Story Archive

School Work

“We tell our kids that they should treat school like it’s their job,” said Kenneth Furrier, chief administrative officer of a charter high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. “And then they say they don’t get paid.” So he’s doing something about that: the school is paying its students to show up on time for class every day and not misbehave. The payoff comes in the form of a gift card worth $25 a week for seniors or $10 for underclassmen, plus a $5 savings deposit. That’s real money in a school where around 90 percent of students are poor enough for free or reduced-price lunches. Attendance improved almost immediately. The goal, Furrier said, is graduation — which only about 14 percent of the school’s students achieved last year. (AC/Reuters, WKRK Cleveland) ...If they like $25 a week, wait till they hear about grad student stipends.