many of these offers. Businesses in the food service, retail, and technology sectors expressed gratitude to educators, administrators, and support staff by providing complimentary items and special pricing. To access these benefits, educators were generally required to present valid identification, such as a school ID, and offers were subject to participation at specific locations.

Restaurant and Food Service Offers

Several national and regional restaurant chains offered significant freebies and discounts during the 2018 celebration. These offers primarily targeted educators, faculty, staff, and in some cases, homeschooling parents, requiring proof of status for redemption.

Chick-fil-A Participating Chick-fil-A locations offered a free Original Chick-fil-A Chicken sandwich to educators on Tuesday, May 8th. The offer was valid from 10:30 AM to 10:00 PM at participating locations. Eligibility extended to all educators, teachers, faculty, and staff who presented a valid school ID. The offer was limited to one per person and required the holder to be present to redeem it. While many locations participated, some reports indicated that not all restaurants honored the promotion, suggesting that calling ahead was advisable. In specific regions, such as the Greater Triangle area, the offer was explicitly confirmed. In other areas, such as near Baltimore, some locations offered free coffee with a breakfast purchase instead of the sandwich, while others in Virginia and Delaware offered a free chicken biscuit until 10:30 AM or a chicken sandwich from 10:30 AM to 10:00 PM.

Chipotle Chipotle offered a Buy One, Get One (BOGO) free deal on burritos, bowls, salads, or tacos on Tuesday, May 8th. The promotion was valid from 3:00 PM until closing time. This offer was available to teachers, faculty, and staff, and orders had to be placed in-store rather than through the app.

Cici’s Pizza Cici’s Pizza provided a free adult buffet to teachers on Tuesday, May 8th. This offer did not include a drink. To redeem the buffet, teachers were required to show a coupon and a valid teacher's ID.

Bruegger’s Bagels Bruegger’s Bagels was listed among the restaurants offering deals for Teacher Appreciation Week, though specific details of the offer were not fully detailed in the source material.

Einstein Bagels Einstein Bagels offered teachers 20 percent off any purchase throughout the week. To utilize this discount, the promo code 9053 was required.

The Greene Turtle The Greene Turtle honored teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day with a free entrée up to a value of $12, or a $12 discount off their meal total.

Other Food Service Offers In Erie, Pennsylvania, Chick-fil-A offered a slightly different promotion: all educators, teachers, support staff, and home school parents received one free breakfast meal, including a choice of an entree, side, and small drink, during breakfast hours (6:30-10:30 AM) on Thursdays throughout the month of May.

Retail and General Merchandise Discounts

Beyond food service, numerous retailers extended discounts to educators for classroom supplies, clothing, and general purchases.

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble offered educators 20 percent off the publisher's list price on all purchases intended for classroom use. Additionally, during specific "Educator Appreciation" days, they provided up to 25 percent off the publisher's list price on certain items.

Ann Taylor LOFT Ann Taylor LOFT provided teachers with a 15 percent discount on all full-priced items. This discount was available daily, not just during appreciation week.

Banana Republic Similar to Ann Taylor LOFT, Banana Republic offered educators 15 percent off full-price purchases each day.

A.C. Moore A.C. Moore offered teachers a 15 percent discount on their entire purchase. To receive this discount, teachers had to present one of several credentials at checkout, including a State Issued Photo ID, School ID, Home School Affidavit or IHIP approval letter, Home Schooling Certificate, or State Issued Preschool/Daycare Facility Certificate/License.

Hobby Lobby Hobby Lobby provided a 10 percent discount on in-store purchases for teachers. To use this discount, a check or bank card provided by the school was required.

Home Depot Home Depot offered a tax-free exemption on classroom purchases made by educators.

Food Lion Food Lion was listed as offering a discount during Teacher Appreciation Week, though specific details were not provided in the source material.

Technology and Service Discounts

Technology companies and service providers also participated in the appreciation events by offering discounted software and hardware.

Adobe Adobe offered students and teachers over 60 percent off the Creative Cloud All Apps membership. This subscription provided access to applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and Adobe XD.

Apple Apple provided Education Pricing on Mac computers and iPads to faculty, staff, and homeschool teachers of all grade levels. This pricing was also extended to current and newly accepted college students and their parents.

HP (Hewlett Packard) HP Academy offered a 20 percent discount and free shipping to U.S. teachers on select products.

Amazon Amazon offered educators the opportunity to apply for a free two-day shipping account through Amazon Business for Education.

AT&T AT&T allowed teachers to enter their school email address to check eligibility for discounts. Additionally, presenting a school ID at AT&T stores could help determine eligibility for discounts.

Other Discounts and Services

Alamo Car Rental Members of the American Federation of Teachers could receive a $25 car rental discount from Alamo Car Rental.

Alfa Insurance Alfa Insurance offered discounts specifically for educators.

General Guidelines for Redeeming Offers

Across the various promotions, several common requirements and recommendations applied:

Identification: Almost all offers required a valid school ID or other documentation identifying the individual as faculty or staff. Homeschooling parents were often required to present a homeschool ID card or affidavit.
Participation: Offers were valid only at participating locations. It was highly recommended to call specific locations ahead of time to confirm they were honoring the promotions.
Timing: Many offers were strictly limited to Tuesday, May 8th, while others spanned the entire week or specific days (e.g., Thursdays in May for the Erie Chick-fil-A offer).
Verification: Some online offers, such as the Adobe discount, required verification through a third-party service to confirm educational status.

Conclusion

The 2018 Teacher Appreciation Week provided a diverse range of freebies and discounts for educators across the United States. From free meals at restaurants like Chick-fil-A and Chipotle to substantial discounts on technology and classroom supplies from retailers like Apple and Barnes & Noble, businesses demonstrated their support for the education community. Successful redemption of these offers generally depended on possessing the appropriate identification and verifying participation at specific locations.