Students, parents discuss school uniform policy at meeting
By Jennifer Colton - Argus Observer
Sunday, May 13, 2007 12:23 AM PDT
Ontario - More than 50 parents and community members attended a special meeting Thursday night at the Tiger Gym at Ontario Middle School to ask questions about a proposed uniform policy for the school.
During the session, no one spoke against the proposal, but a slew of parents, councilors and two members of the Ontario Police Department — Capt. Mark Alexander and School Resource Officer George Tolman — spoke in favor of the policy.
The OMS uniform committee based its proposals — to enforce a school uniform policy at OMS by the fall — on a program at Boise’s South Junior High School implemented last year.
Kathleen McCurdy, principal at South Junior High, attended Thursday’s meeting and spoke about her school, which takes students in seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade and has 55 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
“It’s been much easier than I ever would have expected,” McCurdy said of implementing the uniforms. “The first night before we had uniforms, I was so nervous. I just kept thinking ‘what if I show up and no one’s in uniforms.’ Well of 680 kids, 14 didn’t have uniforms on and that was because they couldn’t get them, and we then provided those.
“I know our kids come to school every day and they’re ready to learn,” McCurdy said. “We have had no problems. We’ve seen so much improvement in our kids’ self-esteem. It’s just been an amazing transition. The main goal that we had was to create a positive learning environment, and I feel like we’ve done it.”
Audience members asked questions about attendance rates and funding, and McCurdy mentioned that the school applied for and received grants to help provide uniforms for students who could not afford them.
“After the first day of school, I had neighbors come in and donate money for families who couldn’t provide uniforms,” she said. “We were able to provide those to every student (who needed assistance) and have extras. You can buy a complete uniform for $30.”
At the Boise school, the uniform policy includes black or khaki pants, maroon polo shirts and belts and has restrictions for shirt/short length and that shirts cannot be two sizes too large or too small for the student.
“South’s rule is to the knee (for skirts or shorts),” Pam Wettstein, uniform committee member, said when addressed about tightness and length of clothing. “It was hard to know how much work to do (for the OMS policy) until we got the approval. We will be looking for parent input when we get to that point.”
Student members of the school’s safety committee also gave a presentation regarding clothing they see problems with, such as gang-related appearances; offensive logos, sayings or images; alcohol-related clothing and revealing outfits.
Twenty students then modeled outfits that would fit under the tentative Ontario Middle School uniform policy — including khaki pants and white or maroon polo shirts — purchased at area stores or already in the students’ possession.
Audience members then spoke.
“I came through Ontario Middle School in 1980,” Chris Ruiz, a parent of three young daughters said. “Back then, things were different. If it’s true what I hear (about OMS), I’m going to move to Boise. I don’t want to leave Ontario, I grew up here, so you’re giving me some hope that at least something is turning around. I really hope this does come about. I wish I could have had this when I went to school.”
Other parents said that change takes time but that they were excited about the uniform policy and asked questions about enforcement, costs and school-approved logos.
“What we’re trying to do is build pride in our schools,” OMS principal LaVelle Cornwell said. “We need to bring the pride back. We want everyone who comes to school here to feel like they do belong.”
The OMS uniform committee also distributed the results of five surveys. Of OMS teachers and administrators, 100 percent said they favored a uniform policy; in a survey of 22 area law enforcement officers, 92 percent voted in favor of the uniforms.
The committee presented two surveys to students: one in-depth analysis asked if students thought a uniform policy would make the school safer — of the 175 responses, 64 percent agreed; the second polled students in class and asked if they were overall in favor of school uniforms — of the 275 students surveyed, 30 percent agreed.
“It’s a different world from when a lot of us parents went through here,” Alexander said. “Not only do I support this as captain of the police department, but also as a parent. We need to support the teachers. They’re the ones in the classroom, they have to deal with this every day, and 100 percent of them are in favor. I do support (uniforms), and I think it’s a good step forward and a proactive step.”
After the positive feedback at the session, Wettstein said the committee will approach the Ontario School Board at its next regular meeting — Thursday — to ask for a definitive answer regarding if they should develop a concrete proposal. The committee wishes to implement uniforms by the start of the 2007 to 2008 school year.
