App allows metro Atlanta students to cash in on good grades
Kids excited about earning rewards for good grades
Students can get scholarship money to go to college or private school, but now young people can earn gift cards to Publix, Chick-fil-A, Target, and even Chuck E. Cheese, so long as they consistently get good grades. And we're not just talking $5 or $10 gift cards.
ATLANTA - There's a program out there paying students for their hard work at school. The incentive may sound too good to be true, but FOX 5 Atlanta met a student who says he and his friends have been cashing in $50, sometimes even $60 at a time.
School districts across metro Atlanta have a partnership with an Atlanta-based app called "Schoolconomy."
Students upload good grades into the system to earn points, and those points can be traded in for gift cards to just about anywhere. A's are worth 4,000 points and B's are worth 3,000. About 10 A's can earn a kid $10 to stores like Publix or Target.
Schoolconomy App (Supplied)
When seven-year-old Immanuel found out about the app, he lost it.
"I was like ‘Whoa!’ If I can get money for my good grades, I'll be rich," Immanuel told FOX 5 reporter Alex Whittler.
In an already tight economy, parents are welcoming the extra cash. Especially after seeing the tangible rewards boost their child's confidence.
Since August, the app has grown from 800 active students to more than 5,000. So far, Schoolconomy has given out more than $1,200 in rewards.
Immanuel says his report card bought him "a real good time," at Chuck E. Cheese, and he still had enough leftover for a gift card to Chick-fil-A.
The way it works is districts, like Clayton and Fulton County Schools, buy in to the app to make it accessible to their students. Kids under 12 must have a parent upload their scores – final test grades as well as daily assignments count. Once the points roll in, students can choose their prizes.
Schoolconomy Founder and CEO Regnault Sanders told FOX 5 the idea is to "game-ify" school, incentivizing students and boosting their scores.
The office of the startup is at Kennesaw State University, Sanders' alma mater.