Woodside Elementary Teacher Named Skyward Central Wisconsin Teacher of the Year
Students nominate 5th Grade Teacher Scott Sigourney for Inaugural Award
Wisconsin Rapids, WI – January 13th, 2014. The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, in partnership with Skyward Inc., have announced the recipient of the 2014 Skyward Central Wisconsin Teacher of the Year award. Rafters’ general manager John Fanta announced the selection of fifth-grade teacher Scott Sigourney on Friday, in front of all fifth grade students and staff at Woodside Elementary, before presenting Mr. Sigourney with the inaugural award.
In December, the Rafters and Skyward, Inc. announced plans to hold an Educator’s Appreciation Night at the ballpark in 2014. As part of the evening, the Rafters and Skyward will honor Mr. Sigourney by creating a bobblehead of him that will be given away to fans. Mr. Sigourney will also be invited to the Educator’s Appreciation Night and recognized on the field prior to the Rafters game by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. In addition he and his family will receive free tickets to attend the game, courtesy of Skyward.
To facilitate the selection of the teacher, the Rafters held an essay contest for students in grades K-12 during the month of December. All students were encouraged to nominate a teacher who they felt has made a positive impact on their life and write a one page essay on the reasons as to why this teacher deserved to be recognized as the Skyward Central Wisconsin Teacher of the Year.
The Rafters received an overwhelming response to the essay contest, with over 250 submissions from students in the area school districts. To help narrow down the submissions, an internal rating system was used that included the following areas: Number of nominations submitted on behalf of each teacher, years of service by the teacher to the district, essay substance regarding the teacher, principal recommendation, and the most unique characteristics described by students about the teacher. Over ten percent of the essay submissions focused on Mr. Scott Sigourney, who has served as a teacher at Woodside Elementary for over 21 years. Out of the submissions for Mr. Sigourney, students from six grade levels were represented.
“After a thorough review of all essay submissions from multiple grade levels, and consideration of the internal rating system put in place to aid in the selection, it was clear that Mr. Scott Sigourney was the distinct choice for the award this year,” said Rafters general manager John Fanta. “We are thrilled with the enthusiastic participation by students in the essay contest. This exercise not only highlights one teacher, but helps reiterate the profound impact that all teachers have on shaping the lives of our youth.”
The Rafters will announce the selection of the winning essay in the coming weeks. The student with the winning essay will receive four free tickets to the Educators Appreciation Night, an autographed baseball from the 2014 Rafters team, and the opportunity to be the Junior Public Address Announcer for one inning during the game.
The Rafters will announce the date of the Skyward Educator’s Appreciation Night along with a full listing of the 2014 promotional schedule in the spring of 2014.
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com.
