School makes dress-code violators wear T-shirt

[Lasher]

Associated Press
Aug. 23, 2002 11:00:00

EASLEY, S.C. - Students who violate the dress code at Easley High School are given something new to wear: T-shirts with the words "Tomorrow I will dress for success."


The other side of the shirt reads, "Today I did not meet the SDPC dress code policy for proper attire," with the letters standing for the Pickens County school district.

Easley High Principal Betty Garrison said the shirt saves time. Students who broke the code in recent years could wait up to an hour for parents to bring a change of clothes, she said.

Students can still call home for a change of clothes if they don't want to wear the shirt, Garrison said.

"To me, it's a very positive statement. The T-shirt is dull gray. It has black lettering. We intentionally selected something that would be low key," she said.

Many dress code violations involve clothing that features profanity or items illegal for students to have, such as beer or marijuana. Another problem area is the ban on midriff-baring shirts, tank tops and those with narrow spaghetti straps.

Pickens County trustee Shirley Jones said she has gotten "an enormous amount" of phone calls from parents upset about the T-shirt policy. One parent, Randy Newman, said, "I think the T-shirt is good if they make the kids wear them who need to wear them."

http://www.arizonarepublic.com/news/gifs/breaking/0823dresscode23-ON.jpg

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0823dresscode23-ON.html

[mwbahl]

OMG this is my old school district. I remember wearing what ever I wanted to school. That is so funny.

[DeeTee]

I think I like it. I especially like the "tomorrow I will dress for success" part. I am sometimes amazed at the way some of our staff come to work dressed (I work in an office atmosphere). They give "casual Friday" a whole new meaning......... Some clothes are made to wear to the beach....

[Moonmama]

on why I am homeschooling!!:rolleyes:

[MsLynn]

ok, what if the skirt is too short, that t-shirt isn't gonna help, lmao , but there is no way they would make my kids wear it, they preach to us to ALWAYS be encouraging to our kids and then they want to humiliate them like that??? thats not right. I truely feel sorry for the poorer kids who can't always be up to the school districts standard. i just don't think its right

[mewoman]

Our school district has been very up front about the dress code. In fact, the dress code policy has even been talked about on the news. Not only that, but all students are given a copy of it at the beginning of the shool year.
If after this, students still break that policy, (ESPECIALLY HIGH SCHOOL), then they deserve to have to wear this t-shirt. They are old enough to know better and to have learned to follow the rules. I know my DD is in middle school and if this happened to her, I would totally support it. (of course it won't happen, because I make sure I know what both of my kids wear) There are rules for a reason. Just because they are not adults does not mean they don't need to follow the rules. Period.

Most students that don't follow the dress code are used to getting away with doing whatever they want. This way, they will learn that they are no better or worse that anyone else.

Of course, as previous poster said, if it's a too short skirt or shorts, or in the case of our schools, those really baggy ugly pants, it doesn't help.
If that is the case in our school, the student has In school suspension until they change or until the school day is over.

[miccit]

Ok, I understand the need for dress codes. But, the ones in our district make no sense. At the elementary level, you can not wear tank tops, midriff baring shirts, short skirts, short shorts, anything with profanity, or have your hair colored. Now, I wouldn't let my kids wear any of this anyway. But, in middle school and high school-- the girls wear short skirts with half tops, strapless shirts. Half of them have pink, blue, or green hair.

If it isn't ok for elementary school kids why is it ok for high school kids. I would think skimpy clothes would be more of a problem for high school kids to wear considering they have more to show than little kids.

Oh well, I could be wrong.:)

[odyssey]

I agree! The t-shirt is a good idea, a bit harash wording on it but good.

Why should learning time be lost waiting for the parents to bring apprioate clothing for them. A) make sure your child is wearing the proper school attire B) make sure your child understands, break the rule this is the consequence.

[eeigh33]

I think I would disobey the dress code, just to wear the shirt. The shirt is probably more stylish anyway, but then again, maybe I am just a trouble maker. heheheeheheee

[mizjen]

Originally posted by eeigh33
I think I would disobey the dress code, just to wear the shirt. The shirt is probably more stylish anyway, but then again, maybe I am just a trouble maker. heheheeheheee

I was thinking the exact same thing, LOL! Glad to know I'm not the only one.:D

[bonniejeanne]

I don't like it. It humiliates the students. What if all the child did was to forget his belt? My 4.0 average son (who never causes trouble) forgot his belt once and they put him in detention. It was the first and only time that he forgot to wear his belt. And that was because I handed him his pants right out of the dryer and he dressed quickly so as not to miss his bus. Many other kids had gotten warnings and had been let off when they forgot their belt, ID, or various other items. But the only time my son ever forgot to wear his belt, his teacher reported him. Once some students had taken my nephews ID and did something with it. He was caught without it that day and the duty teacher told him to sit while she went to get something to write his information down to report him. A friend of his walked by and saw him sitting there and asked why. When my nephew told him what happened, his friend told him he was crazy, that if the teacher didn't know him, he should just run. After all, how would she know who to look for if she didn't know who he was. So my nephew ran off and never got reported. LOL.

[mattdawn]

I think some schools are taking the "dress code" too far. At a school nearby that my neices and nephew go to (the same one I graduated from) has taken it to the limit--They can't wear white pants or skirts, all black at once(they consider this to be gothic attire),No flip flops, The can only dye their hair blond, No sweat suit or sports shorts or pants, no hip huggers, all shirts have to have sleeves, and on and on. They have went as far as shining a flashlight underneath shorts to see if they were see through. If they are going to go this far with the dress code than they should wear uniforms. the school my girls go to is not as strict. I agree with some of the restrictions like no short shorts and thin tank tops and belly shirts but most of these restrictions are ridiculous. How are flip flops affecting your ability to learn?

[captorquewrench]

Originally posted by miccit
Ok, I understand the need for dress codes. But, the ones in our district make no sense. At the elementary level, you can not wear tank tops, midriff baring shirts, short skirts, short shorts, anything with profanity, or have your hair colored. Now, I wouldn't let my kids wear any of this anyway. But, in middle school and high school-- the girls wear short skirts with half tops, strapless shirts. Half of them have pink, blue, or green hair.

If it isn't ok for elementary school kids why is it ok for high school kids. I would think skimpy clothes would be more of a problem for high school kids to wear considering they have more to show than little kids.

Oh well, I could be wrong.:)

i can clarify the elementary issue with no tanks, spaghetti straps, bike shorts.

first, we are hopefully teaching our young ladies to dress a little conservatively in school situations (how they will eventually consider dressing professionally, right?. while these kinds of halter tops, etc are cute on little girls about 5 or 6 years old, once they start developing, it's no longer appropriate.
before you say the little girls in elementary school aren't developed enough to worry about their clothing being sexually suggestive, it's not unheard of for 4th graders to be in B-cups (me) or 5th graders to be in C-cups (me again) while I still wore little girl size 10/12 jeans!

With all that said, at our kids' school they explained it this way: the older kids get upset seeing the little ones wearing these things they aren't allowed to. so to be fair, they just went across the whole school with the no tanks, spaghetti straps or halter tops rule.

the dress code is consistent from elemtary through high school in our district.

i like this t shirt idea, but i also agree some districts are going overboard on their dress codes. it's listed here: http://www.katyisd.org/schools/dresscode.htm
for the most part, I don't have a problem (except I don't see why HS boys can't wear facial hair as long as it's kept neat)