school dress code/ uniforms....kinda long

[MrsPete]

Personally, I think if the kids have to wear uniforms, the teachers should too.

We've discussed this at my school several times, and every teacher on my hall agrees: We'd welcome the idea of teacher uniforms! We'd save a ton of money, and it's one less thing to think about in the morning! Just give us the choice of a pair of pants and a skirt (and maybe a jumper) and give us short sleeves and long sleeves for comfort in all weather, and we'd be THRILLED!

More to the point: My girls used to wear uniforms to school, and they're a HUGE budget-saver! You just use the same techniques you use now to buy for your kids: shop out of season (right now's the worst possible time to buy), buy used when possible, trade with friends, resell your old things, and avoid the color while when possible (it looks dingy sooner).

 

[stitchlovestink]

We've discussed this at my school several times, and every teacher on my hall agrees: We'd welcome the idea of teacher uniforms! We'd save a ton of money, and it's one less thing to think about in the morning! Just give us the choice of a pair of pants and a skirt (and maybe a jumper) and give us short sleeves and long sleeves for comfort in all weather, and we'd be THRILLED!

More to the point: My girls used to wear uniforms to school, and they're a HUGE budget-saver! You just use the same techniques you use now to buy for your kids: shop out of season (right now's the worst possible time to buy), buy used when possible, trade with friends, resell your old things, and avoid the color while when possible (it looks dingy sooner).

That's funny because the teachers here (I am friends w/ several) were HORRIFIED at the thought of the teachers having to wear a uniform.
More to my point, you completely missed my points... my DDs are very hard to fit and most places carry a very limited supply of larger sizes in uniforms (this I have been told by 1 friend who has plus sized DD that does have to wear uniform). How am I supposed to trade w/ friends when DD is 6 ft and her tallest friend is umm 5'8 and they are not plus sized??? I line dry my kids clothes so that they don't shrink. Almost everyone I know does not do that, it's too much trouble and too time consuming. I do it for the shrinkage factor. It makes a big difference. A shirt or pair of pants brand new will just be long enough, but if I wash in hot water or put it in the dryer, FORGET IT!! For a shirt, when she raises her hand, her stomach is gonna be showing. I am glad that it saved you money. It may not cost everyone more, but it will for me.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

That's funny because the teachers here (I am friends w/ several) were HORRIFIED at the thought of the teachers having to wear a uniform.
More to my point, you completely missed my points... my DDs are very hard to fit and most places carry a very limited supply of larger sizes in uniforms (this I have been told by 1 friend who has plus sized DD that does have to wear uniform). How am I supposed to trade w/ friends when DD is 6 ft and her tallest friend is umm 5'8 and they are not plus sized??? I line dry my kids clothes so that they don't shrink. Almost everyone I know does not do that, it's too much trouble and too time consuming. I do it for the shrinkage factor. It makes a big difference. A shirt or pair of pants brand new will just be long enough, but if I wash in hot water or put it in the dryer, FORGET IT!! For a shirt, when she raises her hand, her stomach is gonna be showing. I am glad that it saved you money. It may not cost everyone more, but it will for me.

No necessarily. My DS is very hard to fit. I can't even find him a pair of jeans. Seriously, he wears all cargos and sweats.

For kindergarten and 1st grade I could find him uniforms at target, they fit him well and were cheap. But I had to buy more pants throughout the year, because they didn't wear well. Of course last year they changed the design and the "French Toast" brand from Target didn't fit him. I had to buy all his pants from lands End. Great $25.00 for 1 pair of pants. I bought 5 pair of pants, which measured by waist and inseam, and 5 shirts. I thought I spent alot of money. They wore very well all year. I never had to buy any more clothes for him the whole year. Actually they still look so good, I'm giving them to the school for the uniform trade.

This year we moved, so DS is going to the public school. (no uniforms) His clothes cost me a ton more because there is no way I can only buy 5 shirts and 5 pair of pants. I told him we need to decide the night before what he's wearing to school the next day (1st day this Monday). He's already himming and haaing.

We haven't even started school and I'd gladly welcome uniforms back.

Good Luck!

 

[stitchlovestink]

No necessarily. My DS is very hard to fit. I can't even find him a pair of jeans. Seriously, he wears all cargos and sweats.

For kindergarten and 1st grade I could find him uniforms at target, they fit him well and were cheap. But I had to buy more pants throughout the year, because they didn't wear well. Of course last year they changed the design and the "French Toast" brand from Target didn't fit him. I had to buy all his pants from lands End. Great $25.00 for 1 pair of pants. I bought 5 pair of pants, which measured by waist and inseam, and 5 shirts. I thought I spent alot of money. They wore very well all year. I never had to buy any more clothes for him the whole year. Actually they still look so good, I'm giving them to the school for the uniform trade.

This year we moved, so DS is going to the public school. (no uniforms) His clothes cost me a ton more because there is no way I can only buy 5 shirts and 5 pair of pants. I told him we need to decide the night before what he's wearing to school the next day (1st day this Monday). He's already himming and haaing.

We haven't even started school and I'd gladly welcome uniforms back.

Good Luck!

thanks for the response... but those of you shopping for little kids have a larger pool of stores to shop at
My DD does not fit into bottoms at most stores and many of the store's tops are tighter than I care for.
So I really don't feel like that we are comparing apples to apples. I'm not shopping at Children's Place, Gymboree, and children's stores.
Old Navy, Aero, and many other stores' bottoms do not work. Where we do shop, it's either jeans or dressy dress pants. Casual pants that fit well are very very hard to find. My daughters' jeans always fit appropriately and are not junky/trashy looking.

The himming and haaing may be a problem for you, but is not for us. I just want to be able to have my kids wear respectably fitting/looking clothes that are of our choosing. This is not the military or private school. If a student shows up dressed inappropriately, then deal w/ that kid and their parents. Don't assume and impose rules penalizing all of us. Some of us parents do have brains that we know how to use and do not allow our daughters to show up at school dressed like a Bratz doll.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

thanks for the response... but those of you shopping for little kids have a larger pool of stores to shop at
My DD does not fit into bottoms at most stores and many of the store's tops are tighter than I care for.
So I really don't feel like that we are comparing apples to apples. I'm not shopping at Children's Place, Gymboree, and children's stores.
Old Navy, Aero, and many other stores' bottoms do not work. Where we do shop, it's either jeans or dressy dress pants. Casual pants that fit well are very very hard to find. My daughters' jeans always fit appropriately and are not junky/trashy looking.

The himming and haaing may be a problem for you, but is not for us. I just want to be able to have my kids wear respectably fitting/looking clothes that are of our choosing. This is not the military or private school. If a student shows up dressed inappropriately, then deal w/ that kid and their parents. Don't assume and impose rules penalizing all of us. Some of us parents do have brains that we know how to use and do not allow our daughters to show up at school dressed like a Bratz doll.

Well sorry you don't like our responses, but it seems like your mind is made up and no matter what anyone says to you, you don't want your kids to wear uniforms, plain and simple.

Everyone is just trying to help but it seems that is really not what you want so sorry for even taking the time.

And BTW, Lands End sells clothes for older children too.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Well sorry you don't like our responses, but it seems like your mind is made up and no matter what anyone says to you, you don't want your kids to wear uniforms, plain and simple.

Everyone is just trying to help but it seems that is really not what you want so sorry for even taking the time.

And BTW, Lands End sells clothes for older children too.

If you like uniforms ,great for you. I don't.

Furthermore, I don't buy clothing on-line anymore. It has never fit them well. So it is not worth the effort and has actually cost me money b/c of return shipping.

But if you have read the thread from the beginning, I wasn't asking for everyone to convince me why uniforms were wonderful and how much money they saved you.

It was to inquire if ....
Anyone, had any experience w/ their school district trying to institute mandatory uniforms and what was the outcome? Were there parents who challenged the system? What happened with that? Was the policy enforcible?

I don't see where your response addressed or answered any of the questions I posed in my original post.

 

[Beca]

It concerns me that even public schools are now "teaching" kids to conform! We are America, land of the free, and yes, there should be limits, but it seems we are trying to be turned into robots. We are not all the same when it comes to work ethic or work produced, and so many other things, why is everyone trying to make us the same!

It is like saying everyone is going to make $100 a week, period, no matter what you do, no matter how many hours you work.

I agree wholeheartedly on this. I was a flight attendant for 8 years, and getting dressed in the SAME uniform day after day became sheer torture for me. My dd goes to private school where the uniform is white/yellow/red polo shirt, and khaki bottoms....that's it. I cannot believe she is expected to wear this for the next 12 years!! She does have a "dress uniform" that she will wear a couple of times a year, but she is not allowed to wear on non-specified days, and we had to purchase special embroidered polos to be worn on field trip days. We also had to purchase a t-shirt from the school to be worn on PE days (for which we need to purchase navy shorts for the hot days and navy sweatpants for the cold days). We are also given the "option" of purchasing a zip up sweat material "hoodie" for the winter days (not really an option if we don't want our children to freeze).

I think the cost of these uniforms is out of control. We were given a choice of French Toast or Land's End...that's it. Well, my dd is very tall, and very skinny. French toast does not make slim cut in sizes smaller than a 7 (my dd is going into K), so I had to send all of my French Toast bottoms back. I went to purchase bottoms from Land's End, and they averaged between $25-$30 for khaki bottoms.

Additionally, my dd has to have all-white "athletic tennis shoes for class, and black or navy mary janes for dress. Our children also cannot carry a backpack of their choice, they must purchase a bookbag with the school logo on it.

All in all, I have spent over $500 on uniforms when my dd has a perfectly acceptable closet full of clothes. I do not like having to buy a "dress uniform" (complete with shoes that she is not allowed to wear daily to school) that she will wear a couple of times, and having to buy special, embroidered "field trip" shirts as well.

I cannot imagine our country is coming to this.

 

[ameraumi]

My dear friend has a plus side DD who wore uniforms. It was not an issue at all finding her clothes. The stores she normally shops at has Khaki pants (and yes, she is also very tall - close to 6') as well as regular polo shirts. JCPenny's even carry plus sizes.

Since you want to know what some parents have done, here are two articles about the lawsuit I mentioned earlier:
http://www.news-tribune.net/wierdnews/local_story_204103505.html

http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_219212011.html

The parent's suit claims the uniform policy is against state law because, as they say, it would require parents to pay for the uniforms, essentially requiring parents to pay to send their children to school. That is a crock of crap because in Indiana we all pay to send our kids to public schools. It is called book fees and school supplies.

 

[stitchlover]

I would LOVE it if our school district would go to uniforms. We have two junior highs in town that have uniforms but I think that's it. Of course they aren't the ones my daughter is slatted for in '08-'09.
BUT I have a fairly different view, I was a parochial school kid and wore uniforms my whole life. Actually the worst years of uniforms were the two years that the high school had "color code" you could wear anything as long as the pieces were a certain color. That sucked! You actually had to shop. My parents felt it was much cheaper to get uniforms in the long run! In Texas a lot of the private schools use basic stuff that is stocked at Target and Walmart. Not that many do the whole plaid thing I had to do.

 

[MKCP5]

It concerns me that even public schools are now "teaching" kids to conform! We are America, land of the free, and yes, there should be limits, but it seems we are trying to be turned into robots. We are not all the same when it comes to work ethic or work produced, and so many other things, why is everyone trying to make us the same!

It is like saying everyone is going to make $100 a week, period, no matter what you do, no matter how many hours you work.

I couldn't disagree more. We make exceptions in the public schools now for every sort of religious, dietary, special ed, social, physical, medical and psychological issues there could possibly be found. There is no sense of "for the greater good" or working together as a team because it is all about what each individual wants to make them happy. I have no problem making exceptions for real and viable issues, but we have gone so far overboard that we are creating a generation that believes that their rights always override the rights of the group.

If you think something as simple as wearing a uniform will take away a kids ability to express who they really are, you haven't walked around many schools with uniforms

 

[Julia M]

It was to inquire if ....
Anyone, had any experience w/ their school district trying to institute mandatory uniforms and what was the outcome? Were there parents who challenged the system? What happened with that? Was the policy enforcible?

I don't see where your response addressed or answered any of the questions I posed in my original post.

Yes, in our school district, uniforms are decided upon in a school by school basis. There had to be a certain percentage of parents voting and a certain percentage to pass.

The parents who did not want uniforms tried to fight it, but were not successful.

I think the reason the policy was more enforceable was that it was not as stringent as the local private schools. For example, the school I taught at had the colors black, red and white. Girls could wear black or red leggings, black or red sweats, black or red solid skirts and so on.

It gave a little more flexibility for families, too.

If you did not want the uniform, you were given the option of changing to a non uniform school.

BTW, for those teachers who thought a uniform would be nice......the teachers loved it. Many of use ended up wearing clothes in the those colors, and regularly. I loved working there.

julia

 

[SydSim]

I suppose if a uniform policy helps to eliminate teachers and adm. having to police the students' clothing (measuring how short a skirt is), then I'm all for it. Makes more time for learning if there are no underwear-showing inspections

 

[SydSim]

If you like uniforms ,great for you. I don't.

Furthermore, I don't buy clothing on-line anymore. It has never fit them well. So it is not worth the effort and has actually cost me money b/c of return shipping.

But if you have read the thread from the beginning, I wasn't asking for everyone to convince me why uniforms were wonderful and how much money they saved you.

It was to inquire if ....
Anyone, had any experience w/ their school district trying to institute mandatory uniforms and what was the outcome? Were there parents who challenged the system? What happened with that? Was the policy enforcible?

I don't see where your response addressed or answered any of the questions I posed in my original post.

Our school district put the decision to a vote and as it stands, a uniform policy will probably be optional starting in the spring, and mandatory next year.

DD used to attend a private school with uniforms, and i loved it. She has attended public school for the past three years and it is annoying to have to pick out something to wear for her everyday. I can't wait until the new policy takes effect.

I know some parents who don't want the uniform policy, and some that do. We'll see how it goes.

 

[cymomtx]

It varies from campus to campus in our district (until recently I worked for them) how it is enforced, but I wish we had at least a standarized dress code. A few of the elementary campuses and the disciplinary campuses have standarized dress but the parents at the rest of the campuses have voted down at the rest.

 

[stitchlovestink]

The parent's suit claims the uniform policy is against state law because, as they say, it would require parents to pay for the uniforms, essentially requiring parents to pay to send their children to school. That is a crock of crap because in Indiana we all pay to send our kids to public schools. It is called book fees and school supplies.

I understand what you are saying. HOWEVER, here in our county we do not pay fees for school. We do not pay bus fees, book fees, student fees etc... Any money we pay to the school would be voluntary, like fundraisers. I don't agree w/ school supplies (i.e. providing pens/pencils, notebooks/paper) as paying for your education. You need those items to complete everyday tasks. Yes, here we do pay to send our kids to school in the form of taxes (income, property, etc..) It's not a choice to educate your child, it's a requirement (as it should be), but I shouldn't have to conform to someone else's standards just because. Remember, our county already has a pretty strict dress code as to what is acceptable and what is not. It even includes photos on the website as examples of each. I think that is strict enough.
To the other poster who stated that their school went to uniforms, the parents did have the option of choosing a non-uniform school if they didn't want to abide by the uniforms. At least they had a choice. Here, all schools would be the same.

 

[ameraumi]

But I do not see your current dress code as strict. That is normal around here for dress code, as our public schools have the same dress code. And there are still students who push the envelope and parents who still buy the clothes that are not allowed.

 

[Maleficents_Revenge]

This is interesting for me. The school my daughter attends does not require dress codes. I understand both sides of the arguement too...

By wearing uniforms, every kid looks the same and no one gets picked on for their clothing. But the kids are not allowed to have expression. However, in elementary school, the clothes are more of an expression of the parents than the children. Let's be real, few parents allow their kids to pick out their own clothes. We all allow kids to give their opinion, but in the end it is the chioce of the parents.

I never wore uniforms to school. I was the typoe of kid that wore knit shirts with either jeans or khakis. Call me a preppy kid if you want to, but it was what I liked to wear. I never picked on kids because of their clothes or their shoes even though I saw it happen a lot.

Personally I am against uniforms. I do wish parents would show a little more restraint in what they allow their kids to wear though. I believe in common sense when dressing you kids. However, not everyone has common sense and it shows. Kids in elementary school that wearoffensive shirts should be made to go home and change. They should also be required to come back to school that day. I think it is important for the kids to be made to come back so the other kids can see that an example was made of them.

As far as "fighting" with your kids in the morning about what to wear... I keep in mind that I am the parent and what I say goes. There is never a "fight" or an arguement. Hoping that schools go to uniforms as a way to keep from morning arguments is a way to not have to become a stronger parent that demands respect. No children should fear their parents, but they should all respect their parents. By the way, this is not directed towards any poster, it is just an opinion.

 

[stitchlovestink]

This is interesting for me. The school my daughter attends does not require dress codes. I understand both sides of the arguement too...

By wearing uniforms, every kid looks the same and no one gets picked on for their clothing. But the kids are not allowed to have expression. However, in elementary school, the clothes are more of an expression of the parents than the children. Let's be real, few parents allow their kids to pick out their own clothes. We all allow kids to give their opinion, but in the end it is the chioce of the parents.

I never wore uniforms to school. I was the typoe of kid that wore knit shirts with either jeans or khakis. Call me a preppy kid if you want to, but it was what I liked to wear. I never picked on kids because of their clothes or their shoes even though I saw it happen a lot.

Personally I am against uniforms. I do wish parents would show a little more restraint in what they allow their kids to wear though. I believe in common sense when dressing you kids. However, not everyone has common sense and it shows. Kids in elementary school that wearoffensive shirts should be made to go home and change. They should also be required to come back to school that day. I think it is important for the kids to be made to come back so the other kids can see that an example was made of them.

As far as "fighting" with your kids in the morning about what to wear... I keep in mind that I am the parent and what I say goes. There is never a "fight" or an arguement. Hoping that schools go to uniforms as a way to keep from morning arguments is a way to not have to become a stronger parent that demands respect. No children should fear their parents, but they should all respect their parents. By the way, this is not directed towards any poster, it is just an opinion.

I know for fact in Middle/High school, if a kid shows up in an unacceptable shirt, they make them put on his/her gym shirt or if they don't have gym (therefore they don't have a gym shirt), they have to have the parent bring them a different shirt (the student does not leave school, they have to sit in the office until acceptable shirt arrives). Or if it is possible to wear shirt inside out w/o offending part being visible, they have had students do that. And you better not show back up at the office again in that same shirt. This is how the schools my DDs' attend handle it. Others (not all, mind you) in the county do nothing. That's where I have the problem. Make them step up to the plate, instead of penalizing all of us because some administrations won't do their job. And for the record, our dress code policy made the local news for several days when it was instituted because most, if not all, other counties around us have basically no rules regarding clothing (except maybe offensive items)

 

[powellrj]

since my school district was linked, I am going to add my .02. We went with uniforms this year, and while I was against it in the beginning, I had no idea how much I would HATE it. I hate it.

Clothes were never an issue in our house. DS who is in high school wore stripped polos and cargo pants/shorts. There was never a discussion about it, he bought what he liked and we replaced clothes when we found a sale. We have never gone out and had to buy a complete wardrobe for school. This is how all of his friends dressed too.

DD is in middle school and wore skirts with leggings, capri pants with some kind of top. Once again she bought what she liked when we found a sale and we had never bought a complete wardrobe before.

All this changed this year with uniforms. We had to go and buy complete wardrobe for each kids costing several $100. Sure, if you have grade school kids that wear clothes from Children's Place and places like that you can find a large selection at a bargain price, thats not the case with teens. I got my DSs clothes at Gap. Of course the approved colors weren't the ones on sale, so for the first time I had to pay full price.

I got most of DDs clothes from EBAY. I found several sellers that sold new with tag clothes in her size and was able to get enough to last the week which was my goal.

For DS we went with Docker type pants with plain polo shirts and for DD we went with capri pants or skorts with plain polo type shirts. For the first time ever, we bought the wrong clothes. We have never had issues in the morning getting dressed because they liked what they had and it matched what the other kids were wearing. Thats not the case this year. The girls all went with gaucho type pant or jumpers and oxford shirts with matching sweaters while the boys went with oxford shirts. Every morning I get to hear how unhappy they are, how they look stupid, how their clothes don't fit right. DD hates to wear her shirt tucked in. It was never an issue because she always wore shirts with a waistband that weren't tucked in. I have to listen to how upset she is every morning. She feels very uncomfortable with her shirt tucked in and I don't blame her. She is very short waisted and its not a good look for her.

We were lucky in that we were able to afford to buy the new clothes needed to start the year. Thats not the case for most kids. They were promised a new set of clothes at the beginning of the school year. That isn't happening. The kids that did get the set, got one outfit that may or may not have fit and it was used. I have nothing against used clothes, my own kids wear them, but they have more than one outfit that they can wear. How long before the one outfit isn't fit to wear. This is a community that took a large hit when the auto industry left, so money isn't there like it use to be. You can tell the kids who have new outfits that fit from the one that are wearing worn out ill fitting clothes. Its really sad. Before uniforms if you saw a kid in an ill fitting worn out outfit, you assumed it was a fashion statement, now you know thats not the case.

We just paid our school fees of several hundred dollars per child, spent another couple of hundred on supplies and are now looking at property taxes bills that will be over 50% more than they were last year.

The teachers have now become the dress code Nazis. They have to stand at the doors and pull out nonconforming kids every morning. They never had to do this before and it really cuts into the morning.

For people that said they wore uniforms to school when they were kids I would bet they went to a private school where it was known before you went that you would be wearing a uniform. You weren't attending a public school that decided 2 months before school was out for the summer that you would now be wearing a uniform and you would have no say in the decision. The parents were never asked and when they went to the school board were basically told, too bad. It was presented as a way to increase test scores, but now they are already back peddling that you may not see increased test scores because of other factors. Do you think?????

The housing market has dropped so moving isn't a choice most families had. You either go with the flow or go with private school which doesn't have a uniform policy.

I am not even touching on the fact that most people also have kids in outside activities where you still need regular clothes. Who want to go to an afterschool job in your school uniform? Who wants to go to church in your school uniforms? We still had to buy a couple of outfits for afterschool. The good thing about those clothes we were able to get the things they wanted and get them on sale.

 

[ameraumi]

But see, I still do not see the issue. I have done BOTH sides of the fence. Why can't your kids, especially boys, wear the school uniforms to church? That is what most do in my area. DS no longer *has* to wear the polos and Khakis to school, but will. He also wears them on the golf course and to family functions that require him to look nicer then in his basketball shorts and tshirts.