For the City Times

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, in partnership with Skyward Inc., are pleased to announce the recipient of the 2016 Skyward Central Wisconsin Teacher of the Year award.

Cathy Tritz, an English Language Arts teacher at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School was presented with a certificate by Rafters’ general manager John Fanta commemorating her nomination.

Tritz has taught at Lincoln High School for fifteen years and prior to that taught for fourteen years in Marshfield. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in English and Speech Communications from UW-Stevens Point and a master’s degree from UW-River Falls.

Outside of her regular class schedule, Tritz also leads students as the head coach of the Forensics team, an extra-curricular activity, which enhances and increases speaking and presentation skills of students for any career area and prepares them for higher level education pursuits.

Lincoln Principal Mr. Ron Rasmussen said Mrs. Tritz is “really personable, and always brightens the day of her students.” He also praised her efforts in working to improve her own technological skill set and finding ways to better implement them in her classroom.

The Rafters and Skyward Inc. will hold the 3rd annual Educator’s Appreciation Night at Witter Field during the 2016 season. As part of the evening, the Rafters and Skyward will honor Mrs. Cathy Tritz with a bobblehead to be given away to fans. Mrs. Tritz will also be invited to attend the Educator’s Appreciation Night and be recognized on the field prior to the Rafters game by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. She and her family will receive free tickets to attend the game courtesy of Skyward Inc.

To facilitate the selection of the teacher, the Rafters held an essay contest for students in the area during October and November. All students were encouraged to nominate a teacher who they felt has made a positive impact on their life and write a 300 word essay on the reason as to why this teacher deserved to be recognized as the Skyward Central Wisconsin Teacher of the Year.

The Rafters received an overwhelming response to the essay contest, with over 300 submissions from students in the area districts. Speaking even more to the outstanding quality of educators in the area, over 75 teachers received at least one submission nominating them.

To help narrow down the submissions, an internal rating system was used that included the following areas: Number of nominations submitted on behalf of each teacher, years of service by the teacher to the district, essay substance regarding the teacher, principal recommendation, and the most unique characteristics described by students about the teacher.