Stu Bykofsky: Revenge of the Nerds II: Byko gets info and action (maybe)
IN THE COLUMNING line of work, rarely do I put an idea out there that isn't criticized by at least a few. Some are criticized by many. A few are booed by most.
IN THE COLUMNING line of work, rarely do I put an idea out there that isn't criticized by at least a few. Some are criticized by many. A few are booed by most.
Two weeks ago, an exception. Everyone liked my brainstorm to reward nerds, the high schoolers who earn a straight-A average. [Disclosure: This doesn't describe my high-school career, not even close.] I suggested giving straight-A students Star Cards, which could be used for such things as discount shopping and seats in the mayor's box at sporting events and concerts.
I asked the mayor to name a honcho to help get this done. I promised to report back to you.
Then came the hard part: translating approval into action.
Meeting with the School District, which had expressed "interest"? It's easier for me to split a grande cinnamon dolce frappuccino with Obama or a Bud Light with McCain.
Getting Mayor Nutter to name a honcho to push the plan? After a mild brotherly shove, he pointed me to Lori Shorr, his chief education officer. We met Friday morning at City Hall.
Before that meeting, I brushed up on my post-education education. After my Sept. 4 column I heard from students and educators about academic-rewards plans already in place.
So I took a pleasant drive to pleasant Mount Holly, in Burlington County, and sat down with Sandy Symczyk, the student-activities coordinator who runs the Renaissance Program at Rancocas Valley Regional High School.
Renaissance is a national program that rewards academic achievement and good attendance, service and behavior. Unlike my plan, students can earn benefits even if they're not top scholars. About half of Rancocas' 2,300 students are in the program at any time.
As with my plan, students get "credit" cards, starting with orange and topping out at gold.
The lowly orange card, which a student can earn by eliminating all failing grades and holding absences to six, rewards the student with a free cafeteria snack and a drawing for movie tickets.
The white card goes to students with all C's or better, no more than two absences and no discipline violations. Rewards include discounts at participating Renaissance stores, the free snack and school discounts.
Gold Card students have a near-A average, no unauthorized absences, plus participation in a school or community activity. The Gold Card gets them discounts, one homework "pass," freedom for seniors to leave the school for lunch and use of the card as a hall pass. "This is valuable, the kids love it," says Sym-czyk.
Then it was off to Tacony's Hamilton Disston elementary school, which has a rewards program called Disston Dragons. To give credit where due, the program was brought to the school in 1996 by health and phys-ed teacher Jack Angeny, who taught, and saw the program at work, in Glen Mills.
The Disston program stresses the Three R's - Respect, Responsibility, Reliability, Angeny says. About 200 of the school's 875 students - equally split among white, black and Hispanic - are currently Dragons.
GQ-handsome with a handshake that could crack walnuts, Angeny admits that the Dragons "are not all straight-A students, but they're pretty good kids."
With Dragon status comes a navy-blue Dragon shirt, a membership card, discounts, key chains, lapel pins and special trips, such as to see "The Lion King." It makes the good kids the cool kids.
The best thing about the Renaissance and Dragon programs is that any school can do them.
Shorr liked hearing about what was happening at other schools, and says that the city was "definitely" interested in my plan. "There's a lot of good feelings around a program like this," to honor "kids who work hard and are successful." She's asked the school district to run some numbers to figure out "the scale and scope."
Shorr has an idea about rewarding perfect attendance, because that's important, too. I agree, but fear what the military calls "mission creep." I suggested honoring only straight-A students because it is a manageable number, 642 last year. Design a plan, then do what engineers call "launch and learn." Get it running, correct any flaws, then expand it.
Always deadline-oriented, I ask Shorr if the plan could be running by the start of the next school year.
"I would say that is not unrealistic," she says.
That sounds like "yes" to me.
Again, I promise to stay on top of it.
E-mail stubyko@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5977. For recent columns: