Villano Vouchers are back

“It felt good,” Shayla Kayla said with a smile.

Kayley is one of the first students at Patrick M. Villano School to earn a Villano Voucher this school year. Her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Catuogno, gave her one for offering to help a classmate who dropped all his books and supplies on the hallway floor.

“I saw several students walk by a student who could’ve used a hand, but not Shayla,” Catuogno explained. “She was willing to stop what she was doing to help a peer, and that means the world to me. It’s the perfect example of being a good citizen which is what the Villano Voucher program is all about.”

During the pandemic last year, the Villano Voucher program was put on hold.

“The School Safety team decided to bring back Villano Vouchers because we knew it was a big part of the Villano community,” Amanda Benetti explained. She is the school social worker and a member of the School Safety Team.

The program recognizes students who go above and beyond to help others or who serve as a good role model in school. If a student is seen doing the right thing, a staff member can give that student a paper voucher. One side of the paper voucher has the student’s name and the good deed. That part goes in a special mailbox outside Benetti’s classroom door. At the end of the month, she randomly selects two student vouchers from Grade 4, two vouchers from Grade 5 , and two vouchers from Grade 6. Those six students’ names are announced on the loudspeaker, their photo is taken with a certificate, and Principal Espinoza makes a special phone call home.

“I’m excited that Villano Vouchers have returned,” says fifth-grader Emily Schneider. “It gives people a reason to do the right thing.