New Richmond Paperjack principal has sleepover on the school roof

Jan 27, 2024

Students arriving for their last day of school waved to their principal Andy Hoeppner who greeted them from the roof of Paperjack Elementary.

The subject line in the email read, "Paperjack Elementary - Principal; on the Roof."

All kinds of scary thoughts rushed through my mind before I read a bit further and discovered, it was not the nightmare scenario I had imagined, but rather, Principal Andy Hoeppner fulfilling the decision, as determined by a student-wide vote, for him to spend the night on the roof of Paperjack Elementary.

It is more than just a gimmick. It is a school staff member, in this case Hoeppner, honoring his student's wishes, keeping up his end of a bargain he and his staff have worked all year long to build with their students.

"Our district has been utilizing Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports for a few years now as a way to focus on students' positive behavior and rewarding them for those," Hoeppner said. "One of the main aspects at all three elementary schools in New Richmond are Tiger Tickets that students can earn for practicing our three core principles: be safe, be respectful, be responsible."

At the end of the school year students have an opportunity to look back and reflect on all of their successes throughout the year. They also get to vote on an end-of-the-year reward using their Tiger Tickets.

"The vote that we held gave the students a chance to use some of their Tiger Tickets while also seeing it as an opportunity to see all of their hard work culminate in one big reward. Last year they voted to shave my head. This year they voted for me to spend the night on the roof," Hoeppner said.

The roof reward was the brainchild of school counselor Corie Hoffman. Hoffmans's job is to find creative ways to focus student's attention on positive behaviors and reward them for their efforts.

"She always finds fun ways to keep the kids motivated and on track with their behavior," Hoeppner said. "Our staff has done a great job of recognizing students following our principles and have shifted the focus to catching the behaviors we want to reinforce and making the students feel that sense of pride in a job well done."

Principal Andy Hoeppner waved goodbye to students last Tuesday afternoon before spending the night on the roof at Paperjack Elementary.

Paperjack students Destiny and Treyton Rose weighed in on Hoeppner's decision to sleep on the roof.

"It's crazy. It's for the school because the school's been super nice to him."

On a more practical note, we wanted to know if there was a weather waiver and what are the essentials that every principal should have in their go bag for a night on the roof?

As far as the weather, Hoeppner's prayers paid off. It was a perfect night to camp out on the roof. The go bag?

"Snacks and a charged phone," Hoeppner said.

Hoeppner's kids made sure the principal kept his word checking in on their dad at 11:30 p.m. as did the New Richmond Police Department when officers responded to a call reporting a man on the roof at Paperjack Elementary School.

"Students who feel connected to their schools have a greater chance to succeed academically, emotionally and socially. If me spending a night on the roof, and braving my fear of bats, can help us along that journey, then it was a night well spent," Hoeppner said.

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