The first half of the school year proved profitable for Monroe County School District Information Technology students. MCSD students earned over $34,000 in cash incentives from Monroe Compute$ for completing IT industry certifications during the first and second quarter of the school year — tripling last year’s first semester total of $11,000.
The district’s middle schools lead the way, with over 500 certifications in Digital Literacy programs, such as ICT and IC3 Digital Tools.
“Our students continue to have great success in their information technology and computer science courses,” said Superintendent Theresa Axford. “The incentives provided by Monroe Compute$ continue to inspire our students to set and achieve lofty academic goals.”
Monroe Compute$ has provided the incentives, which range from $50 to $500 depending on the difficulty of the certification exam, for seven years. Monroe Compute$ also grants students $250 awards for passing advanced placement computer science end-of-course exams. The foundation recently switched from checks to Visa gift cards to insure that students had immediate access to their prizes.
Monroe Compute$ has pledged over $100,000 in incentives to students earning CompTIA, Adobe, Autodesk, QuickBooks, and Digital Literacy certifications in grades 4-12.
“Students can earn an unlimited number of incentives and are encouraged to earn as many as possible,” said John Padget, co-founder of the Golden Fleece Foundation. The foundation funds Monroe Compute$ as well as Monroe Skill$, which awards incentives for students earning industry certifications in non-IT career and technical education courses.
