As was previously announced on the Banner, on October 23 Laura Masbruch was surprised to learn at an all-school assembly that she had been honored with WI Most Valuable Educator Award from TDS Telecom. Masbruch was informed that TDS would be treating her to two tickets to a Packer game as well as the opportunity for around 25 students to travel with her to Lambeau on a charter bus for a tour with a Packers alum and lunch.
“Part I” of the Packers connection took place on January 5. Laura told The Whitewater Banner that she and her sister Jane “were treated to an experience…that included an indoor all you could eat/drink tailgate party, sideline passes for the pre-game warm-ups, and seats on the 50-yard line. TDS also sent us some Packer gear.”
The high school staff decided that the “Part II” trip would be one of the incentives to encourage students to maintain good attendance. The trip will be hosted by Masbruch on February 20.
Kate McNulty, WHS associate principal, told The Banner, “In line with our district goals, we are working to improve overall attendance and decrease habitual absenteeism. At WHS, our attendance goal for the 2024-25 school year is 95%. Last year our goal was 92% and we hit it easily, so we decided to increase it for this year. As a part of that goal, we are having a monthly incentive drawing for students who have [at least a] 95% attendance rate. Each month we’ve done different rewards for the drawings from lunch on us (we order pizza or subs), t-shirts, and special lunch privileges. As for the Packer fieldtrip, students who maintained a 95% attendance rate for the entire 1st semester will have that as an option to select.
We did hold a 95% attendance rate in September, October, and November but unfortunately due to lots of illness, we did dip to a little below 93% in December. The incentives alone are not to credit for this. Additionally, we are making a concerted effort to remind students and families about the value of attendance by regularly sharing Attendance Matters information through our webpage and parent newsletter. Additionally, we host bi-weekly meetings with the Student Services team to discuss attendance issues and monthly we have a district attendance task force consisting of leadership from each building that meets to problem solve challenges and develop consistent practices.”
