CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC/Gray News) – A new incentive program will pay some South Carolina families weekly for perfect attendance as absenteeism continues to crux student performance.
The pilot program, which allows the Charleston County School District to divvy out $25 a week, per student, to at least 1,900 students and their families, rolled out on March 10.
Students within the 10 selected grades and schools will be eligible to continuously receive money through a designated debit card, but only if their child achieves perfect attendance every week until May 16.
Those schools are Ellington Elementary, Midland Park Primary, Lambs Elementary, Ladson Elementary, A.C. Corcoran Elementary, Goodwin Elementary, Morningside Middle, Simmons Pinckney Middle, North Charleston High and West Ashley High.
Parents, guardians or students over 18 will receive the card from a staff member, which is limited in where it can be used. Cardholders would only be able to use the cards on necessities, like gas, transportation, utilities or food.
Those who are eligible sign up for the incentive through an app, which also uses Bills.com to track where and how the money is spent.
If there are multiple students in one household, each student would be eligible for their own $25.
The incentive would apply to all students within a selected grade or school, regardless of a prior history of absenteeism or perfect attendance.
Charleston County School District Chief Financial Officer Daniel Prentice estimated that if every affected student achieves attendance within the selected nine weeks, the cost would be $225 per student. This equals out to roughly $400,000.
Prentice said the pilot allocated $30,800 in week one.
The cost of benefits and salaries for the people served sits close to $600 per student.
“In theory, if this works, and the data shows significant improvements over human capital investments, it would be a higher priority to provide these rewards,” Prentice said.
The district reported “significant increases” in perfect attendance across the included schools within two-and-a-half weeks, with all except one middle school achieving double-digit gains for at least one grade level.
District Superintendent Anita Huggins addressed claims that the program seemed “unconventional” and “out of the box,” but calling it “necessary” when speaking to the media on Tuesday.
This comes a few days after a letter circulated on social media a week prior introducing the pilot, sparking questions from parents, educators and taxpayers.
“This is a national problem and we are not immune to it in South Carolina, and specifically in Charleston. We believe one reason an achievement gap and opportunity gap exists between children of color and their peers is absenteeism and truancy,” Huggins said.
North Charleston High Principal Henry Darby said he sees complexities in his teenage students who have multiple responsibilities on top of education: jobs, child care and transportation, to name a few.
“If we continue doing the same thing with the same results, I think that would be insanity. To incentivize children in terms of monetary needs, it is not a pejorative thing; it is much needed when it comes to metaphysical abstract poverty,” Darby said.
Parents Jack Ellison and Francis Beylotte believe the long-term impacts of COVID-19 played a part in how students adjusted to academics in the classroom versus remote learning. Both are curious to see the outcome of the pilot for the sake of addressing issues with truancy and absenteeism.
“I think it is an interesting approach. It would be a little helpful to see a road map or a strategic thought process behind the project. The intent is good. We are working to get students and loved ones into school,” Ellison said.
Beylotte has experience with contingency management from the academic standpoint and believes research would support the use of “positive” incentives.
“Why should we pay people to do something they need to do anyway? There’s a lot of research that supports contingency management as a good way to influence people, and the data shows we have some attendance problems,” Beylotte said.
Numbers requested through the Freedom of Information Act show how absenteeism looks across the region.
The South Carolina Department of Education defined truancy as absence without reason. Greenville is the largest school district in the state, with Charleston following second.
Solicitor Scarlet Wilson claims most truancy cases are diverted to the Department of Juvenile Justice for mental health, mentorship and medical services to improve attendance. If the diversion does not work, the child is placed on probation.
The district will analyze the results of the program after May 16 with a focus on changing attendance rates and the performance of students in end-of-course exams.
The incentive comes from the Weighted Student Funding Formula, which comes from the General Operating Fund approved through 2026. Any money not used will return to the fund balance to be reappropriated on June 30 and the cards will be closed.
Copyright 2025 WCSC via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.