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Shown with the school’s washer and dryer are (seated, from left) Sandra Hill, Lorraine Mallett, Herneika Johnson, Wealthy Huff and (standing, from left) school counselor Elaine Kyle, Gloria Johnson and Monica Cowson. |
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Pickett: Keep your hands off our washer and dryer
By: Journal Staff
The Toledo Journal
Originally posted 3/4/2008
They may have a critic, but nobody’s going to take away their wash, rinse and spin, volunteers at Pickett Elementary School say.
Community partners, PTO members and a Foster Grandparents program participant, along with the school’s administrators, emphatically told The Journal last week that they will continue to provide clean clothing to students who are embarrassed by soiled, stained or torn apparel or when their garments are too small.
The central city K-5 school since 2004 has used a washer and dryer, donated by Toledo Edison and operated by volunteers at Pickett, and have maintained a clothing closet.
''We know the parents. They parents know us. They know what we do,'' said Sandra Hill, vice president of the PTO.
''I believe in the community, as do the other ladies and the administration,'' she added. ''We work so close because we’re focusing on the children.
The volunteers assist in many other ways at Pickett, but one of their functions is to provide clothing – pants and shirts, but also socks, underwear, belts, coats, shoes and gloves – when children are obviously in need.
A child might have an accident on the way to the bathroom or vomit on himself. He might trip and fall in mud on the walk to school. She might arrive at school – as one little girl did recently – embarrassed to be wearing a top with a bleach stain and a rip in the fabric. Or some children might come to school in clothing that is simply too small for their growing bodies, and are embarrassed by it.
''Our main purpose is to make sure the children are comfortable and clean when they need it,'' said Monica Cowson, the PTO’s secretary. ''We can’t have a child here soiled wet.''
Pickett’s washer and dryer and its collection of donated clothing are a practical solution to a reality that people in other communities might not readily recognize. Many of its 391 students come from poor families who have difficulty replacing uniforms that become worn, torn, stained or too small as the children grow. The parents who are able to find employment can’t afford to leave their jobs to pick up children with soiled, stained or muddied clothing, and some risk being fired if they were to leave work, or even being called at work by the school.
Most importantly, volunteers say, the program keeps the children in the school, at their desks and hopefully learning the lessons they need to learn.
''What we try to do is offset that [lost time in the classroom],'' Ms. Hill said. ''This is community. Pickett is a community school so, therefore, we rally together.
''You send them home, they lose out how many hours of education?'' Ms. Hill added. ''This way, they remain here and they remain focused.''
Pickett Principal Keith Scott and Assistant Principal Herneika Johnson invited The Journal to the school last week after Twila Page, a member of the African American Parents Association, told Toledo Public Schools’ central administration that she was ''outraged'' by the clothes-washing program.
Also on hand to discuss the Pickett program were Gloria Johnson, a community partner; Wealthy Huff, a member of the Area Office on Aging’s Foster Grandparents program; and volunteer Lorraine Mallett.
''We’re here in the neighborhood,'' Gloria Johnson said. ''We see these kids. We know the parents. We talk to the parents. We know what’s going on. We’re acting like the parents.''
''And their families,'' Herneika Johnson said.
''That’s what communities do,'' Gloria Johnson added.
The AAPA’s Ms. Page, in a Feb. 27 e-mail to Superintendent John Foley and Chief of Staff Crystal Ellis, said there will be ''repercussions'' for the clothes program but mistakenly said teachers are washing the clothing.
''I am outraged!'' she wrote in her e-mail. ''What gives you the right to have children at Pickett take off their clothes to wash them in school. [sic] That is disgraceful! What message are you sending to these children. [sic] According to the teacher the message is that they stink.
''What will it take for you to respect black families? Here you have a school in academic emergency for years and the teachers are washing clothes? What kind of people are you to allow this type of behavior in the 21st century? And then you have a teacher brag about what they do (wash clothes) in a public forum?
''Expect National and Federal repercussions on this issue, because you have stepped over the line.''
Among the Pickett volunteers, Gloria Johnson seemed the most irritated by Ms. Page’s e-mail to administrators.
''Does she live in this neighborhood? Has she ever been to this school?'' she said.
''What is demeaning about being clean?'' the community partner continued. ''Can you explain that to me? Why would she even make that statement?''
Ms. Hill said she believes Ms. Page’s comments arose from a recent community meeting on a possible ''parental responsibility'' law, which would expose parents to court punishment for the actions of their children. At the meeting, sponsored by the Board of Community Relations, she said she had difficulty accepting that a parent whose is, perhaps, working the second or third shift should be automatically charged if his or her child breaks a law. She said that she spoke about the difficulties many parents face, and mentioned Pickett’s clothes-washing program as an example of how they can be helped.
''We’re here to help the children,'' said Foster Grandparent Ms. Huff, one of four AOA members who volunteer at Pickett. ''Sometimes children come to school that aren’t sufficiently dressed.
''Sometimes, when I change a child’s clothes and he has on better than what he had on when he came to school, it lifts his spirits up and I can see it.''
The volunteers don’t actually change the children’s clothing. They ask them their size, give them clothing from their collection of donated items, then have the children change clothes in a private place. The clothing the children had worn to school is washed, dried, folded and placed in a bag for the children to take home. They go home wearing the clothing provided by the Pickett volunteers, clothing they get to keep.
On some days no students need to have clothing washed or replaced, Assistant Principal Johnson said. On some days, as many as 10 to 12 children will need new clothing, she said.
She recalled a day, this winter, on a particularly cold morning, when a child arrived at school with no socks and no underwear.
''That child can get sick and die,'' she said.
The child was provided socks and underwear, and was discreetly provided a private place to put them on, she said.
Ms. Mallett, one of the community partners, objected to the notion that there is something humiliating about children being provided clean and necessary clothing. As did others, she said the children instantly feel better about themselves and are better able to concentrate on the day’s lessons rather than their apparel – or lack of it.
''Sometimes they will come back in here [the volunteer center] and ask you, ‘How do I look?’'' Ms. Mallett said. ''They feel good. They feel better. They’re ready to start their day.''
Ms. Hill also dismissed the humiliation argument.
''Kids aren’t stupid,'' she said. ''They know we care about them.''
The principal, Mr. Scott, said the AAPA’s Ms. Page was mistakenly objecting to a program that has been in place four years and is supported by Pickett’s staff, its volunteers and the neighborhood families.
''What it boils down to is Pickett Elementary School is a whole,'' Mr. Scott said. ''We’re here for the children. We’re not here for any outside groups. We’re here for the kids and giving them every opportunity to be as successful as possible.''
A longtime principal at Pickett and very familiar with the neighborhood it serves, he added, ''And if that means we have to do some laundry every now and then to keep a child in school, we’re going to do it to keep a child in school.''
Toledo Edison, Pickett’s ''Partner in Education,'' for many years has encouraged employees to donate to the school, particularly at Christmas time. The Edison employees, churches and community organizations donate clothing during the year, Herneika Johnson said.
Ms. Cowson noted, though, that the volunteers’ closet of clothing is ''pretty low right now.''
Perhaps the program’s biggest booster is one of Pickett’s own. Fifth-grade teacher Kimberly Hopkins last year was named the area Teacher of the Year by Wal-Mart. She received a $1,000 award along with the honor, and promptly donated the money to the school’s clothing program.
''It just was needed. The kids have a certain amount of things that they need to make them feel good, and uniforms are one,'' Ms. Hopkins said.
''If their uniforms aren’t clean or they don’t fit, and it makes them feel uncomfortable or it makes them feel, you know, inadequate, it’s always best to have them prepared for school in any way necessary.''
She could have spent the $1,000 on clothing for herself at Stein Mart, Elder Beerman or Dillard’s, the teacher was reminded.
Smiling in reply, Ms. Hopkins said, ''Oh, no, no, no. If I don’t do it, who’s going to do it? You’ve got to start with me – that’s how I see it.''
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