COMPTON – ‘It’s a great day in Compton’ when a member of the Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees goes out of their way to put smiles on the faces of the students they serve.
Board Trustee Alma Taylor Pleasant established “Alma’s Boutique” as a way to reward students for their performance in the classroom.
Ms. Pleasant explained how Dominguez students will earn “Alma Bucks” from teachers and the principal for doing good things or doing well in the classroom. They will then be able to use those Alma Bucks in the boutique to purchase the clothing.
“I picked up and bought everything myself. Last year, I collected over 1000 coats, and I gave away a lot of those during Christmas time at the event that I had at Foster Elementary. I still have a lot more,” said Pleasant. “In addition to coats, this boutique is filled with men’s and women’s jackets, pants, dresses, coats, shoes, earrings, sunglasses, underwear, and socks.”
The boutique opened to coincide with Valentine’s Day but will be available year round to the campuses roughly 1,600 students.
“The sky is the limit. Until we run out of clothes. Right now, we have a lot of clothes. We have boxes filled with clothes still.”
During the boutique’s opening the first 100 students who arrived were provided Valentine’s socks and Pleasant also provided unlimited lemonade and popcorn to everyone who came through the door.
The district supported Pleasant’s boutique by purchasing the clothing racks for the items to be displayed.
Pleasant stressed its important to provide incentives for students to keep them encouraged.
“We have to feed our kids the right food in order for them to think, in order for them to do good, in order for them to be successful. And if we’re feeding their brain and they’re doing good, they want to look good. And when you put those three things together, then we have a success story. And if a kid dresses good and looks good, they feel good.”
“My bigger plan is to open these boutiques at all the Compton Unified High Schools in the future. Next, we’re going to do Compton High School. I think it’s really needed in all the schools because there are so many kids who still need help, need winter coats, need clothes, and need good suits for job interviews.”
Compton Unified School District was recently lauded across the state for boasting the highest graduation rate in Los Angeles County and #2 in the state.