Courtesy photo
By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
COMPTON — An on-campus boutique has opened at Dominguez High School, courtesy of Compton school board member Alma Taylor Pleasant.
Pleasant said she established “Alma’s Boutique” as a way to reward students for their performance in the classroom.
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 clothing.
“I picked up and bought everything myself,” Pleasant said. “Last year, I collected over 1,000 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.
“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 and will be available year round to the campus that serves about 1,600 students.
“The sky is the limit,” Pleasant said. “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 said it is 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,” she said. “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 high schools in the future,” she added. “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.”
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
