KarunaNews Story

Forty-seven Rooted School students in New Orleans are taking part in a study which provides $50 a week for 40 weeks and is helping teenagers do better in school. Since 2022, the study has included 470 participants, with 173 receiving the payments across three schools in New Orleans and Indianapolis. The participating students have better attendance and earn more credits and higher GPAs. Next year, it will expand to 1,600 New Orleans high school seniors, with funding from the city’s “Economic Mobility in Motion Initiative.” Jonathan Johnson, founder of the Rooted School Foundation, says it is looking to expand the study to other parts of the US in the next few years.