A Detroit businessman is offering D.C. students cash in exchange for perfect attendance.
Abner McWhorter III, chief executive officer of Detroit real estate firm Paramount Land Holding, said he will award $4,000 college or trade school scholarships to students completing all four years of high school without missing a day.
“Our thought is to give students at least one more incentive to stay in school,” McWhorter said, citing poor attendance and high dropout rates in the city’s public schools.
McWhorter, 39, established the “Show Up to Blow Up” scholarship program in Detroit in 2008. Now, he is extending the incentive to the D.C. Public Schools and Oakland, Calif., Unified school districts.
“Students are often recognized for good grades and top honors, but few are rewarded for one of the most basic building blocks of success — showing up every single day,” he said. “I want to honor that important accomplishment.”
McWhorter chose to expand his program to the District partly because he backs D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and her actions to reform the District’s public schools.
“[Chancellor Rhee] has made a lot of progressive improvements in the school system, and Mr. McWhorter’s looking to support those efforts,” said Linda Jones, a spokeswoman for McWhorter.
The Detroit businessman said his scholarship is based only on attendance — not grades or test scores — because he believes that students should be rewarded for dedication as well as achievement.
“There’s a ton of scholarships for kids that have great SAT scores or A’s and B’s, but what about the kid that has a C or D average but really wants to go to school and wants to learn?” McWhorter said. “I think this is a great way to recognize kids that have the right attitude, if not the right aptitude.”
Detroit’s public school system is consistently rated among the worst in the nation, and McWhorter — a product of Detroit Public Schools — has handed out nine student scholarships since founding the program.
He said he hopes to hand out at least 10 scholarships in both the District and Oakland next year.
