CAROLYN
BEITZEL
Diary #3
Nothing
Uniform about Our
New Uniform Policy
Our district enacted a uniform policy for K-8 this year. Basically it's a polo shirt and slacks or skirts in certain colors. The shirt must be tucked in if it is longer than four inches below the waist. The slacks must have a belt if there are loops. The pants cannot be baggy, cargo or jeans. Sneakers or dress shoes can be worn. Seems pretty basic right? Parents can opt out by getting administration approval with a waiver. Those kids still cannot dress as they choose, and their restrictions are even more formal.
By the end of the first week, over 200 students who were not in compliance were taken to the auditorium during homeroom and given one after-school detention. The teacher manual states that when students do not comply, the teacher should complete an administrative referral and the student is sent to the office. Each subsequent referral is another detention until the student has hit number five and then they are suspended for one day. The Dilemma The kids are not tucking in their shirts. On one day alone, I asked one student FIVE times to tuck in his shirt. Am I supposed to write a referral each and every time? Is he supposed to go to the office for each infraction? Is what he looks like more important than what he learns? It's only been eight days, and this poorly written policy is already taking an unreasonable amount of time away from instruction. One parent emailed me: "The uniforms at our school are a joke. I object to them and am sad that (Upper Darby) fell for that bull. It's a Band-Aid. Don't fix what's wrong in the school, just do something so the public thinks you know what you're doing. The guidelines are so vague. Once the kids realize nothing happens, no one will really wear it the right way. Yesterday [my daughter] said she tried to keep her shirt tucked in all day till she saw other kids walking around with their shirts hanging out so she gave up trying." I am already sick of the boys tucking their shirts into pants that hang off their rear-ends. "Pull up your pants", I implore. To no avail. They half-heartedly yank them up a mere half inch if at all. It is unfair for administration to put the burden of policing the policy onto teachers. If a student is caught later in the day out of compliance, the teachers who had them in class earlier are being asked why they did not write a referral. I can see that at some point we are going to get "memos of record" in our files for our own "non-compliance." I agree with the policy in theory. It would be nice to work in a school environment where kids are not teased or harassed for what they are wearing, where the focus is on learning. I do not agree with how the policy is being enforced, or not enforced. Solutions? I am at a loss as how to figure this one out, personally and professionally. Obviously, administration did not think this one through. I would like to see the policy enforced at the beginning of the day when the students enter the school. Those not in compliance should be taken to the auditorium immediately, phone calls home made for the proper clothing or they should be given clothing that the school SHOULD HAVE on hand, and detention should be assigned. Throughout the day, I would like to see the security guards or some other ancillary personnel (a good suggestion from the MiddleWeb Listserv is a parent laison, but we don't have those) make spot checks in each classroom, write the names down, but do not take the student out of class. This same person can then make a phone call home to alert the parent that their student chooses not to comply during the school day and alert them to the possible consequences. From these spot checks, the repeated offenders can be noted and after the third (?) time they can be removed from class, a phone call can be made home, and they can be assigned in-school suspension (where they can at least complete their school work). I don't know if any of this would work, but I do know that enforcement MUST be taken out of the realm of teacher responsibility. I have too many other important things to do (oh, let's see, like teach maybe) to be constantly bothered about enforcing this policy. HELP!!! I would welcome any suggestions.
