Grassy Pond Elementary School gifted and talented students work on metric system problems Wednesday for teacher Charlene Key, who received 1,244 calls on her Roll Call extension in September. She received $50 from The Gaffney Ledger for having the most popular extension on the automated school information service. Extra credit can be a powerful incentive, especially when it can help a teacher get more supplies for their classroom.

Grassy Pond Elementary teacher Charlene Key awarded 300 extra credit points in September to eight students in her gifted and talented classes. The students earned the additional points by correctly answering science questions.

Every day students dialed Key's extension number on "Roll Call," an automated school information service operated by The Gaffney Ledger. The teacher would provide the details necessary to solve challenging problems based around a yearlong study into the scientific process.

"This group of students faithfully calls every day," Key said. "It's a great way for them to continue their learning at home."

Key was one of two Grassy Pond Elementary students who received more than 1,000 calls on their "Roll Call" extension lines in September. Key received 1,244 calls. Third grade teacher Terri Bridges had 1,185 calls.

The Gaffney Ledger gives a $50 cash prize to the teacher whose extension number receives the most calls each month. It is an incentive any county teacher can earn.

At $450 annually, this can amount to significant money that teachers could use for extra classroom supplies.

Overall, The Gaffney Ledger received a total of 4,899 calls in September.

"Roll Call" is part of NewsTalk24, a voice information system operated by EduCom Services Inc. in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Ohio. The Gaffney Ledger had the third highest volume of traffic on "Roll Call" last month.

Sponsorship by local businesses allows the Gaffney Ledger to provide the Roll Call service to all Cherokee County teachers and students. This gives schools another way to keep parents informed about what is happening in their schools.

And a few extra credit points never hurts. Just ask Grassy Pond Elementary students in Key's class.