State Rep. Rady Mom, Butler students and NJHS members Yari Rijo, Jayce Zepkoski, Alex Griffin, Principal Jaime Moody, State Rep. Vanna Howard, Community member and Lowell legend Lura Smith, Butler student and NJHS member Effrain Reyes, and State Rep. Rodney Elliott.

by Jen Myers

Absolutely. At the Butler Middle School, students will now have the opportunity to do their laundry at school, thanks to the creativity, compassion, and perseverance of a group of staff and students and the generosity of the Joseph and Leslie Carr Foundation, who donated a washer and dryer, as well as detergent, to the school to make their new laundry room a reality.

The ribbon was officially cut Friday morning in a ceremony attended by school and district staff and administrators, students, Superintendent of Schools Liam Skinner, and elected officials including State Representatives Vanna Howard, Rady Mom, and Rodney Elliott, Mayor Danny Rourke, School Committee members Dave Conway, Fred Bahou, and Dominik Lay, and representatives from Congresswoman Lori Trahan’s office.

Butler Principal Jaime Moody said this initiative embodies the core values of the school, “taking care of each other, taking care of self, and taking care of community.”

Butler Community Schools Program Manager Justien Martin, Principal Jaime Moody, and Superintendent of Schools Liam Skinner

She explained the Butler is home to the city’s most diverse combined student and staff team with 80 percent of the student body being students of color, 15 percent of students identifying as homeless, 15 percent of students identifying as multi-lingual learners, and 23 percent of students being newcomers to the U.S.

Butler Community Schools Program Manager Justien Martin worked with National Junior Honor Society Teacher Advisor Andrea Loughlin and the NJHS students to bring the idea to fruition.

“At the heart of this endeavor lies a simple, yet profound belief that every individual deserves the dignity of clean clothes,” said Martin. “The laundry service will combine home economics with self-care education and will be accessible to students before and after school, providing a convenient opportunity for all students to increase their laundry skills and gain valuable knowledge about the process.”

The laundry room will be available to students before and after school; they will be able to sign up for laundry slots on a Google sheet and be provided with a laundry bag in which to bring their clothes into school.

Students will have access to informational flyers explaining laundry skills – like how much detergent to use and the importance of emptying the lint trap, as well as laundry tips like checking pockets before tossing clothes in the washer and sorting clothes by color to prevent colors from fading or running.

This service really is for everyone – for the student who has a washer/dryer at home, but would like to learn how to do laundry themselves and be a little more independent; for the student who has to go to a laundromat to do their laundry, but feels more comfortable doing it at school; and for the student who does not have access to a washer/dryer at all.

“This is an amazing time to recognize how innovative and diverse our school is,” said Butler student Alex Griffin, a NJHS member. “My peers and I see this as an opportunity to have our community’s needs met. We are excited to open this laundry service as it may open new opportunities for our community.”

“Not only am I excited to talk about the laundry service – I am actually excited to partake in it,” said Butler student and NJHS member Effrain Reyes. “My peers and I see this as a chance to build upon life skills. Opening this service will help students learn independence and essential skills that may not be taught at home.”

Loughlin spoke with great pride about her students, who have stepped up as leaders in their community by volunteering at events and tutoring their peers as well as younger students at the Shaughnessy Elementary School.

She said they wanted to embark on a project “that would have an impact beyond academic success.”

“The inception of this laundry service stems from a genuine recognition of a need within our school community – a need for all students to have access to essential services that foster an environment of dignity and inclusivity,” she said. “When we identify a problem, our students don’t just stand by – they take action, they lead by example, and they inspire a wave of positive change.”

A student survey done at the Butler showed that at least 250 students (nearly half the school) will benefit from the laundry service in the first year.

The laundry service pairs perfectly with opportunities already available at the school through Catie’s Closet where students can get new clothing, shoes, socks, toiletries, and other items they need free of charge. When a student has clean clothes and the items they need for self-care, their confidence increases, absenteeism decreases, and academic and social outcomes soar.

The Butler Middle School is one of the district’s 10 Community Schools. Community schools are places where the strengths and needs of students, families, and neighborhood are addressed through partnership. A network of local agencies brings resources, services, and programs directly to the school buildings—including things like onsite food pantries, clothing and toiletries, vision and dental care, adult English classes, mental health care services, family cooking classes, access to resume building and job opportunities, tutoring, mentoring programs, and much more – like laundry services.

In Lowell, the Community Schools model began at The Career Academy in 2015 and in the last two years has expanded to include: the Robinson, Greenhalge, Moody, Stoklosa, Bartlett, Butler, STEM Academy, and Sullivan schools, as well as Lowell High School.

“School is not just about education,” said Mayor Rourke. “It is about collaboration, recognition, and innovation, and that is everything that describes what is happening today. I believe you will set a precedent not only in Lowell, but all around the state and hopefully the country.”

Superintendent of Schools Liam Skinner praised the opening of the Butler laundry room, taking the opportunity to recognize the culture that has blossomed at the Butler and the impressive leadership of Principal Jaime Moody and her team.

“It is just one piece of a broader attitude reaching out to the families in our community, involving them in their school and their children’s education and involving the school in their community,” he said. “The Butler School through the leadership of Jaime and Justien takes themselves out to the families. They go and visit the families where they are at and they find ways to bring the families to the school. You better believe it is going to have a lot to do with kids’ education. It absolutely is. This is a school providing leadership for the district.”