uniforms (2)

[kwinters (Kirk Winters)]

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    This is the second half of the "Manual on School Uniforms."
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              MODEL SCHOOL UNIFORM POLICIES

    States and local school districts must decide how they will
ensure a safe and disciplined learning environment.  Below are
some examples of school districts that have adopted school
uniforms as part of their strategy.


Long Beach, California
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Type:        Uniforms are mandatory in all elementary and
             middle schools.  Each school in the district
             determines the uniform its students will wear.

Opt-out:     Yes, with parental consent

Size of program: 58,500 elementary and middle school students

Implementation date:  1994

Support for disadvantaged students:  Each school must develop an
assistance plan for families that cannot afford to buy uniforms. 
In most cases, graduating students either donate or sell used
uniforms to needy families.

Results:  District officials found that in the year following
implementation of the school uniform policy, overall school crime
decreased 36 percent, fights decreased 51 percent, sex offenses
decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased 50 percent,
assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism
decreased 18 percent.  Fewer than one percent of the students
have elected to opt out of the uniform policy.

    Dick Van Der Laan of the Long Beach Unified School District
explained, "We can't attribute the improvement exclusively to
school uniforms, but we think it's more than coincidental." 
According to Long Beach police chief William Ellis, "Schools have
fewer reasons to call the police.  There's less conflict among
students.  Students concentrate more on education, not on who's
wearing $100 shoes or gang attire."


Seattle, Washington
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Type:        Mandatory uniform policy at South Shore Middle
             School

Opt-out:     Yes, with parental consent.  Students who opt out
             must attend another middle school in the district.

Size of program: 900 middle school students

Implementation date:  1995

Support for disadvantaged students:  South Shore works with local
businesses that contribute financial support to the uniform
program.  In addition, the administration at South Shore found
that the average cost of clothing a child in a school with a
prescribed wardrobe is less than in schools without such a
program, sometimes 80 percent less.  School officials believe
that durability, reusability and year-to-year consistency also
increase the economy of the school's plan.

Results:  The principal of South Shore, Dr. John German, reports
that "this year the demeanor in the school has improved 98
percent, truancy and tardies are down, and we have not had one
reported incident of theft."  Dr. German explains that he began
the uniform program because his students were "draggin', saggin'
and laggin'.  I needed to keep them on an academic focus.  My
kids were really into what others were wearing."  Only five
students have elected to attend another public school.


Richmond, Virginia
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Type:        Voluntary uniform policy at Maymont Elementary
             School for the Arts and Humanities

Opt-out:     Uniforms are voluntary.

Size of program: 262 elementary school students

Implementation date:  1994

Support for disadvantaged students:  Responding to parent
concerns about the cost of uniforms, the school sought community
financial support for the uniform program.  Largely as a result
of financial donations from businesses and other community
leaders, the percentage of students wearing uniforms rose from 30
percent in 1994-95, the first year of the program, to 85 percent
during the current year.

Results:  Maymont principal Sylvia Richardson identifies many
benefits of the uniform program, including improved behavior, an
increase in attendance rates and higher student achievement.


Kansas City, Missouri
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Type:        Mandatory uniform policy at George Washington
             Carver Elementary School

Opt-out:     None.  Carver is a magnet school to which parents
             and students apply knowing about the uniform
             policy.

Size of program: 320 elementary school students

Implementation date:  1990

Support for disadvantaged students:  Students receive their
uniforms at no cost to them.  The state and school district pay
for the uniforms primarily with magnet school funding.

Results:  Philomina Harshaw, the principal for all six years that
Carver has had uniforms, observed a new sense of calmness
throughout the school after students began wearing uniforms. 
"The children feel good about themselves as school uniforms build
a sense of pride.  It forces adults to know a child."


Memphis, Tennessee
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Type:        Voluntary uniform policy at Douglas Elementary
             School

Opt-out:     Uniforms are voluntary.

Size of program: 532 elementary school students

Implementation date:  1993

Support for disadvantaged students:  Douglas has business
partners in Memphis that have contributed financial support to
purchase uniforms for needy families.

Results:  According to Guidance Counselor Sharon Carter, "The
tone of the school is different.  There's not the
competitiveness, especially in grades, 4, 5, and 6, about who's
wearing what."  Ninety percent of the students have elected to
wear uniforms on school uniform days, Monday through Thursday. 
Fridays are "casual" days during which none of the students wear
uniforms.

Baltimore, Maryland
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Type:        Voluntary uniform policy at Mt. Royal
             Elementary/Middle School

Opt-out:     Uniforms are voluntary.

Size of program: 950 elementary and middle school students

Implementation date:  1989

Support for disadvantaged students:  Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle
School keeps a store of uniforms that are provided free to
students who cannot afford the $35.00 to purchase them.  Ninety-
eight percent of graduating eighth graders donate their uniforms
to the school.

Results:  According to Mt. Royal's assistant principal, Rhonda
Thompson, the uniform policy "has enhanced the tone and climate
of our building.  It brings about a sense of seriousness about
work."  All of the students have elected to participate in the
uniform program.


Norfolk, Virginia
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Type:        Mandatory uniform policy at Ruffner Middle School

Opt-out:     None.  Students who come to school without a
             uniform are subject to in-school detention.

Size of program: 977 middle school students

Implementation date:  1995

Support for disadvantaged students:  The school provides uniforms
for students who cannot afford them.

Results:  Using U.S. Department of Education software to track
discipline data, Ruffner has noted improvements in students'
behavior.  Leaving class without permission is down 47 percent,
throwing objects is down 68 percent and fighting has decreased by
38 percent.  Staff attribute these changes in part to the uniform
code.


Phoenix, Arizona
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Type:        Mandatory uniform policy at Phoenix Preparatory
             Academy

Opt-out:     Yes, with parental consent.  Students who opt out
             must attend another middle school in the district.

Size of program: 1,174 middle school students

Implementation date:  1995

Support for disadvantaged students:  A grant from a local
foundation covers the $25 to $30 cost of uniforms for families
that cannot afford to buy them.

Results:  According to the principal, Ramon Legba, "The main
result is an overall improvement in the school climate and a
greater focus on positive behavior.  A big portion of that is
from uniforms."

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                  FOR MORE INFORMATION
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    If you have questions about school programs with uniforms,
    please call the U.S. Department of Education Safe and Drug
    Free Schools office at 1-800-624-0100.

             Prepared by the U.S. Department of Education in
             consultation with local communities and the U.S.
             Department of Justice.

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Kirk Winters
Office of the Under Secretary
U.S. Department of Education
kwinters@inet.ed.gov