DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit Public Schools Community District is putting brand new washers and dryers in all its schools in an effort to help get attendance numbers up.
Pershing High School was one of the first to pick out its very own laundry machine from General Electric.
“I have the opportunity to come to the school and wash my son’s clothes," Melania Willis said. “I do stay in an apartment and it’s hard for me sometimes to put money on the card because they close at a certain time.”
Hear more from Willis in the video player below:
Willis' son is a senior at the school. She is also a security guard there, making her close with many of the student.
“One student came to me like, 'I don’t have a washing machine at home. Do you mind if you take my clothes to the washing machine, you know, to the laundromat?' So, I took it and brought it back to her," Willis said.
She believes there is truly a need for washers and dryers at every Detroit school.
“There’s this one kid that they bully a lot. I guess he has issues with not having running water at home, so she comes to me every morning. I give him a rag, soap, and I tell him to go in the bathroom and wash up," Willis said.
Principal Bryant Tipton showed us the brand new washer and dryer. It is a major upgrade from the old equipment used for sports uniforms.
“We feed them, we clothe them, why not help them with washing their clothes?" Tipton said.
DPSCD Foundation President Kerrie Mitchell helped get the new machines for all the schools.
“It’s not every day that a company comes saying they want to do something great and do it for the entire district," Mitchell said.
She said it is an almost $300,000 partnership, including installation.
“Any deterrent, we want to make sure we meet the need because we know that it takes a village to support a student," Mitchell said.
New information from Michigan School Data on Friday shows the percentage of chronically absent students at DPSCD has gone down slightly. It went from 66.1% all of students in 2022 to 65.8% in 2023.
“It’s a good opportunity for every student. It’s not just one, it’s everybody," Willis said.
The opportunity for clean clothes at no cost is a small step toward a larger issue.
