PRINCIPAL IS PAYING 8TH GRADERS NOT TO FIGHT

The principal of a Philadelphia elementary school in a violent corner of the city is paying eighth-graders to not fight. Mitchell Elementary School Principal Stephanie Andrewlevich developed the approach to manage behavior at her school. She says if all 33 eighth-graders make it to graduation with no physical violence, each child will get $100. The principal says the incentive is working. As of Friday, the Mitchell eighth-graders’ streak of peaceful days hit 70. By this point in the 2015-16 school year, nearly a quarter of the school’s eighth-graders had been suspended at least once. One student says not fighting feels natural now, and it’s no longer about the money. Principal Andrewlevich says she’ll put up the $3,300 herself, unless a sponsor emerges.
* “Hint, hint.”
* With physical violence banned, the kids have been getting real good at biting sarcasm.
* Hey…HEY!!! What’s the first rule about No Fighting Club? You don’t talk about No Fighting Club.
* Are the kids allowed to bargain? “Can I slug Devon for five bucks?”
* “$100 for no fighting? In that case, we want $500 for no knife-fights.”