Trend Watch: Rewarding Students for Parent Involvement
Some schools are motivating parents to volunteer by offering generous incentives for their kids.
Some
e ne
e new incentive programs have students earning benefits such as homework passes, gift cards, and even cash when their parents volunteer at school.
In a program launched by Petersburg (Va.) City Public Schools last fall, parents earn points for activities such as chaperoning field trips, attending workshops, and ensuring that their children follow the dress code. Credit can be received for a wide variety of activities, making it possible for working parents to participate.
Points are tallied each nine weeks, and if parents earn enough points, their children may be rewarded with an ice-cream party, gift cards, credit to the school store, or homework passes good for a one-time extension.
“By getting the students excited, we’ll get the parents excited, as well,” Kori Reddick, principal of J.E.B. Stuart Elementary, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
In St. Louis, parent involvement is one requirement of a school’s program that rewards successful students with $300. To earn the cash, a student’s parent had to attend three fall PTO meetings, and students had to maintain 95 percent attendance and not be suspended.
Jefferson Elementary offered the cash to 25 new students who lived in three nearby apartment complexes. The incentives were provided by the company that developed the apartments. Plans are in place to expand the program to 125 students.
Parent Honor Roll
In a program launched by Petersburg (Va.) City Public Schools last fall, parents earn points for activities such as chaperoning field trips, attending workshops, and ensuring that their children follow the dress code. Credit can be received for a wide variety of activities, making it possible for working parents to participate.
Points are tallied each nine weeks, and if parents earn enough points, their children may be rewarded with an ice-cream party, gift cards, credit to the school store, or homework passes good for a one-time extension.
“By getting the students excited, we’ll get the parents excited, as well,” Kori Reddick, principal of J.E.B. Stuart Elementary, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Cash Incentive
In St. Louis, parent involvement is one requirement of a school’s program that rewards successful students with $300. To earn the cash, a student’s parent had to attend three fall PTO meetings, and students had to maintain 95 percent attendance and not be suspended.
Jefferson Elementary offered the cash to 25 new students who lived in three nearby apartment complexes. The incentives were provided by the company that developed the apartments. Plans are in place to expand the program to 125 students.
