By Sara Banton
Jostens Renaissance is a newly implemented program to improve school spirit, increase graduation rates and boost grades.
The free recognition program rewards students for doing what they are supposed to do.
Students and “staffulty,” a term used by Jostens to equalize the staff and faculty, are hoping that their efforts will restore the school’s image in the community.
Over the summer, four staffulty members including principal Ann Marie Seely, school counselor Christina Naumann, Algebra I and trigonometry teacher Tammy Wallace and English teacher JaNee Jones attended a Jostens Renaissance conference in Florida.
Mrs. Seely said it was the best professional development conference she has ever attended.
“It gave us a variety of strategies for implementing Renaissance,” Mrs. Seely said.
Mrs. Seely was already familiar with the program because it was used at Pocahontas Middle School where she was associate principal before coming to Varina.
“It’s something structured that we can show to the community that we value all of the things that the students bring to school every day,” Mrs. Seely said. “It’s not just about sports here, or it’s not just about everybody who gets A’s, or it’s not just about perfect attendance. It’s about students who take the opportunity to grow in any way that they need to grow.”
Ms. Naumann said that Jostens Renaissance will improve relationships between the teachers and students.
“I think it will help build more positive spirit. I think [the students] will be excited about more things,” Ms. Naumann said. “I think that it will make you appreciate the school so much more. The idea with Renaissance is that if you are vested in your school, if it is a safe place where you want to be, you wake up each morning and say, ‘Yes, I’m going to Varina High School every day,’ automatically. You’re going to want to also do well academically.”
Ms. Jones is in charge of the Renaissance Club. Club members plan activities like pep rallies and reverse dress code sweeps to reward students.
“I would love to see more school spirit. I would love to see more positive recognition, and I would also like to see an increase in their commitment to coming to school with a positive attitude and coming to school prepared to graduate,” Ms. Jones said.
Junior club member Abram Waller said, “Jostens Renaissance is different from any other program because it focuses mostly on the good, and it also incorporates students and teachers.”
Sophomore club member Hershai James hopes to gain confidence in her speaking. She said that Jostens Renaissance will increase academic focus and school spirit.
Senior Natalie Bendle said she likes sharing a common goal with others in Renaissance.
“There’s a common goal within everybody, whether we realize it or not. Like within Renaissance, there’s people from different cliques, not just the athletes or the people who are really involved in the clubs. It’s a little bit of everybody, and it makes me realize there’s a common goal in everybody,” Natalie said.
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