Austin, TX—Today, the Austin Independent School District partnered with University of Texas to introduce the Attendance Incentive Program. The initiative is designed to promote healthy living and recognize employees for improvements in daily attendance.
Through the "Be Healthy, Here and Hooked" program, UT Athletics has agreed to offer free ticket vouchers for sports events to staff members who are selected based on employee and student attendance on their campuses.
During the next year, the university's athletics department will provide almost 15,000 vouchers to AISD employees. Each voucher may be redeemed for two tickets. 12,000 of the vouchers will be for soccer matches, 370 for volleyball, 1,480 for men's basketball and women's basketball and 1,110 for baseball and softball. In August, all AISD employees were given vouchers to attend a kickoff event celebrating the partnership at the UT versus Fresno State soccer match at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14.
The criteria for awarding vouchers is based on campus performance in student and staff member attendance. Each month, a total of 80 vouchers will be awarded to campuses based on their own specific attendance targets. The program also recognizes all of AISD with vouchers for perfect staff attendance. If AISD staff members are sick or need personal leave, employees are encouraged to rest, get healthy and stay home.
"The district focus on employee well-being is vital to the health of the overall organization," AISD Health Services Supervisor, Tracy Lunoff said. "We encourage employees to make healthy choices, engage in wellness programs and empower themselves to lead a healthy lifestyle."
Since initiating the Every Day Counts student attendance campaign two years ago, daily attendance has increased among students by one percent, with a total student attendance rate of more than 95 percent during the 2011-12 school year. In just two years, the improvement in attendance has generated an additional $4.6 million in increased funds for the district.
Additional information about AISD's wellness initiatives is available at www.austinisd.org/wellness.