Grade incentive programs inspire students to improve academically
Southwest High School’s grade incentives program offers students, tablets, gift certificates, Bluetooth speakers, and touchscreen Chromebooks to reward students for their hard work.
Students who earn a 3.5 or better grade point average are entered in the Principal’s Honor Roll drawing, and students who improve their GPA over the course of the semester are entered into the GPA Improvement drawing.
Mickaelle Bonfils-Roncal is the assistant principal in charge of curriculum and scheduling at Southwest. She’s responsible for both the grade incentives programs as well as putting the students in a raffle so that they can be rewarded for their achievements.
“We decided to do this to encourage students to do well academically and to support the students’ effort — the students who work really well and hard for their grades. I hope we will motivate students by promoting the programs, involving ASB, and having good prizes for the students,” Bonfils-Roncal said.
Funds were allocated for prizes through the Local Control and Accountability Plan to promote students’ academic success, she said.
Both programs are new to Southwest, introduced in the 2019-2020 school year. Some students had no idea the programs existed.
Daniela Treviño, a 15- year- old sophomore, said this was her first time hearing about either of the programs.
“Honestly, I had no clue that those programs existed. But now that I know about the programs, it makes me actually want to try because I want to earn one of those prizes,” Treviño said.
She added she felt motivated to become a better student after hearing about the GPA Improvement Program.
“I’ve never been the perfect student, so this actually reminds me that I’m not the most proud about my current grades. But this was the motivator that I needed to accomplish my goal of becoming a better student,” Treviño said.
Some students that have worked hard for their high GPA found the new incentives programs as exciting as the students who struggle with their school work and share their main motivation.
Sofia Bustamante, an 18- year- old senior, said how thrilled she felt after hearing about the new incentives programs.
“This is the first year ever that Southwest has done this type of program. Therefore, it makes me really excited as a senior because I might get rewarded for my hard work in my last year of high school,” Bustamante said.
And Bustamante was rewarded. She won a Chromebook in the Principal’s Honor Roll drawing.
Then again, not every student needs a chance at a prize to stay motivated. Taylor Tucker, a 15-yearold sophomore, said her main motivation to keep her GPA above a 3.0 is not prizes, but for her family.
“My main motivation to keep a high GPA is making my parents proud,” Tucker said. “My parents are the ones that motivate me to keep going and to never give up. That’s why everything I do is for them, to make them proud of my achievements.”