Detroit’s public-school district paid about 12,800 high schoolers $100 gift cards for perfect weekly attendance from Jan. 5–Mar. 20, allowing students to earn up to $1,000. The district reports a 10-point drop in high school chronic absenteeism to 54% by the end of April. Moving eligibility to one-week cycles broadened participation, especially at neighborhood schools, though the program has not reached students missing 45+ days. The district is proposing a $50-per-week middle school pilot next year.
Detroit Paid High School Students Up to $1,000 for Perfect Attendance — Absenteeism Fell 10 Points
Nearly 84% of Detroit Public School Community District (DPSCD) high school students received cash incentives for perfect attendance this year, a program district leaders say helped reduce chronic absenteeism.
How the Program Worked
From Jan. 5 through March 20, roughly 12,800 high school students — out of 15,247 enrolled across 26 district high schools — received at least one $100 Visa gift card after maintaining perfect attendance for each class during five-day (one-week) cycles. Under the program, students could earn up to $1,000 in total.
Impact On Absenteeism
DPSCD reports a 10-percentage-point drop in the district’s high school chronic absenteeism rate compared with 2023–24: the rate fell to 54% by the end of April from 64% the previous year. The district defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of school days (about 18 days in a 180-day year).
Who Benefited Most
Changing eligibility from two-week cycles last year to one-week cycles this year increased the number of qualifying students, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told a school board committee in April. The program reached a much larger share of students at neighborhood high schools this year, rather than primarily students at application or exam schools as in 2024–25.
For example, only 16% of Pershing High School students received the incentive at least once in 2024–25; in 2025–26 more than 62% did.
Limits And Context
District data and outside research indicate the payments mainly supported students who already had reasonably good attendance and those at risk of becoming chronically absent. The program has had limited reach among students the district calls "dramatically chronically absent" (those missing 45 or more days).
“It’s still not at scale getting at those students that are dramatically absent,” Vitti said.
Experts caution that attendance incentives do not solve deeper, structural barriers to school attendance — for example, poverty, unsafe routes to school, housing instability, or health challenges.
Next Steps
In a recent budget proposal, DPSCD recommended expanding the incentive to middle school students for the next school year: if approved by the board, students in grades 6–8 would receive $50 per week for perfect attendance from January through March.
Note: This article was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for Chalkbeat newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
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