Mashea Ashton, center, CEO and founder of Digital Pioneers Academy, stands with students Clifford White, left, and Fred McRoy. The students participate in a new initiative at the D.C. charter school that gives seniors weekly no-strings-attached cash payments. Photo by David Jacobs
Students earn as they learn financial literacy
$50 per week disbursements provide additional no-strings cash support
By Dr. Deborah Bailey
The AFRO
Digital Pioneers Academy Charter School in Washington, D.C., this fall launched the city’s first school-based, no-strings-attached direct financial support program for students, paying high school seniors $50 a week. The pilot, known as “The $50 Study,” is part of the school’s effort to reduce barriers that can prevent students from fully participating in academics and school life.
The public charter middle and high school, which opened in fall 2023, focuses on preparing underserved D.C. students for careers in computer- and science-based fields. As the city continues to grapple with the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, school leaders say the new program reflects their commitment to innovation and student-centered support.
A new approach to student needs
“The $50 Study” is a test of the vision of CEO and founder Mashea Ashton and her staff.
“At Digital Pioneers Academy, we believe in removing barriers that stand in the way of student success. That’s why we’re proud to partner with the Rooted Schools Foundation on ‘The $50 Study,’ a research-based initiative that has already shown results in New Orleans and Indianapolis,” Ashton said.
While Ashton’s comments reflect the schoolwide rationale, students participating in the initiative say the weekly support is already shaping their senior year.
“I think about it as an opportunity. I learned, like, how it is like a gift,” senior Jada Faulkner told News4, an NBC affiliate in Washington.
Jada said she has saved some of the money and shared it with her family.
“Recently, I had bought Thanksgiving food for my family. I kind of helped out a little bit. I used it on my senior pictures outfit. I gave some money to my siblings if they need it,” she told the TV station.
Another senior, Fred McRoy, said the extra cash helps him prepare for milestone moments.
“Right now I’m saving for senior pictures, senior trip … all the senior activities,” he told News4.
Forty seniors are participating in the initiative.
Where the idea originated
Direct cash support programs expanded during the pandemic, when low-wealth families experienced disproportionate death and illness along with higher unemployment, according to a 2022 report by the National Poor People’s Campaign. Many of these efforts were launched by local governments and nonprofits to support residents during widespread shutdowns.
“The $50 Study” began in 2022 with the Rooted Schools Foundation, which operates schools in New Orleans and several other cities. The foundation piloted the first version of the program at its New Orleans campus.
Talia Livneh, the foundation’s senior director of programs, led that study.
“We started ‘The $50 Study,’ direct cash transfer program in New Orleans with a small group of students who shared with us they were facing financial struggles, mostly due to the pandemic, that negatively influenced their ability to come to school consistently,” Livneh said.
“When we asked our students, they shared a number of complex and nuanced reasons for missing school. They offered substantive responses such as providing childcare [and] picking up extra shifts of work,” she said.
In 2024, the city of New Orleans awarded the foundation $1 million to continue the program.
What researchers found
A randomized controlled trial conducted by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income, examined two years of the New Orleans pilot.
According to the 2022 Cash Transfer Study Report, researchers found that students receiving payments experienced significant support in managing major household expenses such as rent, mortgage, gas, oil and electricity bills. Students in the treatment group also reported greater financial literacy, stronger financial stability and a shift in how they valued work.
How the D.C. pilot works
Before launching the program, Ashton and her staff issued an open call to seniors to gauge interest. Forty students were randomly selected to receive $50 each week for 40 weeks, with deposits going directly into designated bank accounts through the summer. Each student will collect $2,000 by the end of the trial.
The initiative is supported by Education Forward, a support organization for D.C. students. Parents and guardians will also participate.
Ashton said she hopes the project expands students’ financial confidence.
“We are going to double down on financial literacy so every scholar, not just those in the study, learns how to manage money and plan for the future,” she said.
This article originally appeared here