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School uniform standards relaxed, other code changes proposed
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| By: Mark J. Crawford, Editor |
June 25, 2009 |
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At a workshop Monday to discuss proposed changes to the student code of conduct, most Bradford County School Board members agreed on modifications that will affect uniforms at the middle school as well as attire at other schools.
The board had previously agreed to continue the uniform pilot program at Bradford Middle School for one more year to evaluate any possible academic or behavioral improvement. They are loosening up standards by allowing a wider selection of colors and allowing shirts to be worn untucked.
While additional colors brought no objection, School Board Member David Smith argued against allowing shirts to be untucked. He defended the uniform concept, saying police officers don't wear their shirttails out.
"It's just part of the uniform, and those shirts are designed to be worn in," Smith said.
For other board members, administrators and the superintendent, however, the issue of shirt tucking was tied to the self-esteem of overweight students and the fact that some disabled students are unable to wear shirts tucked in. Superintendent Beth Moore said requiring overweight students to tuck in their shirts results in drawing more negative attention to them.
The middle school made case-by-case exceptions to the tucking rule last year, which ultimately led to relaxing the rule for all students. In the coming year, the school will still encourage shirts to be tucked in, but it will not be required.
To combat shirts or pants from being worn too long or baggy as a result of the tucking rule, language was inserted to address fit.
In the end, the consensus was to include the following standards for the uniform program at the middle school:
* Middle school students will wear polo-style shirts that meet the following criteria:
-All solid colors except white are permitted. No prints, stripes, multiple colors or layers allowed.
-Shirts should have a maximum of four buttons, and only the top button may be unfastened.
-No logos, except for school sponsored teams or groups that have the principal's approval.
-Fit should not be too baggy or too tight. The shirt should not rise above the pant waistline or extend below the top of the thigh.
* Middle school students will wear slacks, shorts, capri pants or skirts that meet the following criteria:
-Permitted colors are khaki, black, navy and gray (new color).
-They will be made of a twill material. No denim.
-All students may wear slacks or shorts. Girls may also wear capris or skirts. In all cases, garments are to be hemmed to the knee or below.
-Traditional four pocket or less styles only. No cargo pants.
-Fit should not be too baggy or too tight. Garment will be secured at the waist either by fit or by belt such that it does not sag below the waist.
Some changes have been proposed to the dress code at other schools as well. Girls at the secondary level will be allowed to wear sleeveless shirts again, for example, so long as those shirts are not tank tops or have spaghetti straps. Of, course halter or tube tops are not allowed, nor are midriffs or garments that show cleavage.
The district is also emphasizing no tank tops or muscle shirts for boys.
Crackdown on vandalism among other changes
The board spent around four hours Monday afternoon and evening following its regular meeting reviewing and debating additional code of conduct changes.
One the board is very serious about is driving home the message with students and their parents that trespassing and vandalism on school property will not be tolerated. Pranks, whether light-hearted or outright destructive, are being treated as disruptive to the learning environment.
This is backlash from vandalism that took place in May days before graduation in spite of a rule added last year that indicated those responsible for $500 worth of damage or more would not be allowed to walk at graduation.
Reference to a dollar amount has been removed since in the recent case there was no way to tell who was responsible for how much damage in the short interval between the crime and the ceremony.
Now anyone found to have trespassed on school property with the intent to commit a prank or vandalize school property, or who does commit a prank or vandalize school property, will be punished according to the code of conduct. A junior or senior who does so will be punished and be barred from participating in class activities and graduation.
Juniors and seniors were singled out because of the annual senior pranks, although further incidents involving younger students could lead to them eventually being excluded from graduation as well.
By putting graduation activities at risk, the district hopes family pressure will help eliminate pranks and vandalism at the high school.
One thing that became clear early on in the workshop is the confusion on the part of some over the requirements of the new positive behavior support program being instituted across the district and how it will affect how teachers deal with disruptive students. Concerned board members and teachers don't want past remedies for misbehavior removed so that teachers are saddled with constantly addressing behavior problems to the detriment of the learning environment.
Assistant Superintendent Lisa Prevatt said positive behavior support was selected as the program to implement the state's response to intervention requirements. Just as schools have been learning to track learning progress and implement new solutions when a student is not achieving academic benchmarks, the goal of positive behavior support is to find ways to intervene and teach desired behaviors students may not be learning at home.
It stresses positive reinforcement and rewarding good conduct, but that does not mean there will not be consequences for misbehavior, Prevatt said.
She said the program is research based and has been used in other school districts. Implementation began at Starke and Southside elementary schools, and training is taking place for the other schools over the summer.
Multiple school board members may attend the July 20-22 training, which will take place from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the district office, so the sessions are also being open to the public.
The disciplinary ladder has been modified, primarily due to the loss of the Bridge program, which provided for temporary placement in the Renaissance Center as a punishment. The employee responsible for Bridge has retired, so while Renaissance will remain an option when longer out-of-school assignment is called for, schools will be dealing with less serious discipline problems through detention, in- or out-of-school suspensions, parental and guidance involvement, etc.
The length of suspensions for offenses defined as Level II in the code of conduct are being reduced. Prevatt said jumping immediately to 10-day suspensions for first time Level II offenses had not resulted in better behavior so much as students spending more time out of school.
The modified punishments are three-, five-, or 10-day suspensions based on whether it was a first-, second- or third-time Level II offense. Additional Level II offenses will result in placement at the Renaissance Center and eventually expulsion.
Zero tolerance behaviors will still result in an automatic 10-day suspension and recommendation for expulsion.
The district hopes to encourage more common sense in enforcing rules, particularly fighting, by recognizing that not all fights are equal and not all involved necessarily deserve the same degree of punishment. A shoving match that ends without further violence would be treated as a Level I offense, for example, and not automatically deemed a fight. Someone found to be defending themselves would not be treated the same as an aggressor.
On the other hand, a new proposed policy will require the school to report all bullying or harassment incidents to parents of all parties involved on the same day an investigation is initiated.
Some changes have been recommended regarding absences and grades. New language states that K-12 students who have 20 or more unexcused absences in a semester will not be able to receive any grade higher than a 59 (F).
Schools are also going to enforce existing policy by taking legal action when unexcused absences amount to truancy.
Perfect attendance standards are being tightened so that no student who is tardy more than two times or with more than two early departures for which they miss a large percentage of the school day can be said to have achieved perfect attendance.
In order to participate in school activities or athletics on a particular day or night, students will have to have been in attendance of at least 60 percent of their on-campus classes for that day. The district hopes with will prevent skipping school and then showing up to play sports or attend some other function later the same night.
Given the amount of money schools were losing on textbooks, the state is now requiring districts to collect 100 percent of the cost of instructional materials that are lost, damaged or destroyed, regardless of the age or original condition of the material when it was assigned.
To keep families from waiting until their child is done with school to settle a debt, the district will prevent participation in certain activities such as the eighth-grade trip or graduation until the debt is paid.
Because there has been some problem with students refusing to hand over a mobile phone or other wireless device, from now refusing to do so will result in a discipline referral. Phones and other devices may not be seen or in use once on campus, although it was clarified that their use after school ends is not prohibited (so long as it is not on a bus).
It was also clarified that use digital cameras is not permitted.
By the end of the workshop, there was consensus on the changes proposed, but none will actually be finalized until public hearings have been advertised and held.
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2009
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S Harden |
Jun, 28 2009 |
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This whole uniform situation is crazy. I am in huge favor of the uniforms, however what is the point of a uniform if it doesn't look "uniform." Tucking in these shirts is one of the only ways to keep these boys from wearing pants that are several sizes to large for them. I think the school board thinks they are helping matters with more options, and I think that the new color options is showing enough freedom. Last year there were a lot of kids and teachers who are "larger" who tucked in their shirts with no problem. The truth be told the major offenders are not overweight children. I really hope that the board will reconsider this.
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