Public school wants to make the grade wearing uniforms (Oregon)

katu.com ^

[chance33_98]

Public school wants to make the grade wearing uniforms

The school year is winding down and after all the challenges Oregon schools faced this year summer vacation may be a welcome break. But one school in the Parkrose district is already excited about next year.

A few months back the principal and teachers at Russell Elementary sat down and graded themselves and gave themselves a B. Not bad, but they wanted to bring that up to an A+.

Now they think they have a way to make the grade, and part of the plan is something you don't normally see at a public school.

Next year the school will have new curriculum, take on a new name, the Russell Academy of Academic Achievement, and its students will be required to wear uniforms.

"I don't like collars on my outfits so it's going to be kind of hard and it's going to be hard not use all my really cool clothes," said third grader Robert Brodeanu.

Mrs. Dasler's third graders have a lot of opinions on the matter.

"I kind of like it, but I wish it had some red on it, because red's my favorite color," said Brodeanu. Some foresee problems on the playground.

"It's going to be very hard to find my best friends and we're all going to look like twins," said third grader Art Blashishin.

"You know you'd be like, 'hey who are you, I don't know who you are, who are you, I don't know you,'" said third grader Willy Jensen.

But that's exactly what teachers and other students like about the plan.

"It's kind of like everybody's on the same playing field, every level - and they're not going to come in spend a lot of time talking about what kind of dress they got for their birthday, and puts the focus back on learning," said teacher Wanda Dasler.

"It's not very good that they're showing off their clothes and some people don't have money to buy clothes so it will be better with uniforms," said third grader Katelyn Slyter.

Willy Jensen remains a skeptic. "If they can't show off their clothes you know what they're going to show off, their hairstyle."

The kids said their parents are obviously ecstatic about the uniform plan. A complete uniform can cost as little as $20.

Principal Rose said he's already fielded a half dozen phone calls from parents who want to transfer their child to Russell because of the changes.

[chance33_98]

Principal Rose said he's already fielded a half dozen phone calls from parents who want to transfer their child to Russell because of the changes

Just wait until vouchers.

[TomServo]

Public school wants to make the grade wearing uniforms

[fml]

Everytime our district floats the idea of a dress code or uniforms I always vote yes, and I'm always outvoted.

[Uncle Sausage]

From what I've seen over the years, it's the teachers that need a dress code.

[netmilsmom]

Anyone who votes against a school uniform is an idiot.
Check this out....
http://www.frenchtoast.com
I dress my daughter with two uniform jumpers, one skort, two pairs of pants and six shirts. Add it up. One can save big bucks on school clothes. All of these will pass down to her little sister because they will not be out of style.

There are tons of ways to make individuals out of your child, but in school the focus should be on learning.

[Betty Jane]

I work at a charter school that requires uniforms. The cost savings is tremendous. My daughter wore the same skorts and jumpers for three years before they were outgrown. I sold them for about half what I paid and that little girl has worn them for the past two years. And they still look good. My daughter can still wear the original shirts, but we started replacing them with the next size up. Over four years I have spent less than $300 on school clothes, and I could have saved some money had I not bought so many to start.

On the complaints that the kids all look the same, that is bunk. They have to develop their own personalities. I can tell who a kid is, in his uniform, from across a crowded playground by the way he walks or moves. If I see that same kid out of uniform, it takes me a minute to place him. Oh, and out of uniform, they all dress the same anyway. Baggie shorts and baggy t-shirts.

[fml]

My children have always been dressed rather conservatively(no shorts for school, no labels , nothing too tight & nothing too loose) Now that the are dressing themselves the boys get a little grief for being "plain" and my daughter would never even consider wearing a mini or those stupid pants with something written across their butts. The schools have rules but not too many parents are interested in being told how to dress their children to create a proper atmosphere for learning.

[mitchbert]

Having the kids all looking the same is also a major plus with regards to security in the school. Outsiders, often the cause of much trouble, stick out instantly.

[netmilsmom]

>>On the complaints that the kids all look the same, that is bunk.<<

My daughter is all little girl. I sew beads, ribbons and lace on her shirts and socks. She has become what every girl in her class wants to be. She has long blonde curls that are worn in a pony tail, braid or braids or just hanging long. Hair can make an individual.
It's funny because when we had a lice scare, I braided her hair and wrapped it around her head to make a crown. She came home and said that another girl laughed at it. I told her the girl was jealous because her mother did nothing with her hair. The next day three other girls had the hair style! They may all be in Blue and White but each is an individual.
She goes to a charter as well.

[arly]

Achtung...welcome to the socialist states of Amerika.

[arly]

I think I made my point Barry maybe it will sink in for you after awhile.

[arly]

for security ??... how about dressing all the teachers and staff in uniforms too?

[arly]

Okay.. I don't understand how putting kids in uniforms is going to improve the quality of there education., I find it alarming to see comments by a third grader like "It's not very good that they're showing off their clothes and some people don't have money to buy clothes so it will be better with uniforms," that sounds like a quote from Karl Marx. I went to a public school and was raised in a lower middle class I didn't have the luxury of wearing $120 blue jeans but some kids did... so what!.. This is a free country at what age do people earn the right to become
individuals?

[fml]

This is a free country at what age do people earn the right to become
individuals? ----

How about after graduating?