The District Chronicles

Issue date: 11/2/08 Section: Cover

The gymnasium at Shaw-Garnett-Patterson Middle School felt hot in the morning of October 17. The chatter of about 100 antsy children was deafening. But the anticipation of a pay check for good grades and good behavior made it all worthwhile.

The boys and girls in their school uniforms of polo shirts and khaki pants sat on the edge of their bleaches as Chancellor Michelle Rhee waded her way through the gym, congratulating the children individually on their pioneering accomplishment.

An oversized check held behind Chancellor Rhee, Mayor Adrian Fenty and Harvard University's professor Roland Fryer reminded them of what exactly they had earned. Money. It was the students' first payday under a pilot initiative the DC public system is trying out to inspire students at 15 underachieving middle schools to do better in their classes.

"Does everyone like money?" Mayor Adrian Fenty bellowed. "Yeah!" the students shouted in unison.

This was the first payday under the initiative and students at Shaw walked away with over $4,000 on October 17. The initiative, called the Capital Gains program, is a collaborative effort of the D.C. public schools and Harvard University's Innovation Lab.

The program was launched at the beginning of this school year, and it rewards students from 15 of the 28 D.C. middle schools for attendance, behavior and academic achievement.

For a long time, test scores in the DC public school system have been abysmal, with only 12 percent of eighth graders reading on grade level. Math is even more problematic; only eight percent of eight graders perform math on grade level.

Chancellor Rhee knows that the Capital Gains program will not solve all problems in her school system, but she believes it serves as a motivating factor for kids to strive for excellence.

"We do incentives to get them to understand very clearly that if you do well in school and you do the right thing, you're going to be rewarded for that," Rhee said.

Around the District, participating schools collectively received $137,813. An individual student can receive up to $100 every two weeks.

Lisa Aleshier, health and physical education teacher at Shaw, noted that because the average check was only $43, the students now take the Capital Gains program more seriously.

"The first initial check was a shock because a lot of them didn't get as much as they expected," Aleshier explained. "The students say, 'oh, this is serious, now I need to start doing more so I can get more money.'"

Continued...

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