43
Sizing up school uniforms
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Ja’Liyah Bush wears a black polo shirt and a navy skirt while her younger sister, Myliyah Arrington, sports a white blouse and a khaki jumper, each the uniform of her respective school and grade.
Both would prefer to pick their own clothes.
Ja’Liyah starts eighth-grade at Discovery at Kirkmere this month, and Myliyah is a second-grader at Harding Elementary School.
Youngstown and Lowellville school districts require students to wear uniforms.
That doesn’t mean, though, that anything goes for school wear. Each school district has its own dress code, many of which prohibit too much visible skin or a sloppy appearance.
At Lowellville Junior/Senior High, girls can wear solid navy, black or beige/tan jumpers, skirts, dress slacks, skorts and dress walking shorts, all of which must be no shorter than 3 inches above the knee. For tops, blouses, turtleneck tops and polo shirts with a collar are permitted in navy, solid white, black or tan/beige. Some sweaters and sweatshirts are permitted.
For boys, trousers or dress walking shorts in those same colors are allowed, with dress shirts and polo shirts, both with collars, and some sweaters and sweatshirts in black, white, navy or tan/beige.
For the first three weeks of school this year, Youngstown City School children will be able to wear regular clothes. Ja’Liyah and Myliyah look forward to it.
“Regular clothes are just better,” Ja’Liyah said.
Krish Mohip, the city district’s chief executive officer, said the reason for the temporary fashion reprieve is two-fold: some parents said they couldn’t afford the required clothing, and he wants to determine if changes should be made.
A committee led by Tyrone Olverson, the district’s chief academic officer, will meet later this month and make a recommendation by Sept. 9.
In the meantime, Mohip said students must maintain an appearance that’s appropriate for school.
Research varies into how school uniforms affect student discipline, attendance and academic performance.
The city district implemented the school uniform policy in the late 1990s, citing safety reasons.
District officials at the time reasoned that students who wore expensive designer clothes to school had them stolen by other students. Others whose clothes weren’t as nice were ridiculed.
Reice Williams, Ja’Liyah’s and Myliyah’s mother, says that happens anyway. The uniforms fade and wear out and kids outgrow them. Those whose families can’t afford to buy new ones get bullied, she said.
“As parents, you have to teach your children not to bully,” she said. “You’re not going to school for fashion. You’re going to learn.”
A single mother with three children, Williams said finances are an issue, too, because times are tough.
She tries to buy clothing at discount stores, but that means they fade and wear out faster.
And her daughters are growing so she often has to buy uniforms each year and sometimes in the middle of the school year.
“It gets to a point when you pay your bills or you buy uniforms,” Williams said. “I’m not going to let my daughters go without electricity or gas.”
Her family pitches in to help.
Through its Parent Pathways program, the district provides uniforms for students whose families can’t afford them.
If you’re going to buy uniforms, though, Williams said you have to act fast. Stores stock them at the beginning of the school year, but they’re difficult to find at other times of year.
At the end of the 2014-15 school year, a group of Chaney Visual and Performing Arts students petitioned the school board and administration to allow them to opt out of uniforms. They reasoned that as artistic youth, they should be able to show their creativity in the way they dress. The district allowed it last school year, and this year will be no different.
“If they tried it out at Chaney, they should let the other schools try it, too,” Williams said.