A high school principal in New Jersey has been changing the culture for the better at his school by providing practical programs and services that students can use.Principal Akbar Cook, who works at West Side High School in Newark, New Jersey, has opened the doors at the school from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday nights in a program called “Lights On” as a safe place for students to hang out, Yahoo reported.While it might not sound like much -- providing a space for students gym access, a place to dance and be fed warm meals -- it’s made a huge difference in what kids could be doing otherwise."I haven't lost any more kids to gun violence since the start of the school year," Cook told WABC-TV.The school will be also be open three nights a week during the summer.Last year, Cook facilitated the installation of a laundry room at the school that students can use for free, since students said they sometimes skipped school because they were scared of being teased for wearing dirty clothes.He said the school had a 10 percent increase in daily attendance after the washers and dryers were installed."I think we really put the microscope on basic needs of kids,” Cook told CBS News. “Everyone wants the high test scores, everyone wants them to perform well. But if the kid doesn't feel confidence in just coming to school, being that person we know they can be, then what are we doing.”

A high school principal in New Jersey has been changing the culture for the better at his school by providing practical programs and services that students can use.

Principal Akbar Cook, who works at West Side High School in Newark, New Jersey, has opened the doors at the school from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday nights in a program called “Lights On” as a safe place for students to hang out, Yahoo reported.


While it might not sound like much -- providing a space for students gym access, a place to dance and be fed warm meals -- it’s made a huge difference in what kids could be doing otherwise.

"I haven't lost any more kids to gun violence since the start of the school year," Cook told WABC-TV.

The school will be also be open three nights a week during the summer.

Last year, Cook facilitated the installation of a laundry room at the school that students can use for free, since students said they sometimes skipped school because they were scared of being teased for wearing dirty clothes.

He said the school had a 10 percent increase in daily attendance after the washers and dryers were installed.

"I think we really put the microscope on basic needs of kids,” Cook told CBS News. “Everyone wants the high test scores, everyone wants them to perform well. But if the kid doesn't feel confidence in just coming to school, being that person we know they can be, then what are we doing.”