Heights School Connects with Parents Through Free Haircuts

Students came home from a little shorter today.

Barber Andrew Boyd of at 1336 Ashland Ave. visited the school with his colleagues, offering free haircuts to kids and their parents Monday morning, all coordinated through District 170's parent outreach program, Fuse. 

"As parents, when we fuse the right things into us, then we can infuse them into our children," said Fuse director Fred Chaney. "This is one of the outreaches that we put together. Myself and Mr. Drew Boyd got together to serve the community by bringing the barber shop into the school."

While hair-styling and elementary education may seem like an odd pairing, it made perfect sense to Boyd and Chaney.

"It adds a different element to school," Chaney explained. "It's another way to have parents involved in the school, actually coming into the school. The mom's are sitting with their sons who are getting a haircut during school hours. We have dads in here as well, who are sitting in here with their sons and getting haircuts as well."

Boyd said he was immediately on-board with Chaney, seeing the free haircuts as the perfect opportunity to help out the school. After the agreement was made, the next steps were spreading the word and organizing the event.

"Well, (Chaney) put together a flyer and gave all he children one to take home with them last weekend," Boyd said. "They had to get it signed, so we could get a head count of how many people were going to come in, so we could know how many barbers I should bring in with me."

While clipping hairs inside a school building may have been new to Boyd, giving free haircuts is not. He does it at his barber shop as well.

"I do it every year," Boyd explained. "I give (kids) free haircuts every year, right after the first week of school. It's usually on Labor Day weekend. We'll give them school supplies, and while they're waiting we give them hot dogs."

Wilson School Principal Tony Banks watched kids get their ears lowered, smiling. He commended Chaney for his outreach efforts.

"Connecting the parents and the school. That's the effort," said Banks. "We hope this will help plant some seeds."

Boyd and Banks have a previous connection. Boyd's daughter was a outstanding student at Wilson and Banks helped her become part of a program with which she went on a trip to Washington DC.

"(Banks) takes good care of the kids in the community," the barber said. "That's why I don't mind coming up here and giving back."