I’m a long-time advocate of the transformative power of both education and self-confidence. I believe that if you give people the tools to succeed, and instill the confidence necessary to make use of those tools, there’s no limit to what they can accomplish!
This belief guided me to launch Paid for Grades in 2013. Now, with a new program year just around the corner, I’m pleased to announce that we’ve set a new benchmark for the program.
What is Paid for Grades?
Paid for Grades is a program based in the Tampa Bay area. As part of the program, we challenge students at participating schools to improve their grades and reading comprehension, while also maintaining stellar attendance.
First, we partner with local high schools. Administrators then identify at-risk students who could benefit from additional assistance with their reading comprehension and grades, and enroll these students in the Paid for Grades program.
Participating students receive tutoring assistance provided through the program to help achieve these goals. They’re also asked to complete a series of online life skills workshops on topics like study habits, budgeting, stress management, and other essentials. Students who successfully complete the program receive a $500 cash award, simple as that. We also award another $500 to the participating school and tutor to thank them for their time and assistance.
Paid for Grades has grown every year since we first launched. We’ve expanded to more schools, helping hundreds of students in the process. More than 500 high school students in Pinellas County are now enrolled for our 2020–2021 program year. This will be our biggest class yet!
If all goes according to plan, we could be handing out more than $500,000 this upcoming semester to local students, teachers, and high schools. And, we plan to continue growing next year, too.
Why Pay Students to Succeed?
Shortly after moving to Clearwater, I spent some time volunteering as a reading tutor for a local school. These were at-risk students who weren’t performing at grade level; however, I was amazed by the progress these students made when given just a little bit of extra assistance and attention.
Most students have the natural ability to achieve academic success, but are simply not reaching their potential. I believe this is largely a crisis of confidence. Students don’t have confidence in their ability to succeed, and so they don’t apply themselves to their full capacity. They simply can’t see any reason to do so and; in turn, that reluctance is like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The idea behind Paid for Grades is to get students to tap into their natural talents and abilities. We accomplish this by simply giving students a tangible, immediate reward for their efforts. This is why I think our approach works: students are initially motivated by the prospect of getting a cash prize at the end of the semester!
$500 is a lot of money to most high school students. Participants see that as an immediate incentive to apply themselves and succeed in the program. Eventually, students come to realize that they’re capable of much more than they realized. That sense of newfound confidence becomes its own reward—one that will pay dividends throughout their lives.
Looking to the Future
I believe that each of us has a responsibility to make the world a better place. So, as I watched Chargebacks911 grow rapidly in those early years, I started looking for way to give back to the community which supported us and helped our business prosper. That’s when I remembered my experience from a few years earlier as a reading tutor.
I knew that many of these students could grow and improve their skills. However, we’d need a way to incentivize them to apply themselves first. The Paid for Grades program is the idea that developed as a solution to this problem.
The program is a true labor of love, and I’m incredibly proud of everything we’ve accomplished so far. That said, I want to see Paid for Grades continue to grow year after year.
As we work toward continued expansion, we’re also looking for new community partners interested in helping us support the program. The more partners we secure, the faster we can scale Paid for Grades to new schools and help more students. If you’re interested in making your business a Paid for Grades community partner, you can learn more on our official site.
