It’s that time of year again. Yes, the spring semester’s wrapping up, summer’s just around the corner, and we’re offering a big “congratulations” to another class of Paid for Grades alumni!
While we try to provide valuable information through our blog, our main focus is our in-school program. We partner with educators in our community to make this program a reality every spring. This year’s ceremony took place on Wednesday, May 22nd, at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport. The event featured a keynote address from motivational speaker Don Cummins, who is also a representative from our main sponsor Chargebacks911®!
Check out pictures from the event below:
Why Our Approach?
More than one million young Americans drop out of school each year. Millions more face a range of daily hardships while obtaining an education, from learning disabilities, to lack of stable housing and reliable meals at home. The resulting widespread under-performance costs the U.S. more than $240 billion every year in lost earning potential, tax revenues, and higher costs for social services.
Studies identify a link between low reading ability and the likelihood a student will leave school without graduating. Encouraging and assisting students to improve their reading ability, however, can have a profound effect on a child’s life.
Inability to read at one’s grade level is one of the key correlating factors with academic underperformance. If identified early, up to 95% of children at risk for reading failure become fluent readers with the help of research-based intervention.
Paid for Grades grew as an essential resource to address these realities, and enrich the lives of local students. Our program offers literacy tutoring and life skills enhancement components for Tampa Bay area students, mostly high school seniors in Pinellas County. Students who complete both segments receive a cash reward in recognition of their accomplishments.
By offering a completion reward, we provide students with a tangible incentive to succeed in the program. However, most students find they gain much more than just cash. Paid for Grades participants gain life skills, build self-esteem, and discover abilities they never knew they possessed.
Individual students aren’t the only beneficiaries, though. Participating schools also receive resources to aid future success in the form of a technology grant. The amount awarded to the school compounds with each successful student, giving educators even more incentive to help students succeed!