Story Archive

Cleaning Up Our Schools

Akbar Cook, principal of West Side High School in Newark, N.J., had a problem with attendance — 85 percent of his students were chronically absent. He discovered one cause when one of his students screamed and fought with the school security officer trying to check her bag. “The police later told me she had dirty clothes in her bag because she was homeless and didn’t want anyone to know,” Cook said. “She was fighting for her pride.” Students who couldn’t afford to wash their clothes were being bullied. “I even changed the school uniform to darker colors so they could go more days without cleaning them,” Cook said, “but even with that, students were struggling to have them look clean enough to attend.” Thanks to a $20,000 grant, Cook has converted an old locker room into a laundry room available to students free of charge. “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.” (MS/CNN) ...Students learn more when you fight for them instead of against them.