Uniforms may be required at three elementary schools

Friday, June 28, 2002 | 11:23 a.m.

Students at three Henderson elementary schools could be facing a mandatory uniform policy as early as this fall if the Clark County School Board approves a pilot study of the policy.

Board members gave tentative support Thursday to the study that would make uniforms mandatory at Lamping, Twitchell and Vanderburg elementary schools, but told administrators questions about implementation and fairness would have to be answered before the proposal would be passed.

The plan's supporters must come back to the board next month for another vote before the project can proceed.

Carolyn Reedom, assistant superintendent for the district's southeast region, said administrators have been working for the past year with parents and teachers on the proposed uniform policy. The three Henderson campuses were selected for the pilot study because of the high level of compliance with the existing voluntary uniform policy, Reedom said. A survey yielded replies from more than half of families at each school, and more than 70 percent of the responses were in favor of a mandatory uniform policy, Reedom said.

Studies show uniforms improve attendance rates, classroom participation and reduce disciplinary problems, said Reedom. They also improve school safety by making it easier to identify tresspassers, Reedom said.

About a dozen students from Lamping and Vanderburg turned out for the meeting, all wearing the pleated skirts, jumpers and long pants of their school uniforms.

Seth Thompson, a fourth-grader at Lamping and the student body vice president, charmed the board with his presentation, explaining that uniforms are a way to show school spirit.

"I want people to know we're the Lamping Lightning Bolts," said Thompson, decked out in khaki pants and a Lamping logo shirt. "I want our school to look like a team."

Of the more than 30 people who signed up to address the board on the question of uniforms, Stephanie Pocchia was the only individual who spoke in opposition of the proposal.

"This is a public school system," Pocchia said . " I believe the issue here is one of choice. My third grader has chosen not to wear the uniform, and she is a straight-A student. The uniform doesn't make the child. It's the child inside that matters."

School Board Member Larry Mason questioned whether it was necessary to change the school district's dress code in order to conduct the pilot study. The agenda item suggested a uniform policy would be established for the entire district, possibly setting a sticky precedent, Mason said.

"I'll support a pilot study, but that's as far as I'll go," Mason said. "I don't see how we can mandate anything for the entire district based on surveys from three schools."

Several board members expressed concern with the proposed requirement that 70 percent of the parents at each school support the policy. Board Member Ruth Johnson suggested the requirement be that more than 50 percent of the parents would have to respond to the survey, and of those respondents at least 70 percent would have to be in favor of the change.

Board Member Susan Brager-Wellman sought assurances that students would not be stigmatized or punished if they attended school out of uniform, noting that the high transiency rate of the district might make it difficult for parents to keep up with each new campus's dress code.