Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Public schools don’t have a funding problem; they have a focus problem

Recently, my school district was given a generous donation of washers and dryers to serve students in nearly every school. While I applaud the generosity of the donor, I don't celebrate this initiative with much enthusiasm, and it’s not because I want children wearing dirty clothes to school.

When schools attempt to meet students' every physical, emotional, psychological, and academic need, they fail to meet any of them well. It’s understandable to want to provide everything they lack, but it’s not the school's responsibility, role, or purpose. This particular school district has struggled since the first day of school to provide consistent transportation for the nearly 100,000 students who attend due to a lack of bus drivers. The lack of bus drivers directly results from the “Restorative Justice” policies the district adopted several years ago. These policies remove consequences from students and eliminate authority from the adults in charge. Restorative justice, like many other educational initiatives, sounds like the kind, compassionate way to go. In reality, it creates chaos and disorder in schools and on buses, putting innocent students and adults in danger.

This year alone, several weapons were found on school property brought on campus by students. One gun was even found in the backpack of an elementary student. The district voted to install weapons detection systems in schools, but most are still sitting uninstalled and unused in school buildings. If parents were asked today if they want washing machines or weapon detectors, they would likely choose the latter.

Of course, weapons detectors and discipline policies only become a factor if students are able to get to school. The district, now celebrating the ability to do laundry for students, had to close school for the first few days of school this year because of transportation issues. Hundreds of students have been stranded at bus stops, hours late arriving to class or stuck at school for hours every day since the beginning of the school year. While some families lack easy access to washing machines, there are likely more who lack transportation to get their children to school. The district’s “Every Day Counts” campaign has fallen to the wayside as other matters have taken precedence. I reiterate that it would be wonderful to offer helpful services or connect families with the community centers that provide those services. Still, the school's main objective and purpose is to teach academic skills that will enable students to grow into independent, responsible citizens who don’t depend on government services indefinitely.

Speaking of academics, the percentage of 8th-grade students in the district who performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level in math was 17 percent in 2022. In 2009, that number was 22 percent. In reading, the numbers were 26 percent for both 2022 and 2009. Clearly, there is an issue much more significant than dirty laundry that the policymakers in the district should be concerned about. The most kind and compassionate thing this district could do for its students is research, train teachers,  and implement the most effective literacy and math programs available. Being able to read will build self-confidence in children that no amount of clean laundry can.

My opposition to laundry services in school is not rooted in heartlessness or a lack of empathy toward families; it’s rooted in reality. As a mother of four children and former public school teacher, I know there are only so many hours in a day. Who is going to manage the laundry service? Will it be the overburdened teachers who already have too much on their plates? Will it be the stressed-out administrators who are busy tackling constant behavior problems and meeting the demands of the central office? Maybe it will be the overworked and understaffed custodians who find themselves with more and more responsibilities in addition to their already too-long list. 

Anyone who has known me for a minute knows I am passionate about children and education. I want every child to have the opportunity to succeed and live a purposeful, fulfilling life. Public schools can best provide that opportunity, not by becoming laundromats, but by establishing discipline and order, thereby creating an ideal environment to teach and learn the high-quality, robust curriculum they adopt. The critics can “hang me out to dry” for my views, but I’ll take competent literacy skills over clean laundry any day.