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Nearly 84% of Detroit district high schoolers were paid for coming to school this year, with far more students in neighborhood schools receiving the payout.
Roughly 12,800 Detroit Public School Community District students received at least one $100 Visa gift card for showing up to each class every school day in five-day cycles from Jan. 5 through March 20, according to the district. The district has 15,247 students enrolled across 26 high schools in the district. Students could earn up to $1,000 total.
The chronic absenteeism rate for the district’s high schoolers decreased by 10 percentage points this school year compared to 2023-24, before the incentive began. This year’s rate was 54% by the end of April compared to 64% in 2023-24, according to DPSCD.
The program began last year as part of the district’s ongoing campaign to curb chronic absenteeism, which is defined as a student missing 10% or more of days in a school year. That’s 18 days of instruction in a typical 180-day school year.
Schools in Detroit and other communities like it have long struggled with kids missing too much school due to systemic issues, such as poverty. Though DPSCD had a chronic absenteeism rate of 60.9% in 2024-25, the district has outpaced the rest of the state in reducing rates since the COVID pandemic.
More students were eligible for the attendance incentive this year in part because eligibility was calculated in one-week cycles, Superintendent Nikoali Vitti said at an April board committee meeting. Last year, students had to have perfect attendance in two-week cycles to receive the money.
DPSCD data shows the incentive reached far more students attending neighborhood high schools, compared to last year when the majority who received the money went to students at application or exam schools.
“That was something that was a challenge last year that definitely improved this year,” Vitti said.
For example, only 16% of students at Pershing High School got the incentive at least once in 2024-25. More than 62% of the school did in 2025-26.
Data shows the program largely supported students who already had good attendance, however, and those who were at risk of becoming chronically absent.
“It’s still not at scale getting at those students that are dramatically absent,” said Vitti.
DPSCD defines dramatic chronic absence as missing 45 days or more of school.
The district’s data tracks with what studies on attendance incentives suggest: Such programs do not address demotivating factors like unsafe routes to school.
Still, Vitti said the incentive has been a success overall in improving high school attendance.
“I think it’s also creating greater advocacy among their students themselves,” he said, adding that students are making sure their attendance data is correct and following up with their teachers, principals, and the superintendent.
The district recommended the program expand to include middle school students next school year in a budget proposal presented to the board last month. If the board votes to adopt the idea, students in grades 6-8 would get $50 for each week of perfect attendance January through March.
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.