Rising Charter School’s $100 bribe to students falls short

by David Safier

When Ann-Eve Pedersen's son left school one day, he was handed a flier promising him $100 if he enrolled in Rising School, a charter scheduled to open this school year. Someone was handing the fliers out to all the students leaving school, but not to parents waiting in cars to pick up their kids.I guess you could call that direct marketing, the equivalent of saying, "Hey kids, drop a box of Sugar Bomb cereal in your mom's shopping cart when she's not looking. There's a free prize inside!"

It looks like the come-on didn't work. The school is postponing its opening until 2014, one reason being, not enough students enrolled.

Here's what the charter's website said about the $100 bribe performance incentive for good school work and attendance.

Earn $100! Any student who enrolls in The Rising School by August 5, 2013, spends the entire 2013-14 year at TRS, and finishes the year with 95% or higher attendance and a 3 or higher Civic Score will earn $100! Tell your friends about this opportunity, too!

I couldn't find that gimmick on the current website. Maybe I missed it. More likely, Dr. George Rising — I'm not making up the name, he actually named the The Rising School ("RISING TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS") after himself — thought his tactic of bribing students to sign up was a little crass, and ineffective. We'll see if he uses a different pitch for the 2014 school year.