Jayna serves at
Mcgary Middle School
Evansville, Indiana
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Jayna Ennis
End-of-the-year trips for graduating students are a tradition in many districts across the country, including the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in Indiana. But when school budgets get cut, funding for field trips o...
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End-of-the-year trips for graduating students are a tradition in many districts across the country, including the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in Indiana. But when school budgets get cut, funding for field trips often disappears.
This year’s 8th graders at McGary Middle School in Evansville were going to be the first class to miss out on the tradition. That’s when Jayna Ennis, a clerical assistant and parent liason at the school, stepped in.
Ms. Ennis works a second job at a local Baskin Robbins. She knew the students were looking forward to the trip, so she decided to organize a “Scoop Night” to raise money. With permission from her Baskin Robbins manager, she rallied a team of staff and administrators at McGary to serve ice cream to the community. Students, parents, district leaders and community members stopped by for ice cream and in the end Scoop Night raised enough money for the 8th graders to afford an end-of-the-year trip.
Because of Ms. Ennis’s efforts and the dedicated staff at McGary, the students enjoyed a 7-mile canoe trip on the Blue River at Marengo Cave. Many of the students had never been on the water before, much less canoeing for such a long distance.
“Our students at McGary Middle School deserve the best because they are the best,” Ennis said. “When thinking about ideas to raise money for the field trip, ice cream and kiddos seemed to go hand in hand. The smiles and laughter as they canoed down the Blue River were all the thanks any of us needed and made all the organizing worthwhile.”
McGary was once one the lowest performing schools in the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, where nearly 90 percent of the students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch. Selected as one of the district’s Equity Schools, as well as part of NEA’s Priority Schools Campaign, the school is undergoing an impressive transformation.
The sense of accomplishment and pride, and also a little exhaustion, that Ms. Ennis was able to provide McGary’s 8th graders is why she is a Classroom Superhero.
