News

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Washington School Students achieved their fund raising goal for the 2010 jog-a-thon, prompting principal Barnett to keep his promise to dye his hair Wildcat Red

Today at 12:45 p.m., Washington Elementary School will hold a jog-a-thon award assembly. The goal this year was $45,000. For the third year in a row, to encourage the students, principal Demian Barnett said that if the students beat that goal he would dye his hair Wildcat Red and keep it that way for a week. The school’s mascot is the Washington Wildcat.

Well, the day has come. This year, the students raised $46,000 and money is still trickling in.

So, little do the children know that today will be the big reveal. The students will be in the auditorium for the assembly and the principal will come out with Wildcat Red hair!

With tight school budgets, fundraising is vital to our schools. The jog-a-thon funds will be used to provide enrichment staff positions threatened due to budget cuts (e.g., teacher-tutors to provide support in art, physical education, and science specialists).

[Update to story April 9, 2010:]

The auditorium filled with children and teachers at Washington Elementary School erupted in cheers when principal Demian Barnett entered with his newly dyed hair. As promised, principal Barnett dyed his dark brown hair "Wildcat Red," making good on his longstanding promise to dye his hair red if the annual jog-a-thon brought in more than $45,000.