A brand new attendance initiative within the Detroit faculty district that’s luring highschool college students to the classroom with guarantees of $200 reward playing cards for good attendance is off to a promising begin.
At a college board assembly Tuesday, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti reported that 1,800 extra college students within the Detroit Public Faculties Neighborhood District have had good attendance since they returned from the winter break than right now final 12 months.
College students can earn the $200 reward playing cards for each two-week interval they’ve good attendance by means of March, with the potential to earn as a lot as $1,000.
It’s in fact too early to completely consider this system. The primary two-week cycle started Jan. 6 and runs by means of the tip of this week.
“However proper now, the motivation is working,” Vitti stated. He stated he believes the rise in good attendance is as a result of incentive.
The motivation is certainly one of two new efforts geared toward bettering attendance within the district, the place 66% of the scholars have been chronically absent throughout the 2023-24 faculty 12 months. In November, Vitti introduced new pointers that may imply college students who miss a big variety of days of faculty could possibly be held again in grades Ok-8 and required to repeat courses or take credit score restoration courses at the highschool degree.
College students are thought of chronically absent in Michigan in the event that they miss 18 days in a typical 180-day faculty 12 months. Analysis is combined on whether or not incentives are efficient, and a few specialists fear that they doubtlessly ignore the customarily insurmountable at-home challenges, a lot of it associated to poverty, that forestalls college students from coming to highschool usually.
That is the second program launched this faculty 12 months that gives monetary incentives for college students. The district can be paying college students as much as $2,000 to attend literacy tutoring classes.
The board heard from a father or mother who shared how the attendance incentive is motivating her son.
“I’ve a senior this 12 months,” stated Melissa Redman, a frequent commenter in school board conferences. This system, she stated, has given him “willpower to stand up and go to highschool as a result of he desires to earn the cash for the attendance program.”
“The paid incentive could be very in style and a very long time coming,” Vitti stated, responding to a board member’s query in regards to the potential of attempting an analogous incentive to get college students to attend summer season faculty. He stated he’s been speaking about paid incentives for college students for years.
“I’m excited personally that we’re lastly doing it,” Vitti stated.
It’s unclear how a lot cash it would value for this system. However Vitti stated Tuesday that the district is utilizing curiosity cash earned from cash put aside within the financial institution for future facility initiatives.
“As we wait to finish initiatives, that cash is within the financial institution. It creates curiosity. It provides us lots of flexibility.”
Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You’ll be able to attain her at [email protected].
