Self Esteem Program Ideas (Sorry Long)

To address only one part of your questions (what can students do with the money that doesn't involve buying stuff first?)...

I have a 9th grader, so he was 8th grade last year. :)
The most valuable thing to my child is time. Really. He wants to be in charge of his own time. Really, who wouldn't? Isn't that WHY we work? So we can have leisure time? Well... I could go off on a Lutheran bent about vocation and working to serve your neighbor... but our selfish natures really work because we don't want to work. Get it? We work to stock up on leisure time.

So... can you let them buy leisure time? Extra lunch? Early release? 3 minutes gratis at the beginning of class? Free pass on a homework assignment of their choice (buys time at home)? I am not sure how that would work within the bounds of the rest of their curriculum, but TIME is what would appeal to my child. Autonomy regarding the use of time.

What about this:

1. Ask around about partnering with a local business (or businesses) that would provide matching funds.

2. Have the kids vote on a charity to support. Everything the kids earn is a dollar toward that charity. Your partner business pays.

3. At the end of the year, there's an award ceremony. The top three earners get prizes donated by partner businesses, but everybody wins because everybody is supporting the charity.

You'd have to scout around for a partner business or three, but this kind of thing is very popular with business owners because it's the best publicity they can get. If they want to put a cap on their donations, have the kids earn a quarter, not a dollar, for every class attended / assignment completed.

There are similar things done in other schools.

In my son's school the kids earn Hawk Bucks (hawk is the school emblem) and at the end of the year there is an auction where the kids bid on items that were donated by parents.
Some kids build up a lot of 'cash' while others hardly have any.

I don't think any of the teachers hand out 'you're fired' because it sounds so finite and they want to encourage participation rather than dismissal / dropping out even if it's symbolic.
Kids WANT to participate in the auction - they have blast! - kids talk about it from grade to grade - and the things that are donated are just about anything - some cheap toys, small Lego sets, boxes of cookies, silly string, 7-11 gift cards, things from the dollar store.

One time we had a grant and our 9 th graders did what was called a Strengths assessment. All the teachers did too. Your counselor may know what I am talking about. The teachers still give their strengths after their names on their emails e.g. Mrs White, empathy, competition, ect.

Also when my youngest was in middle school he went along with us to tour college campuses for the oldest. In Texas, public colleges have the top ten rule giving the top ten percent of the graduating class automatic acceptance. It was probably the single most motivating factor for his good grades than anything I said before or after. Do with that info the best you can, but having a college week for different speakers would be great. The weeks before you could contact the colleges and ask for emblem trinkets/bumper stickers for your treasure box.

Perhaps they could buy gift cards at the end of the class with the 'money'. My daughter's orthodontist does that. My daughter earns 'coins' for different things- keeping her braces clean, keeping her hardware functional, etc. Then after her braces come off, she can trade all of the coins she has earned for gift cards.

That's considering you have a way to acquire gift cards- donations, etc.? Just a thought.

I submitted something similar & got shot down, but I was going to have them spend the money at the scholastic book fair our school has every year. Hope this helps.