D.C. Students' Paydays in 'Cash-for-Grades' Program Yield a Range of Emotions

"They didn't give none of the eighth-graders checks," she said, adding a moment later, "It's okay."

Of the three, Diamond generally has earned the least. Two of her recent checks amounted to $40 each. She is less enthusiastic about the program than her brothers.

Still, she said, she does better than most. Some students, she said, pour water on their checks if they are too low, saturating them until they fall apart.

"Last time, I watched this boy open his check, and he ripped it. He just opened it, and then he ripped it," said Kyree, 12. "Some other people [are] stealing kids' checks. They'll break in their lockers or their book bags."

Elizabeth Davis, a veteran computer-aided-design teacher, said that one day in October after students discharged fire extinguishers, causing an evacuation, she noticed students rifling through backpacks left in the cafeteria. They ran when they saw her.

"What I saw on the floor were checks that these students had torn up," she said.

Davis said she thinks the program destroys intrinsic motivation. She said she has always told students that it's their responsibility to learn. "Then along comes Capital Gains, which basically undermines all of that effort, because it tells kids, in a nonverbal way, 'We don't think you have the capacity to do that, so we're going to pay you to do that.' "

"What happens when the money dries up?" she asked.

Kisha Webster, who was principal at Hart last fall, acknowledged that the program did not start smoothly. Many substitute teachers, she said, had trouble tracking the data used to determine earnings, which caused students to receive checks that did not reflect their efforts. Hart also continues to distribute paper checks, and other schools have moved to direct deposit.

Webster said the program is an "outstanding concept" but needs commitment from students and adults.

"There's just not a belief from everybody that this can work, that you can help these students to bring out their greatness," said Webster, who was fired in November after incidents of violence at the school. Students, she said, "have to see that people care about their success. It's not just, 'My mom cares about it,' or 'My grandma cares about it.' "

Billy Kearney, who replaced Webster, did not return calls for comment.