Scott Daniels, 9, WAS in the school playground with his class when Principal Mike Culberson announced the big news. Scott had won a new bike. "I about fell off the slide," he told TFK.
What did Scott do to earn the bike? He showed up for school.
Across the country, schools are offering rewards, from scooters to computers, to kids who achieve perfect attendance. In Hartford, Con-necticut, kids have a chance to win a car! Scott's school, Stone Creek Elementary, in Georgia, holds a raffle twice a year for kids with perfect attendance. Prizes include a drum set, an electronic keyboard and video games. Culberson says the program works. Since it started in 2002, the number of tardy students dropped from about 20 a day to eight.
Critics say that the big prizes teach kids to work toward a reward rather than develop a love of learning. Monty Neill is the executive director of FairTest, a nonprofit group opposed to strict testing requirements. "[Principals] want to bribe kids to come to school," he says. "That's a sign that there is a serious flaw in the system."
As for Scott, he believes he has earned his shiny new prize. "It's hard to get to school on time," Scott says. "My mom wakes me up really early."