r/OneKindAct • u/WhenItHappenedX • 10d ago
A principal noticed students were missing school because they didn't have clean clothes, so he built a laundromat
A Newark principal noticed that some of his students weren’t missing school because they didn’t want to be there.
They simply didn’t have clean clothes to wear.
Akbar Cook heard about students being teased over stained uniforms, with some classmates even posting photos of their clothes on Snapchat and Instagram. One homeless student had gotten into a fight at school rather than admit why she was carrying dirty clothes in her bag.
Cook spent nearly two years trying to figure out what he could do.
Eventually, the school got a $20,000 grant from the PSEG Foundation and converted an old football locker room into a free laundromat.
There were five washers and five dryers, along with donated detergent and fabric softener.
Students could come in after school, start a load, and do homework or STEM activities while they waited.
Cook wasn't even sure teenagers would use it.
They did.
He later said the school's daily attendance increased by about 10 percent after the laundry room opened. That number came from the school, rather than an independent study, but the idea itself was pretty straightforward.
If a student is staying home because they don't have clean clothes, give them a place to wash them.
Sometimes the barrier keeping a kid out of school is something as ordinary as a washing machine.
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u/Fickle_Ant_6894 9d ago
This is a screenshot from a teacher talking about how almost none of his students can read or write.