Thanks to the D.C. Education Blog for pointing out a story we missed: about 2,000 District teens are getting paid to attend school this summer. The program, part of the new Bridge to School Success initiative, is designed to give students entering high school a chance to learn study and social skills that could help them be more successful and have a smoother transition from middle school.

But why pay them to attend? Dr. Robert Kight, the program’s director, explained to WTOP that they knew they would be in direct competition with the Department of Employment Services. By partnering with Employment Services to find money to pay students $5.15 an hour to attend summer school, the program’s first year enrollment numbers were surprisingly high. The majority of the salaries paid for the six-week program come directly from the department, and not from D.C. Schools.

Sure, there are arguments to be made that this is a waste of taxpayer money — we already foot the bill for public education, so actually paying kids a salary to attend seems excessive. A commenter on the D.C. Education Blog also wonders, “Don’t we want kids [to] be at school as learners, not earners?” Sure, in a perfect world. But to us, this seems like a pretty brilliant plan. Considering the recent rash of crimes perpetrated by youthful offenders on their summer break in the city, paying minimum wage to teens who could use a little extra incentive to spend some time learning how to be better students hardly seems like a high price. Especially when on its surface these new programs appear to be specifically designed to affect a child’s future success over the long term, it’s probably a pretty solid investment.