SCHOOLS USE CAR, LIMOUSINE RIDE, GIFTS AS ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE

Some high school students in the area can win a car for three months, a ride in a limousine, stereo equipment, pizzas or a chance to opt out of final exams.

All they have to do is attend class.

The prizes are ways in which some schools are encouraging perfect attendance among their students.

The plan seems to be working, both in increased attendance and in a district's bottom line.

Last year, East Prairie had attendance averaging 87 percent. This year, the numbers are fluctuating between 95 and 98 percent.

Public schools in Missouri and Illinois receive state money based in part on daily attendance figures. The more students attend, the more money schools earn.

East Prairie guidance counselor Don Shaner said that some parents don't push their students to come to school.

Thus, he said,"We have to lure them in."

"Some people say we are spending money foolishly," Shaner said. "But it costs us about $10 every day a kid's out. That adds up."

Charleston High School Principal Joe Forrest agreed that keeping students in school affects the bottom line.

"We have a hard time getting them here," he said.

That is where the new programs come into play.

Shaner said group peer pressure can work wonders in making students attend class.

East Prairie offers students with perfect attendance a chance to win a limousine ride to school for students who don't miss classes for 20 days.

Classic Limousine from Metropolis, Ill., supplies the limousine. Six junior high school and six senior high school students win a ride every 20 days.

Prizes are given to those not quite making perfect attendance. For those at 95 percent attendance receive a variety of prizes, while students with 90 percent attendance receive certificates.

Prizes range from movie tickets to field trips for career exploration.

Students at Cape Girardeau Central High who have perfect attendance, no discipline problems and a C grade or higher may opt not to take the semester final exam. Students, however, can take the test to try to raise their grade.

Principal Dan Tallent said a new student advisory committee came up with the idea. He sees the program as recognition for good work.

"These kids are coming to school every day and making good grades," he said. "I don't think they will become good students because of some reward."

But it might be just the incentive students need to keep up the good work.

Every two weeks Charleston High School students with perfect attendance enter a drawing for free pizzas.

At the end of each academic quarter, all students who have perfect discipline records and up to one absence and one tardy are given a two-hour party in the gym with music, popcorn and soda.

Shawnee Junior-Senior High School in Illinois has teamed with Wallace Motors of Carbondale and Stereo One of Carbondale and Cape Girardeau in a project.

Shawnee Principal John Phillippe said students attending school earn chances to win use of a vehicle for no cost for three months. The price of lease, insurance and maintenance is covered. Students pay for gas.

Or students can choose $1,000 in car stereo equipment, which is theirs to keep.

Those with perfect attendance for the entire semester get three chances to win. Those who miss one or two days get two chances; those who miss three days have one chance.

Winner takes all.

Principals agree students should come to school, but some need a little extra incentive to drag them out of bed when they don't feel 100 percent.

"It's a pretty foreign issue for teen-agers," Phillippe said. "We who work understand that you must get up and go to work.

"We hope to cause kids to see high school more as their job and less as an extension of elementary school."

A bonus at Shawnee has been a new interest in the school, the principal said. School officials from thousands of miles away have called to ask how the program works.

Students from neighboring schools are jealous, and teachers at Shawnee are interested in joining the drawing.