During my visit to City As School in NYC last week, I discovered that an incredible group of teachers had come together to form the school’s very own “Payback Committee!” It was such a great idea - I knew I had to share it!

With just 3 weeks left until the Payback Challenge submission deadline on November 14, 2018, 8 high school teachers at City As School sought to encourage more students to participate in our scholarship contest by sweetening the deal!

They used school funding to plan a group luncheon for all students who write and submit an essay to a teacher, no matter if the essay is chosen for the final round of the contest or not! NGPF Fellow, Tony Montgomery, teaches at City As School and is a member of the Payback Committee. He told me that students will also receive swag bags full of goodies, in addition to the delicious catered lunch!

The committee has agreed to evenly split the work of reading all of the essay submissions and each member will submit one student essay to NGPF for consideration.  There are over $125,000 in cash prizes available with $500 going to Honorable Mention winners in every state and $5,000 going to 10 National Winners. 

I'm hoping this idea inspires more schools to create a culture of excitement around the Payback Challenge. Remember that there are only 3 weeks left to go! If you’re looking for support in implementing something similar at your school, or if you’d like to learn more about the contest (click for details), reach out to me at yanely@ngpf.org!

About the Author

Yanely Espinal

Born and raised by Dominican, immigrant parents in Brooklyn, Yanely is a proud product of NYC public schools. She graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in 2007 before going on to receive her bachelor's degree at Brown University in 2011. As a Teach For America corps member, Yanely taught third and fourth grade in Canarsie, Brooklyn. She received her master's degree from Relay Graduate School of Education in 2013. She spends her spare time making YouTube videos about personal finance on her channel, MissBeHelpful. Yanely also loves to dance, sew, paint, listen to podcasts, and babysit her 10 nieces and nephews!