Buried on page 8

We've been meaning to mention this one for a bit....because it DOES merit mention. Sun Prairie tries very hard to reward staff and students for performance. Sadly, rewards are usually based on food...such as pizza or subs. Not only do those kind of rewards not sit well with a general district wellness policy, but they don't (ahem) stay with us very long.... period. If you get my drift. So not only does the offer of a pizza party for good performance in the classroom fly in the face of healthy eating, but it's hard to get all jacked up for.... pizza or subs.

Certainly some of the incidents in Sun Prairie during the past year have added some pockmarks to the complexion of our schools and our community: trouble on the "Monkey Bus"; 400% increase in expulsions; presence of a meth lab, shootings in the city.

So, cultivating character is a "to do" list item that has to be shuffled to the top of the deck. Recently, Westside elementary schools recognized two students from each of grades 3 through 5 for demonstrating good character. Historically, this event would have drawn even odds of culminating in a pizza or sub party for the honored students. Thankfully, we have a teacher who thought outside the box, drawing on her personal six degrees of separation (or one degree in this case) to offer a really innovating and long-lasting reward for the students.

Music teacher Letrice Stanley reached out to her brother, St. Louis Rams receiver Derek Stanley, who provided authentic NFL footballs autographed by members of the St. Louis Rams!

Anyone who follows local sports or the NFL will recognize Derek Stanley as a standout athlete for Verona High, who went on to star at UW-Whitewater and was the first UW-Whitewater player ever drafted (7th round) in the NFL last year. Last December, Stanley saw the field as a kick returner and showed some of the speed and vision he translated to success at the high school and college level.

A hearty thank you to Ms. Stanley for providing these kids with a tangible reward that not only adequately punctuates their classroom performance in building character, but provides something that can awe and inspire them further. Coming from tiny UW-Whitewater, many wouldn't have give Stanley (or anyone) any hope of a shot at the NFL. But here is Derek living his dream and serving as a role model to others for both his determination, and his willingness to help give back to the community. Each football contains the autographs of quite a few NFL stars. Certainly that's something that will stick with these kids a whole lot longer than a meal of pizza.

We don't know what the criteria are to earn a "Piece Keeping" award from Dr. Culver, but in our book, Ms. Stanley and her colleagues at Westside certainly deserve one. Maybe it went unnoticed because the story was buried within a photo caption on page 8 of the June 5th edition of the STAR.