Detroit Schools Expand $1,000 Attendance Incentives to Middle Schoolers as Absenteeism Hits 60.9%
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 22
Detroit Schools Expand $1,000 Attendance Incentives to Middle Schoolers as Absenteeism Hits 60.9%
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 22
Summary
Detroit Public Schools will extend its “Perfect Attendance Pays” program to middle schoolers in 2026-27 after using up to $1,000 rewards for high school students.
Parents of middle school students with perfect attendance in each five-day cycle will get a $50 gift card during the Jan. 5-March 20 winter stretch, when district attendance typically weakens.
District officials said the program helped cut high school chronic absenteeism by 7 percentage points in its first year and another 2 points last year.
The district said the incentives are funded by interest on district money awaiting facility projects, not by state aid or federal revenue.
Detroit still posted a 60.9% chronic absenteeism rate in 2024-25, underscoring a broader post-pandemic problem that has pushed districts nationwide to test cash rewards and other attendance measures.