This article was accompanied by a
color photo from the FCAT pep rally, with this caption: "With a gym full of
screaming ninth- and 10th-graders, a group of local businessmen and school
administrators at Bay High School announced the school's participation in the
PASS initiative. William Harrison and Randall McIlheney spearheaded a
fundraising effort that will provide $300,000 to purchase incentive awards to
students taking the FCAT. Students who do well on tests and have perfect
attendance and a good attitude will be entered in a sweepstakes. The big prize
is a 2006 Scion."
The ultimate drive
Bay High uses grant, fundraiser money
to buy prizes for good students
The New Herald [Panama City]
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
By S. Brady Calhoun
In an attempt to get Bay High School students to buy into their education,
Principal Larry Bolinger bought them iPods, X-boxes, liquid crystal display
televisions — and a car.
“There is a lot of glitz and glamour, but what this is all about is working hard
and preparing yourself for your academic success,” Bolinger said shortly before
a Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test pep rally Tuesday morning.
The gifts and gizmos were funded by local fundraising and a matching state grant
to total $300,000 over three years, creating a partnership between the state,
Bay High School and local business leaders.
Local deejay and Scion spokesman Shane Collins got the attention of more than
750 freshmen and sophomores Tuesday by handing out cash, toys and other gadgets
while thumping music played in the background.
Kids got money for knowing what 12 plus 12 equals, who was the first president
of the United States and that the current president is George W. Bush.
Collins gave one of the kids $20 just to sit down.
“Hard work is so easy,” Collins said.
The message that Collins, Bolinger and others were trying to get across is that
students will be rewarded if they worked hard.
Teachers will monitor students over the next few weeks as they prepare for and
take the FCAT. Students who have perfect attendance, do well on tests and show a
good attitude will be entered into sweepstakes for dozens of toys and a 2006
Scion. The base price for a 2006, azure/pearl Scion is about $18,000, Toyota
officials said.
The goodies either were donated by corporate sponsors or paid for through a
state grant program called Partnership to Advance School Success.
There is more to the PASS program than incentives and toys, said Sherry Clarke,
a consultant with the Council for Educational Change, a statewide nonprofit
organization that oversees the PASS program and works improve school leadership
and other critical school issues.
Over the next three years, education experts and business leaders will be
advising Bolinger, conducting workshops and analyzing data at Bay High School.
More than 50 schools in Florida use PASS grants and the program is unique to
each school, Clarke said. More than 80 percent of the schools with a PASS grant
become “high-performing” schools, Clarke said.
The St. Joe Community Foundation, Clear Channel Radio, Panama City Toyota and
several individuals donated cash, employee time and incentives to Bay County’s
oldest high school. Business partners also are meeting regularly with school
administrators to brainstorm new ideas. William Harrison and Randall McElhaney
have been named co-chief executive officers of the PASS program at Bay High.
The idea is to treat kids the way employees are treated at some companies,
Bolinger said. People in the real world work hard because of bonuses,
competition and a sense of pride.
“It’s all about the payoff,” Collins told the students Tuesday morning.
The state will match local gifts with another $100,000 to the school. School
officials have to come up with $100,000 of their own in “in-kind” matches,
meaning that the three-year grant will total out to $300,000. In-kind gifts
include donations of employee time, facilities and technology.
Bay High School received a “D” on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test for
the past two years. That will be unacceptable this year, Bolinger said.
“Our goal is, absolutely, to get an ‘A,’ ” he added.
Several kids said they would act differently in the next few weeks because they
want a car.
“I would have tried hard on the FCAT, but I wouldn’t have paid attention in
class,” said Jordan Hall, 15. “I think I’ll try harder now because I want the
Scion.”
Incentives don’t stop with the students, Bolinger said. Teachers who have
perfect attendance and attend workshops after school will get gift cards and
other bonuses.
