Detroit public schools are turning to the latest weapon to combat chronic absenteeism: washing machines

Big payouts, ice cream, short vacations and – washing machines?

Because chronic absenteeism remains a major problem even after the pandemic, schools are offering incentives for their children to come to class. The latter—which is currently evident in Detroit public schools—may sound a bit unconventional without context.

“I have the opportunity to come to school and wash my son's clothes,” Melania Willis, a mother whose son is a senior at a local high school where she works as a security guard, told WXYZ-TV in The Motor City.

“I live in an apartment and sometimes I have a hard time loading money onto the card because they close at a certain time,” she added.

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Thanks to the help of Kerrie Mitchell, president of the Detroit Public Schools Foundation, charitable donations and an investment from GE Appliances, the machines found their way into local schools.

Willis said installing the washers and dryers will help children from less privileged households, including one that has no running water at home and is regularly bullied.

Although it is not clear if she was referring to the same student, she mentioned that a student who does not have a washing machine at home comes to her and often asks her to take her clothes to the washing machine.

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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many classrooms have been empty as some districts struggle to get students back in class. (Getty Images)

“A student came to me and said, 'I don't have a washing machine at home. Do you mind if you take my clothes to the washing machine or the laundromat?' So I took them and brought them back to her,” she recalls.

In another case, Janine Scott, a teacher at Davis Aerospace Technical High School, said she noticed that one student whose hygiene she felt was poor actually only needed to have his hoodie washed, but the problem also exists for other students, especially younger age groups.

Older age groups reportedly avoid embarrassment by either finding ways to mask the smell or staying away from class altogether.

Detroit's public schools are hard hit by the epidemic of chronic absenteeism: According to education website Chalkbeat, two-thirds of students fall into the category of those who miss at least 10 percent of the school year.

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The same report states that the devices have now been installed in more than half of the district's 108 schools.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts across the U.S. have struggled to get children back in classrooms. Some have taken measures to bring them back.

Ohio lawmakers floated the idea of ​​offering attendance bonuses to motivate children to stay in class and beyond graduation, but the bill ultimately failed to advance.

According to Chalkbeat, some schools in Rhode Island rewarded good attendance with rewards such as ice cream parties and extra recess.

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