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Clay County high school students awarded cash incentive for good grades in AP classes

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Students in Clay County are being paid to get good grades.

The cash incentive is a push for students to prepare for college.

Enrolling in Advanced Placement classes in Clay County high schools has become even sweeter.

"I’ve enjoyed seeing the look on their face," Clay County Schools director of academic support services Michael Wingate said.

Not only can students receive college credit, but they can also earn money.

Wingate said this incentive is provided by a grant from the National Math and Science Initiative, an organization that funds college preparatory programs.

"We want students to challenge themselves to take more rigorous classes, to take those accelerated classes like AP," Wingate said.

NMSI has provided the district about $4 million to be used during the course of three years to entice students and teachers.

All that money isn't used for rewards on scores. The grant covers a significant amount of teacher training, new material to enhance lesson plans and student study sessions on the weekends.

"It’s so nice to see several hundred kids show up on a Saturday to review for an AP test that is coming up," Wingate said.

Recently, about 80 students received checks for passing their Advanced Placement courses.

Each student is awarded $100 for each AP class they complete with a GPA of 3.0 or above. Each AP teacher earns $100 for every student who passes the AP exam in the areas of math, science, and English.

One of the reasons Clay County Schools was selected for this grant is because the district has a high proportion of students with parents or guardians in active military service.