School Uniforms In Urban Schools

School uniforms are beneficial and have proven to be a strong deterrent against gang violence, dress code violation and have a significant impact on instructional time as a result of less focus on nonacademic issues such as student attire. We believe that a mandatory school uniform policy will provide a more secure school environment, promote an atmosphere for greater discipline, and increase-learning opportunities for students by removing many of the distractions associated with various types of clothing; however, a grant request for $25,000 to purchase additional uniforms for students who are economically disadvantaged was rejected. The exact reason why the grant proposal was rejected was not clear. Mann (2015) asserts that there are

Over the years, clothing with ties to gangs have become more prevalent in schools. Students can indicate their affiliation by simply wearing a certain color. This makes rival gang members much easier to pick out, and therefore much easier to target and fight on school grounds. Because schools cannot and will not ban an entire color, nothing is stopping their students from continuing to showcase their loyalty to their group and physically assaulting enemies. Uniforms have proven to be an effective solution to this problem. A case study in Long Island, California exhibited how not just schools, but the community as a whole benefited from the decision to require students to wear uniforms. The crime rate dropped by 91 percent, school suspensions dropped by 90 percent, and incidents of vandalism were reduced by 69 percent (Public School). Though the study took place in 1995, schools continue to find that uniforms contribute to a safer environment. An increase of schools, from 11.8% in 2000 to 20.4% in 2014, adopted uniforms for safety purposes (Digest).

In a longitudinal study on discipline and school police data, researchers found that school referrals were down thirty-three percent from the previous year when students did not wear uniforms. (Sanchez, et al.,2012). This quantitative research study did a wonderful job of getting a sufficient amount of personal student opinions on the usage of uniforms through a self-report survey. The study illuminates the distaste that students have for school uniforms. Sanchez (2012) conveyed that eighty percent of students reported that they disliked or strongly disliked wearing uniforms. Moreover, students also shared that bullying, fighting, and gang activity was still

middle to higher income areas due to the fact that that these middle to higher income areas realize that required school uniforms is the last thing that they are worried about, these districts have more complicated issues they have to take head on. There are issues that have to be addressed in a certain order, having to worry about a required uniform for the students are the last thing they are worried about. The reasons for required school uniforms in low income areas vs. medium or high income areas may surprise you, such as the fact that these low income areas are low performing.Yes,required dress code policies, implement benefits and advantages to Cps students such as deterring them from getting in the middle of violence to reducing bullying, peer pressure. Yet the implementation of school uniforms in low income areas has no actual evidence of helping students academically. Changing the requirement for school uniforms for Cps students guide students to focus more on their studies, showing students uniforms will not form their

Let’s say that you came home Friday and instantly had to go to a soccer game. Then you came home, took a quick shower and went to go camping with a friend. The next day, you went back home and decided to go to a haunted house. You met a friend there and decided to hang out for a while. That eventually turned into a big sleepover with a bunch of people. You didn’t get back home until ten o’clock on Sunday. You crept into your room and fell asleep. Before you know it, it’s six thirty in the morning. The bus comes in ten minutes. You rush to your closet, then realize with a sinking feeling that your uniform is lying on the floor, dirty and unwashed. This is just one of many reasons why public schools shouldn’t require the use of a public uniform.

Does the decrease in violence have anything to do with school uniform policies? Educators seem to think so and with good reason. Surveys have proved that schools with uniform policies have had a decline in violence and robbery(“Will school”). A school reported 36% less offense occurrences since mandatory school uniform rules were put in place(COHN, CARL A). How can something so simple as requiring uniforms make that much of a difference? The decrease in robberry can be accossiated with the fact there aren’t as many kids wearing designer clothing. School uniforms don’t use gang colors therefore results in less problems concerning gangs("Should You”). Schools have also reported of there being fewer fights and less troubles with social ranking("Should

Every public school in the U.S. should require uniforms to be worn by all students. Requiring school uniforms is largely supported by administrators and parents, as the mandatory dress code may deter in-school violence and assist administrators in recognizing dangers earlier. Additionally, mandatory uniforms can increase the student’s focus on education, and decrease expenses in clothing for parents in an economically unstable environment.

Until President Clinton called attention to the issue in his State of the Union address, mandatory public school uniform policies were sporadic local occurences. A few school districts had been quietly experimenting with uniforms for years, but the issue caught President Clinton's eye after the Long Beach, California school district released some numbers suggesting that after only one year, its mandatory uniform policy had not only brought about significant decreases in vandalism and fighting, but had also led to higher test scores. Now that the President's endorsement has elevated school uniforms into the realm of federal education policy, a question needs to be answered: Are uniforms a good idea?

.”There has been tragic events where students are murdered for (excessive) accessories/ jewelry, because the school did not restrict them from wearing free clothes. School uniforms provide a sense of safety and feeling of security. This serves as a security in-school, and enables easy identification off-site as well. It creates a public awareness for the school. It makes the school look more professional and organized.Karin Polacheck, PhD, former Board President of the Long Beach Unified School District: "Uniforms improve discipline, self-esteem and self-respect. They focus attention upon learning and away from such distractions as fashion competition and gang intimidation. Requiring uniforms enhances school security by permitting identification of non-students who try to enter the campus. Weapons have been concealed in jumpsuits, overcoats, and baggy gang clothing.” It also differentiates between students and

This trend started to spread to other states on the east coast. Students who attend schools with mainly low-income and minority students started to enforce the school uniform policy ("Background of the Issue"). In 1994, Long Beach Unified School District in California was the "first school District in the United States to require all [the] students to wear uniforms" ("Background of the Issue"). They felt that the gang activity was an issue and that the clothes the members wore were an "unofficial uniform of intimidation"("Background of the Issue"). School uniforms have changed throughout the years. As they started to make the journey to American schools, people have started to notice that not all the benefits said about them are true.

“The present school uniform movement began in the late 1980s when inner-city schools in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. experimented with this policy, showing some measurable success” (Firmin, Smith, & Perry, p. 2). With the movement of school uniforms in public schools starting not too long ago, there have been many benefits that have come along with it and one of the benefits is that violence in schools has been lowered.

Next, is the sneakiness behind the administration and their altered statistics. Long beach California is a town that incorporates school uniforms into their schooling. The district claims the academic success and low violence rates are due to the school uniforms. They did leave out the other improvements in their districts including, promotion of conflict resolution, peer mediation, and parental involvement. The superintendent of this district made a comment to the Harvard Education Letter stating,”It is really hard to know exactly what is causing the positive effect.” This shows how districts are hiding other information to promote how well uniforms fix problems when in reality, it could be many things. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Southern

Uniforms are an identifying outfit or style of dress worn by the members of a given profession, organization, or rank. (Dictionary.com) A typical uniform consist of dark pants or shorts for boys, skirt for girls, and a shirt or a blouse. Students can also buy and wear a T-shirt with the school logo but it is not common. School uniforms first became popular in the United States in the mid 1900’s and originated from England. The major movement towards uniforms in state schools began with President Bill Clintons State of the Union speech in 1996. President Clinton stated in his speech that "If it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear

Capital will eventually run out and students will be forced to buy their own uniforms. This would result in several students left wearing the same outfit multiple times a week which would draw criticism from other children and further expose poverty. Finally, uniforms are partially responsible for racism in communities. According to Dr. Derrick Campbell, an expert in Educational Leadership, “Mandatory uniform policies in public school are more commonly found in high-poverty areas.” On average, three and a half times more African Americans and Hispanics live inside high-poverty areas than outside them (Campbell). A large divide like this teaches adolescents that minority groups must wear uniforms while white children don’t. Uniforms impede on the development of children’s minds and opinions.

Parents want their children to concentrate on their academics, not to worry about the violence that has entered our schools. Children are being attacked for the labeled clothing and the gang clothing worn by some students. These are just some of the factors generating an increase in violent behavior at school. The school board members and the PTA (parent teachers association) knew something needed to be done. One of the many suggestions made was to implement a school uniform policy. The Department of Education and Department of Justice developed a "Manual on School Uniforms", which describe the benefits of school uniforms, provides an outline for establishing a school uniform policy for schools that are interested in the program, and describes numerous uniforms programs from other school districts across the country.