Pay For A's: The CPS's New Program

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Oct 17, 2008 10:15PM

When we were kids, we got some reward for good grades, like $1 for every A. With $5 or $6 in our pockets after a good report card, we felt like Richie Rich. But it's nothing compared to what some Chicago Public School students are getting now for their high marks Private donations and Harvard University education research laboratory are funding the "Green for Grades" program which awards 1,650 freshmen in 20 CPS schools for earning high grades.

In theory, it's not a bad idea. Teachers claim they've seen results. Manley Career Academy High School history teacher Sarah Shields said her students are working harder knowing they could earn a reward. "Getting a check is a really personal motivation. Students know if they work harder their personal checks will be bigger." But if this really is an "investment," as Harvard's Roland Fryer, who is heading the program, has said, shouldn't something be done to make it literally by investing a percentage of the money in college funds for these kids? The kids only receive half the money upfront and receive the rest upon graduating, which is good motivation. But what about securing money for the possible pursuit of higher education? We're just sayin'...

Mayor Daley, for one, is not having any of the criticism that says the program amounts to bribery.

There are a lot of poor kids. Some of them have nothing. Some don't even have parents.They're lucky to get Christmas gifts. They're lucky they get a hug once in a while. They get it at school. They're lucky they have ever a dollaror any coins in their pocket... Wealthy parents in the suburban area, they give their kids a car. They give them a trip to Hawaii. They send them around the world. They take them to Florida. They take them to California. These [inner-city] kids don't even get out of their homes for many, many years.

The break-down of payments is $50 for A's, $35 for B's and $20 for C's. At first we wondered, rewarding C's? We knew things are bad in public schools, but bad enough to reward C's? Well, 49 percent of participating students lost out on a chance for cash by failing at least one of the subjects. So, yeah, we guess a C is rewardable. All told, students netted $265,986 this time around for their grades in five subject areas including math, science, and English.

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com