Educators 2009 : Page 28
EarntoLearn circumstances, gifts or a money-reward system for academic achievement could work for some school districts. Tom White, executive director of Lansing- based Michigan School Business Officials, a nonprofit corporation with a focus on improving the leadership and management in school business and operations, says he can see the benefits of such a program. “On one hand, you would like for kids to be instilled with an innate love of learning,” White says. “But on the other hand, if it’s not there, what do you do? So being a pragmatist, from my perspective, it is worth looking into and experimenting with.” While it might be worth looking into, funding for such a program seems impractical as the country reels from an economic recession. So, White adds, such a program would only be feasible with private donations. Liz Margolis, director of communications for Ann Arbor Public Schools, says she has heard of Michigan school districts using incentives like pizza parties and drawings for prizes on school-enrollment count days, on which state funding is determined, but it’s not a practice used in Ann Arbor. “While we want our students to achieve and do the best that they can, we would never offer a monetary incentive for that,” she says. “There are so many districts on the edge of going under that this would be the furthest thing from their minds to address.” In states like Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Washington, USA Today reported, students were paid $100 for each passing grade on “advanced placement, college-prep exams,” funded by an Exxon/ Mobil program. White stresses that such programs wouldn’t work for every school district. “The experiment is focusing on at-risk kids that don’t necessarily come from an environment that values learning,” says White. “So this is for a minimum number of schools, districts and students. You put your resources where they are needed. We wouldn’t be doing this in Birmingham or Bloomfield Hills.” But others are more cautious about jumping on board with such a program, even on a limited basis. Berkley School District Superintendent Mike Simeck would only say that schools are always looking at programs to help students get better grades. “We are very interested to see what other districts are doing and would like to see the result of these motivational techniques.” Harvard economist Roland Fryer is one of the country’s biggest proponents of such incentive programs. Fryer was the architect behind a two-year experiment in New York City where students were paid each month for excelling on skills tests. Fryer has said that the program was a way to help disadvantaged kids stay in school and learn that hard work can pay off. His current project, which has already earned the attention of such national media outlets as Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, is generating plenty of controversy. Funded through private donations under the umbrella of Fryer’s Education Innovation Laboratory (edLabs) at Harvard University, the three-year research and development institute is putting cash in the hands of disadvantaged students who stay in school and strive to achieve. With private donations backing the program, students are currently receiving $50 every five weeks per “A” received in math, science, social studies and physical education. Students are also paid $35 for every “B” and $20 for every “C.” The experimental program is also putting cash in the pockets of Chicago-area students, but until the program is deemed a success, no plans will be made for expansion into other at-risk communities. Brian Ambrozy, a Warren father of two, agrees with Fryer’s plan from a motivational standpoint, but still sees problems with the 64Metro Parent / FEBRUARY 2009 • MetroParent.com
