When Students Were Bu-llied Because Of Dirty Clothes, A Principal Installed A Free Laundromat At School – Video

The teenage girl screamed and fo-ught with the school security officer when he tried to check her bag. “The po-lice later told me she had dirty clothes in her bag because she was homeless and didn’t want anyone to know,” Akbar Cook, the principal of West Side High School in Newark, New Jersey, told CNN.

“She was fi-ghting for her pride.” Cook said many students at West Side faced humiliation because they didn’t have anything clean to wear. So when school starts September 4, there will be a new facility in the building: a free laundromat. Students pick out their favorite detergent in the new laundry room.

Shame keeps students away

Kids who could not afford to wash their clothes faced intense teasing when they showed up in dirty outfits. Classmates sometimes snapped photos and tagged the students on social media. “I’ve seen a few kids in the back of the class talk about one of the people in front of the class and how they smelled and how their clothes looked dirty,” student Nasirr Cameron told CNN affiliate WCBS.

Cook heard the students talking, too. He saw the posts and quickly suspected that the bu-llying was a top reason why 85% of his students chronically missed school.

“These are kids, good kids who want to learn, that are missing three to five days a month because they were being bu-llied because they were dirty,” Cook explained to CNN. “I even changed the school uniform to darker colors so they could go more days without cleaning them, but even with that, students were struggling to have them look clean enough to attend.” So two years ago, the principal applied for a grant from a foundation associated with one of Newark’s main utility companies, PSE&G. He received $20,000 to turn an old football locker room into a school laundromat.

A clean start to the school year

The renovations are now complete. The room has five washers, five dryers and a growing stock of detergent donated from around the country. Student Rah-Asia Marrow stocks the shelves with donated laundry detergent for the student laundromat at West Side High School. “As the story has spread, we have been receiving packages of detergent at the school and through our Amazon wish list page,” Nicole Daniel, the school’s operating assistant, told CNN.

School social worker Jamila Hammond told WCBS it feels good to know that they can help students who wanted to go to school but felt disgraced by their clothing. “Many times the students may come in because they’re embarrassed, they don’t look the same, somebody’s complaining about a body odor. I would say, ‘OK, baby, then we’re going to have to do it the old way.’ We have soap, we have water. But now with this laundry room we don’t have to do that,” Daniel said.

The room is open to students free of charge between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. An adult supervisor keeps an eye out during those hours and helps pass on the important life skill of being self-reliant; one scoop of detergent and one measure of dignity at a time. Principal Akbar Cook poses with a few of the graduating students of the West Side High School class. “We are trying to teach them to navigate their pride,” Cook said. “My kids are fighters they just need good ways to fight for themselves, and then take pride in what they can do.”

Comments:

Lauren – What a cool idea! I remember a couple kids from school that smelled odd or didn’t have on clean clothes. It never occurred to me that maybe they didn’t have a way to clean their clothes.

Sandra – Such a generous n thoughtful principal. I remember when my mom used to make me hand wash my clothes when I was in junior high because I guess we didn’t have enough money for the launder place

Sherry – Great idea. They should do this in more inner city schools. My husband felt so bad for One boy in his class. He brought his clothes home and washed them He and another teacher bought him some too. School helped family find support and housing. Kids should have access to food and be able to clean themselves and their belongings

Katie – Jesus Christ some of you guys are heartless. Instead of blaming the parents or the kids, maybe think about the fact they may come from extremely poor households and don’t have a washer and dryer and can’t afford to go to a laundromat all the time.

They’re expensive! Have a little sympathy and be happy these kids have access to clean clothes. It’s something most of us take for granted.

Kelly – I was once part of a team that helped put together a book full of students’ stories. One of the teachers shared how taken back she was after asking one of the students what’d he’d do with the money he’d won, his response, “buy detergent.” We live in a nation/world where many go without the things most think of as the bare minimum. I hope we can all be more compassionate and take steps like this principal has taken because it benefits everyone.

Source: edition.cnn.com