What Happens When You Give Teens No-Strings Cash?
What Happens When You Give Teens No-Strings Cash? This story was produced by The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet focused on education. Kapri Clark used the $50 to help pay for her braces. Lyrik Grant saved half of it, and used the rest for dance classes. Kevin Jackson said he squandered the cash, on wings, ride shares for dates and some DJ equipment he later tossed. For the past five years, Clark, Grant, Jackson and hundreds of high schoolers in New Orleans have shopped — or saved — as part of a project to explore what happens if you give cash directly to young people, no strings attached. “That was the most helpful thing ever,” said Clark, now a student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who said she could still use that extra cash. The entrance to the Rooted School. Credit: Neal Morton / The Hechinger Report “The $50 study,” as it’s known, began at Rooted School , a local charter school, as an experiment to increase attendance. The study has since grown to e…
