Many factors can contribute to a child ’s chronic absence seizure from school , from problem at dwelling house to anxiety about schoolhouse itself . To undertake this complicated issuance , some shoal are using an unexpected scheme : They ’ve put in on - campus laundry machine that are free for all student .
By the end of this year , Whirlpool will have donated washers and dryers to dozens of schools with pitiful attendance numbers since launching theCare Countsprogram in 2015,Fast Companyreports . The schools that Whirlpool selects are often locate in low - income neighborhoods where throwing a soiled school uniform into the washing machine after coming home is n’t an option for many student . Without accession to laundry facility where they dwell , some kids choose to skip class rather than go to school in their unwashed clothes .
But when washing machines are made available to child at school , the effect are clear . The first year the Care Counts program was implemented in school day in St. Louis , Missouri , and Fairfield , California , mean attendance rate rose by two days per chronically abstracted scholarly person . On top of that , teachers see a 95 percent boost in class and extracurricular engagement from scholar who ’d antecedently missed more than 10 school days a year . And there ’s no need for schools to worry about the machine posing a distraction : Laundry is washed either by parents or shoal staff member and returned before the final bell . Each student who participates has around 50 incumbrance of washables moisten at shoal in a class .
After finding succeeder with the plan in over 35 schools in six cities , Whirlpool is teaming up withTeach for Americato bring in it to 60 more schools in 10 metropolis across the U.S. About 1000 schools have expressed involvement in receive laundry appliances of their own , and Whirlpool hopes to eventually make that happen by gradually increasing their reach .
Care Counts is n’t the only syllabus with the mission of contribute nipper the basics they may not bump at dwelling . Some school , likeWashington Highin Washington , North Carolina , extend loose pantries that pupil can visit discreetly . The organizationCatie ’s Closetprovides a like imagination , but with free wearing apparel instead of food . Looking for your own direction to help kid who are struggling ? Call a school in your biotic community to see if there are anylunch debtsyou can help pay off .
[ h / tFast Company ]
