Dodge Helps Keep Kids in School By Giving Away a Dart

For a group of California high school students, it can pay to have a perfect attendance record. For the second consecutive year, family-owned Victorville Motors is running the “It’s a Gas to go to Class program, which, provided they haven’t missed any class, offers students the chance at a new Dodge Dart.

Students with a perfect attendance record are eligible to enter a raffle that takes place during a day-long festival in the spring. The top two prizes included in the raffle are two new Dodge Dart compact sedans.
dodge dart
Participating schools say the contest has already had a significant positive impact by boosting perfect attendance fourfold.This is significant because in California, state funding is partially decided by attendance records, which translates into fatter budgets to the tune of more than $1 million last year.

According to district superintendent Elvin Momon, last year perfect attendance leaped from about 15-20 students to several hundred. Six district with a total of 12 high schools are jumping in this year to participate in the program. Even students that don’t win one of the two Dodge Darts stand to win some sort of prize. Students with perfect records midway through the year can win smaller prizes like gift cards.

The program is paying off for the dealer as well. It reports having sold “over 50 vehicles on the program during the first year, mostly to educators who were delighted to see a local business helping out with its local schools,” Watts said.