By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Mustangs and the St. Joseph School District are teaming up this school year to encourage regular school attendance.
With September being Attendance Awareness Month, the Mustangs are offering a special incentive to each school in the SJSD that meets their attendance goal for the year.
Every school that hits their attendance goal of 90% will be invited to their own special night at a Mustangs' home game in 2024. This includes free tickets for the students and staff.
"The backbone of our community is our schools," said Mustangs owner and president Ky Turner. "We share the same thoughts of how important it is for people to show up, whether it's a Mustangs game or school. Whatever we can do to encourage students and reward them."
"It's a nice chance for everyone to get together in the summer and celebrate. Not only by attending school, but also academically, what they were able to accomplish by showing up more often."
The partnership is one of several ways the St. Joseph School District is raising awareness about truancy and working to improve the district’s proportional attendance rate.
“The St. Joseph School District is excited to partner with the Mustangs to hit our attendance goal of 90 percent," said Dr. Kendra Lau, Director of School Improvement for SJSD.
The Mustangs have planned several other activities to engage with students and encourage regular attendance throughout the school year.
The Mustangs provide a free reading program to local elementary schools, where students can earn free Mustangs tickets and other prizes by participating.
The Mustangs also travel to various schools for a free program, promoting reading, attendance and more.
"It's really important to build that bridge between the schools and the community," Turner noted. "Just how important they are. At Phil Welch (Stadium) and Mustangs games, we see people from all over."
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