Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for March 22, 2009 LEARN TO EARN

Payment Program Is Source of Pride, Shame for D.C. Students

By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer

D'Angelo Dorsey's envelope remained sealed when he arrived home one day last month from his Southeast Washington school. The 12-year-old knew the amount written on the check inside, each dollar tied to his behavior and performance, but he didn't want to see it.

"I'm ashamed," D'Angelo said. "It's too low."

Among three siblings in his family who go to Hart Middle School, D'Angelo is the smallest. But he is used to taking home the biggest check through an experiment begun last fall that pays thousands of D.C. students to do what is expected of their peers everywhere: Go to class, behave and get good grades.

They can earn up to $100 every two weeks. That Thursday, D'Angelo's check was for $56.

"They probably will laugh at me at the bank," he said. "I will never get this low again. I never got lower than $60."

Following a trail of failed efforts to fix the District's troubled schools, the Capital Gains program aims to motivate middle-grade students with the same enticement that compels adults: cash. Optimists say the program could help those who have little catch up to those who have much. Skeptics say it will devalue what has always been invaluable: learning for the sake of learning.

Eventually, scholars will evaluate whether the incentive works. But for now, the best gauge might be the reaction of students on payday. Interviews with parents, educators and youths reveal that most students compare their earnings as soon as they're handed out, excited by the financial reward. A few, in a show of apathy or rebellion, destroy checks intended to help them. And some walk home disappointed, envelopes closed.

Down a quiet street of weathered houses, Thomas Woods waits daily for his children, including D'Angelo, to come home from school.

To him, the incentive is a good idea but of limited value in this neighborhood east of the Anacostia River. Hart Middle School, on Mississippi Avenue SE in one of Washington's poorest and most crime-ridden areas, struggles academically. About 17 percent of students passed the city's reading test last school year, and 15 percent passed in math. "They don't get too much attention on this side of the river," Woods said.

Woods, who drives a dump truck to support six children, jokes that he has only one battered pair of shoes but some of his kids can buy several new pairs.

When they're paid on time.

Payments have been inconsistent, Woods said, even as the program calls for consistently good behavior. One afternoon late last month, D'Angelo and his brother Kyree, both sixth-graders, received their money. But their sister Diamond did not.

"They didn't give none of the eighth-graders checks," she said, adding a moment later, "It's okay."

Of the three, Diamond generally has earned the least. Two of her recent checks amounted to $40 each. She is less enthusiastic about the program than her brothers.

Still, she said, she does better than most. Some students, she said, pour water on their checks if they are too low, saturating them until they fall apart.

"Last time, I watched this boy open his check, and he ripped it. He just opened it, and then he ripped it," said Kyree, 12. "Some other people [are] stealing kids' checks. They'll break in their lockers or their book bags."

Elizabeth Davis, a veteran computer-aided-design teacher, said that one day in October after students discharged fire extinguishers, causing an evacuation, she noticed students rifling through backpacks left in the cafeteria. They ran when they saw her.

"What I saw on the floor were checks that these students had torn up," she said.

Davis said she thinks the program destroys intrinsic motivation. She said she has always told students that it's their responsibility to learn. "Then along comes Capital Gains, which basically undermines all of that effort, because it tells kids, in a nonverbal way, 'We don't think you have the capacity to do that, so we're going to pay you to do that.' "

"What happens when the money dries up?" she asked.

Kisha Webster, who was principal at Hart last fall, acknowledged that the program did not start smoothly. Many substitute teachers, she said, had trouble tracking the data used to determine earnings, which caused students to receive checks that did not reflect their efforts. Hart also continues to distribute paper checks, and other schools have moved to direct deposit.

Webster said the program is an "outstanding concept" but needs commitment from students and adults.

"There's just not a belief from everybody that this can work, that you can help these students to bring out their greatness," said Webster, who was fired in November after incidents of violence at the school. Students, she said, "have to see that people care about their success. It's not just, 'My mom cares about it,' or 'My grandma cares about it.' "

Billy Kearney, who replaced Webster, did not return calls for comment.

Citywide, 3,300 students from 15 schools are participating in the program, one of several reform efforts under D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. The District and Harvard University are sharing the $2.7 million cost, and Harvard economist Roland G. Fryer Jr. will lead researchers who analyze results. Fryer has launched similar programs in New York, where rewards are tied to test scores, and in Chicago, where they are tied to grades. The D.C. students earn cash based on behavior, attendance and three other criteria. Many schools, including Hart, pay students for wearing uniforms, completing homework and getting good grades.

Since October, $1.3 million has been distributed, with the average student earning $406 out of a possible $1,000.

At Stuart-Hobson Middle School, in the Capitol Hill area, students are saving for a trip to Canada. At Emery Educational Campus, in the Eckington area, they are buying gifts for parents for the first time or clothes they might not have gotten otherwise.

As of late last month, Armani Dugger, a seventh-grader at Emery, had put away $361, having spent only $31 from her earnings to buy boots she needed.

"I'm just saving just in case I need something really bad," the 12-year-old said.

A strong student before the program, Armani said she now tries harder. She takes her science book home daily because she struggles in the subject. Likewise, seventh-grader Sarah Headen, who describes her weakness as talking too much, no longer sits with friends in class. Her mother said Sarah is more diligent about homework and washing her uniform.

Michael Pridgeon, an Emery math teacher, said students divide into factions.

"You have a certain group of students who say, 'This is my chance to earn $100.' Then you have another group of students who say, 'Forty dollars or $50 is all I need,' " he said. "I know close to Christmastime we had quite a bit of $75 and above."

Pridgeon said that he knows how important the money is to some students and that it's difficult to dock their pay. Some can't afford many uniforms, so if they dirty their white shirt on Monday, he wonders, is it fair to penalize them for the rest of the week? And what should he have done when a student recently told him that she didn't do her homework because she had to watch her baby sister?

"I want to hold her accountable, because life is hard," he said. "At the same time, I feel a little bit of compassion, because here's a 13-year-old taking care of an infant."

After D'Angelo opened the envelope, he examined his check and a letter that read: "Congratulations! You have earned $56."

Kyree's letter, wrinkled with much handling, read: "Congratulations! You have earned $70."

"I think they got ours mixed up," D'Angelo said.

Kyree shrugged him off. The letters break down their performance. For homework, for example, D'Angelo earned $8 and Kyree $10. D'Angelo earned $14 for behavior and $14 for wearing uniforms; Kyree earned $20 in each category.

In some ways, the checks are like alternative report cards. But Woods said he hasn't seen grades improve noticeably. D'Angelo still gets A's and B's, higher than his brother and sister, who tell of getting C's and D's.

D'Angelo is also more concerned about saving. He has barely touched the $248 he's earned, but Diamond has a puffy blue jacket to show and Kyree a pair of Timberland boots.

Do any of them think they will earn a $100 paycheck? All three speak at once.

"I think I am," Diamond said.

"I'm trying," Kyree said.

"I know I am," D'Angelo said.