Vacaville Students Get Free iPods -- For Going to Class

[The Straight Story]

Vacaville Students Get Free iPods -- For Going to Class

Vacaville students have a new incentive to come to school every day. In an age when getting good grades or even just hanging out with friends isn't enough to get some kids to their classrooms, it's the latest in "it" technology that's doing the trick.

To stem declining enrollment, Vacaville Unified School District has been giving away free i-Pods each month to students with perfect attendance at each of the district's 26 schools. Since January, each student who didn't miss a day of class is entered into a monthly drawing -- and one takes home a brand-new iPod.

"Most kids don't have a reason to go to school and don't feel like going," Vacaville High student Matt Norman said. "This gives them some initiative to go."

And after several failed attempts to get kids to school each day, attendance numbers indicate the iPod giveaway is a program that's showing major results. In January, attendance was up one percent over January 2005; in February, up nearly two percent.

While the increases may seem small, they're anything but when each school's attendence numbers translate into state dollars for the cash-starved district.

http://www.kxtv.com/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=17275

Screw the ipods, offer em free gas! :)

[lostexpectation]

1. short term gimmick

offers incentives not bribes

[valerief]

2. Offer 'em jobs at the end of their education tunnel! n/t