In an effort to boost school attendance, Berkeley High School is reaching out to local merchants and community members to ask that they help build a rewards program for students.
Over the past year and a half, Berkeley High has already been pushing for increased student attendance. But this year, the school aims to boost attendance even more by using free coupons, sandwiches and movie tickets as incentives to reward those who come to class. Attendance statistics for this academic year show attendance rates similar to the previous academic year, with approximately 94 percent attendance from September to December.
Dean of Attendance Daniel Roose said the new idea is to recognize more students who are already following the rules as well as focusing on truancy in the school.
“We are doing a sort of attack from two prongs,” Roose said. “We are going to talk to kids that are absent and those who are attending schools.”
Shifra de Benedictis-Kessner, marketing manager for the Downtown Berkeley Association, expressed strong support for the idea and said that she and Roose had been discussing it since last fall.
“We have sent it out in our e-news,” de Benedictis-Kessner said. “We encourage businesses to give gift certificates. I know all of our businesses really enjoy the students.”
Roose said the school plans to make two funds. It will make one fund for the small rewards that local businesses donate, such as free or discounted items. Another fund will be created for larger donations, such as iPads that will be placed in a raffle.
Laura Babbit, who is both a parent of a senior attending the school and a parent liaison for the high school’s department of African American studies, said she also likes the incentive idea. She thinks the incentives could help give students more motivation to do their schoolwork.
“Anything to help (students) make the best choices for the future is needed,” Babbit said. “There is no way we can increase testing rates or performance if they are not in the classroom.”
Babbit also thinks the incentives serve as a good way to get the community involved in supporting the future of education and Berkeley’s youth. She said the rewards not only increase student participation but that they can also increase state funding that is based on student attendance and can help keep the school operating.
Roose hopes to approach local businesses in Downtown Berkeley by the end of the week, proposing they be the first to help out because many students frequent the area during lunchtime.
Roose said that the school will have no concrete plans in terms of how the rewards will be distributed until April. The rewards will, however, be given out during the end of the school semester in late May or early June, he stated.
Alyssa Neumann covers city government. Contact her at [email protected].