Seven schools to institute dress code

Thursday, May 6, 2004 | 11:37 a.m.

Students at seven campuses in the Clark County School District's northeast region will face a strict new dress code in August, with severe limits on styles, colors and fabrics.

With some of the schools calling it "Dress for Success" and others "standard school attire," the word "uniforms" is being carefully avoided.

The district's regulations allow the Clark County School Board to establish a mandatory school uniform provided at least 51 percent of the parents were surveyed with 70 percent of respondents favoring the policy. The district currently has five Henderson elementary schools taking part in a mandatory uniform pilot study.

Schools do not need to survey parents or get School Board approval to establish "standard school attire," said Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of curriculum for the district. A separate regulation already exists allowing principals to set limits on what students may wear, Orci said.

"We're talking about a wardrobe with a lot of choices; not every kid (will be) dressed exactly the same," Orci said.

Parents who do not want their children to take part may seek zoning variances to other schools provided there is space available, Orci said. The schools will also provide outfits to students if purchasing the appropriate attire poses a financial hardship, Orci said, though no budget for such purchases has been set.

The schools are also negotiating with vendors to buy clothes that can be resold on campus at cost. No profit will be made on the sale of clothing; rather, the goal is to make sure kids have easy access to the required attire, which is available at mainstream retail stores.

At Liberty High School, the clothing vendor who supplies the school store donates items for students who cannot afford to purchase the required outfits. Local merchants have also donated gift cards that can be used to shop for school clothes.

With an enrollment of 1,150 students, there have been just five requests for assistance with clothing this school year, Liberty officials said this morning.

Supporters of school dress codes credit the policy with everything from improved attendance to higher student test scores. Opponents of the policy, including the Nevada ACLU, point out that evidence supporting school uniforms is mostly anecdotal with no studies showing a direct connection between attire and student achievement.

Liberty High School, which opened in August in the district's southeast region, was the first campus to implement a "standard school attire" policy. Students wear khaki-colored pants or skirts with red, white or blue shirts. Compliance with the policy has hovered near 100 percent since the early months of the school year and has been a resounding success, administrators at the campus have said.

Bridger, Cram and Von Tobel middle schools are all planning to adopt the wardrobe policies, along with Mojave High School. Three new schools -- Swainston and Findlay middle schools and Canyon Springs High School -- are also expected to get on board.

Larry Mason, vice president of the Clark County School Board, said he was dismayed to learn Wednesday of the plans for stricter dress codes at seven schools in the region he represents.

"They're circumventing the policy -- uniform, school wardrobe, that's just semantics," Mason said. "It's one thing if you do a legitimate parent survey and get the required support. Unilaterally deciding to do something like this goes beyond the scope of what our regulations allow."

Mary McDaniel, whose son is set to attend Findlay in August, agreed.

"How can they say it's not a uniform when you're telling kids what they have to wear," McDaniel said. "My son's science class doesn't have enough books and yet the district is now going to clothe students? Something's not right about that."

Administrators for the seven schools are in the process of surveying parents and students to decide on approved colors and styles for shirts, pants and skirts.

Of the 1,500 parents who responded to surveys about the proposed wardrobe, just 97 people were opposed, said Tammy Malich, principal of Findlay, which opens in August on West Tropical Parkway.

After talking personally with those parents who were in opposition Malich said she was able to allay the concerns of all but two people.

"We're a new school and we're pulling kids from 10 different campuses," Malich said. "The attire will give us a way of establishing a sense of our own community right from the start."

Malich, whose prior post was as assistant principal at Cheyenne High School, said Findlay's students will come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, including wealthy suburbs and families living in government housing.

"We're trying to level the playing field," Malich said. "We don't want kids singled out because they can't afford the latest fads."

Clark County School Board member Ruth Johnson said she's supportive of the new wardrobe policy, although her children are less enthusiastic. Johnson's two older daughters will be required to wear school wardrobes at Mojave while her younger daughter will face similar constraints as an eighth grader at Cram.

"I want students to look like professional students, just like I want teachers to look like professionals," Johnson said. "It sets the mentality that everyone goes to school to do their job, not to put on a fashion show. The message to the community should be that we're trying to raise student achievement."

Dale Heilman, assistant principal at Bridger, said she'll likely adopt the dress code for herself even though teachers and administ rators cannot be compelled to wear the outfits.

"I think we should show students we support it (the policy)," Heilman said. "Plus, a few pairs of khaki pants and some shirts and you're set for work clothes. How can you beat that?"

Violations of the district's existing dress code, which bans things such as spaghetti-strapped shirts for girls, baggy trousers and facial piercings, are a daily event at Bridger, Heilman said.

"My favorite is when I stop a girl in the quad and tell her, 'Oh no, there's no way you're wearing that here,' and she reaches into her bag and pulls out another outfit she brought because she knew she was going to get caught," Heilman said. "We waste a lot of time dealing with those kinds of issues."

Janette Pantoja, an eighth grader at Bridger, said she was glad she wouldn't be at the school next year when the wardrobe policy takes effect.

"It's not cool, they won't let us express ourselves with our clothes," Pantoja said, as she fingered the fringe on her stone-washed, low-rise jeans.

Mario Cebello, whose two children are sixth graders at Bridger, said he supports the policy. Each grade should have its own color, making it easier for residents to identify students who play hooky, Cebello said.

"The kids, they're out running around in the park by my house every day," Cebello said. "I think for safety, here at the school and in the neighborhood, it's a good idea."