Cape district thanks community champions

New Life Thrift Shop and Bad Hair Day? were named Cape Community Champions at the Cape Henlopen school board meeting Feb. 23.

Board member Janet Maull-Martin said the Sussex Consortium has partnered with Drexel Davison, owner of Bad Hair Day?, for 15 years. At the salon, students help by doing dishes, sweeping floors, dusting, replacing inventory and washing clients’ hair.

“Over the years, the support our students and staff have received from Bad Hair Day? staff has been nothing but phenomenal,” Maull-Martin said.

Staff are patient, kind and willing to assist students with their needs, Maull-Martin said, noting their support has helped desensitize students from an aversion to getting their hair cut. 

Bad Hair Day? even opened its newest location at the Sussex Consortium, she said, where students work several days a week assisting stylists.

New Life Thrift Shop was recognized for its 10-year partnership with the Cape High Functional Special Education program. Maull-Martin said students break down boxes, organize merchandise and help unload and sort donations; a representative from the shop was unable to attend.

After the presentation, Superintendent Bob Fulton said he was speaking with community leaders that morning about what makes Cape a different and special place.

“We really have a community that’s connected to our kids, to our schools, and truly wants to be involved with what we’re doing,” Fulton said. 

Community members are not just involved, Fulton said, but go above being involved, acknowledging Bad Hair Day? for opening a business in one of the district schools so students could gain experience they wouldn’t receive anywhere else.