Some D.C. Students to Be Paid for A's

Aug. 26, 2008— -- Will middle school students hit the books, show up on time and be on their best behavior if they're getting paid?

As Washington, D.C., students start back to school this week, that's the thinking behind a new program just launched in the district. As early as October at 14 of 28 D.C. middle schools, students will get paid to perform as part of a pilot program that rewards kids for good grades, attendance and behavior.

Kids could rake in up to $100 per month, getting paid every two weeks through the program.

"These short-term incentives … are intended to ultimately spark our students' long-term interest in their own education," said D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee in a statement last Thursday.

Paying students to perform isn't entirely novel. Washington's program is part of a spreading experimental movement to inspire children to learn. But some argue that the financial incentive is too radical and that students shouldn't be paid to do what many of their peers, and their parents, have done for free.

"I understand their reasoning for offering financial incentives, and I understand the chancellor's point that a lot of families do offer their own incentives, and this is to even the playing field, but I don't think it's the schools decision to offer that," Faye Brenner, a mother and educator in nearby Fairfax County, Va., told ABCNews.com Monday.

Former D.C. public school teacher Jamie Welsh, who taught first grade at Whittier Elementary for four years, said her initial reaction was that paying students was a terrible idea. But Welsh said she has started to warm up to the proposal, adding that parents don't always encourage and motivate children enough at home.

"No one wants to motivate kids with money," Welsh said to ABCNews.com. "I would really try hard not to motivate kids by bribing them. You always want the intrinsic motivation, you always want kids to be motivated by themselves. But that takes parents."

Whether the program will churn out more high-performing, studious children remains to be seen.