Welcome to Gaia! ::

So I am graduating from high school soon and I really want to give something to my art teacher before I leave. He has been super helpful with my college portfolio and he has been my teacher for four years. The problem is I have no idea what to give him and I do not have that much money. I do not want to seem cheesy and give him an art work of mine, but I dont know what to do! (plus how do you even draw a thank you?)

What have you guys done? What should I do? If you have any ideas please feel free to share them. It would be very apreciated.

I say draw or paint something for him. It may sound cheesy, but it's probably one of the more "heart-felt" things you could do.

If that's not up your alley, then yes, a thank-you note would work.

If none of the above is sounding good, then get him a gift certificate for an art supply store. If he's an artist, which I'm going to assume he is, that would be something he'd appreciate greatly. Artists always need supplies. xD

Could make him a hard portfolio holder with hardboard and duct tapes. You can get the ampersand hardboard pretty cheap from here. or check your local art stores, they may have something similar.
And here's the image on how mine looks like once it's done:
http://www.jia-art.com/misc/portfolio.jpg

You can tape strings on the opening sides so they can be tied and keep the portfolio closed. The paper flaps on the inside will prevent drawings from sliding out when portfolio is closed.

Then you can use a marker or acrylic paint to paint something on the outside of the portfolio to make it look all nice and personal.