Ideas for School Uniforms

School uniforms used to be worn only by students who attended private or parochial schools, but after Cherry Hill Elementary in Baltimore, Maryland, became the first public school to institute a school uniform in 1987, public schools across the United States began to require them.

History

Roughly less than once percent of public schools had adopted a uniform policy before the mid-1990s. The trend didn't pick up until after President Bill Clinton's 1996 inaugural address in which he mentioned the benefits of school uniforms. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number public schools that had adopted a school uniform policy had increased to about 14 percent by the 2005-06 school year.

Parental Support

The Manual on School Uniforms, created in 1996 by the U.S. Department of Education, states that the main component of a successful school uniform policy is parental support. School districts that wish to implement a uniform policy should involve parents in all aspects of the process, from gauging and seeking public support to the design of the uniforms and enforcement of the policy.

Formal Uniforms

Creative Commons: Maven Dooshe: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2588/3686148860_fcddc5efa7.jpg

Schools can opt for a formal uniform of dress pants, dress shirts and ties for boys and plaid skirts or jumpers paired with a blouse for girls. The school can decide if the dress shirts and blouses are to be one specific color or if students can choose from among a certain group of colors. Additionally, boys and girls can be required to wear a school blazer or sweater.

Casual Uniforms

Creative Commons: dlisbona: Flickr.com

School uniforms do not have to be formal. Khaki pants or jeans paired with a knit top of a specific color or one with the school logo is an alternative to a formal uniform. Other alternatives include pants or a skirt of a specific color, such as black, paired with a school polo or even a school T-shirt. The objective is to have students immediately recognizable as belonging to a specific school. Reaching that goal does not require an expensive or overly strict process.

Middle Ground

A combination of casual and formal can also work as a school uniform. Allowing students to wear a uniform dress pant or skirt with a casual knit top in the spring, but requiring a school blazer or sweater for the fall and winter allows for student comfort while maintaining a consistent appearance throughout the student body.

Religious Expression

In 1996, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said in a "statement of principles" titled Religious Expression in Public Schools that students cannot be prevented from wearing religious attire, such as yarmulkes and headscarves.

References

• National Center for Education Statistics
• Manual on School Uniforms
• Religious Expression in Public Schools

Resources

• The School Uniform Debate
• School Uniforms, Dress Codes and Book bags
• School Uniforms