A high school in Washington, DC, has introduced an initiative offering students $50 each week in an effort to tackle the persistent issue of chronic absenteeism in the district.

According to a recent report by the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), during the 2024 to 2025 school year, 38.2 percent of students were identified as chronically absent, meaning they missed at least 10 percent of the academic year.

The superintendent’s office revealed that in some DCPS high schools, up to 75 percent of students fall into the chronically absent category.

To combat this trend, Digital Pioneers Academy (DPA), a public charter school funded by taxpayers and located in southeast DC, has launched a scheme that compensates students for regular attendance.

DPA, which provides tuition-free education for middle and high school students, has selected 40 seniors to participate in this program, offering them $50 each week for 40 weeks, amounting to $2,000 by the end of the school year.

‘Post-pandemic, it’s been a struggle for everyone to get kids back into school. So we put a lot of incentives, work hard, play hard, attendance matters,’ DPA CEO Mashea Ashton told NBC Washington.

‘I think kids feel more empowered, and it’s connected to if you show up, you work hard, you play hard, you have more choices. So I do think it has a positive impact.’

The school partnered with The $50 Study and the Rooted School Foundation to secure the funds for the program.

Digital Pioneers Academy (pictured), a public, taxpayer-funded charter school in southeast DC, launched a program that pays students to attend class

The school selected 40 seniors to receive $50 per week for 40 weeks, totaling $2,000 by the end of the school year

‘The $50 Study represents a fundamental reimagining of how we address opportunity gaps in education,’ Jonathan Johnson, founder and CEO of Rooted School Foundation, said in a press release.

‘What makes DC and our partnership with Education Forward DC and DPA remarkable is that we’re proving a simple principle: when you remove financial barriers for young people through direct, unconditional support, you create measurable impact.’

‘This isn’t just another pilot program. It’s a blueprint for how cities can make real, data-driven progress on challenges we’ve accepted as intractable. DC has the opportunity to show that the most elegant solutions are often the most direct ones,’ he added.

Students who were selected for the program told NBC Washington they are using the funds to help their families.

‘I think about it as an opportunity. I learned, like, how it is like a gift,’ student Jada Faulkner said.

‘Recently, I bought Thanksgiving food for my family. I kind of helped out a little bit. I used it on my senior pictures outfit. I gave some money to my siblings if they need it.’

Student Fred McRoy said, ‘Right now I’m saving for senior pictures, senior trip, all the senior activities. I’m going to get my mom something nice for Christmas.’

However, some critics have questioned the program’s effectiveness and whether students will learn anything from it. 

Student Fred McRoy (pictured) said he will use the money to pay for activities throughout his senior year and hopes to buy his mom a Christmas present  

‘Well there’s a new liberal entitlement program. Paid just to show up. Don’t have to do anything just show up,’ one person wrote on X.

Another added, ‘$50? That’s less than minimum wage for clowning around.’ 

‘This is a** backwards. Bad students should get pushed not rewarded,’ a third person wrote.

‘What? Insane program by insane people. They are rewarding the worst behavior,’ wrote a fourth. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Digital Pioneers Academy, the Rooted School Foundation and The $50 Study for comment.