The Coaster

By DON STINE
A uniform policy creating a strict dress code for students in pre-school through the fifth grade was adopted by the Neptune Board of Education last week and will go into effect in January.

“I am just pleased that the process has finally come to completion,” said board Vice President Jason Jones, who is the official liaison to an ad hoc committee studying the uniform policy.

Jones said the uniform policy has been under discussion for several years but that it was only in March of this year that it came under serious consideration.

“We didn’t want the policy to be too restrictive but we did want to make sure there were guidelines in place and know where Neptune wanted to go with it,” he said.

Under the new dress code, khaki-colored pants, shorts, jumpers or skirts will be the only dress option with no baggy, cargo or corduroy pants.

Either short or long-sleeved golf or polo shirts will be required and they must be red, white or black with no logos or insignias. Turtlenecks may be worn underneath the shirts and cardigan sweaters are allowed but only in one of the three allowable colors.

Socks, knee-highs, stocking or tights may be worn but only in red, white, black or neutral colors. All belts must be black or brown.

Jones said the ad hoc committee looked into school uniform policies in other districts.

“We also looked into what obstacles they encountered and how they overcame them,” he said.

Jones said a major reason the board wanted to initiate a uniform dress-code policy is to create parity among students.

“It was not an issue of preventing violence or anything like that. It was an issue that economically it’s time we stepped up and helped parents and students out,” he said.

Jones said the new policy should alleviate a lot of issues surrounding clothing, including peer pressure and the cost to purchase them.

He said the policy can be amended in the future to reflect the needs of staff, students and parents and that enforcement of the policy will be up to the school principals.

“There will be guidelines but, in the end, the principals will have the final say and they will have the support of the board,” he said.

Board President Beverly J. Holland said the ad hoc committee recently conducted surveys of parents at the elementary schools and early childhood learning center.

“Each parent was given a printed survey to fill out and for every one person that did not like the uniform policy, another four people were in favor of it. They overwhelmingly supported it and that surprised me,” she said.

At a contentious board meeting over the summer parents came out both against and in favor of the uniform policy.

By state statute, the board needs to wait 90 days before implementing the policy.

Holland said many parents are already aware the uniform policy is being implemented but she added that every effort will be made to notify all parents about the board’s decision and when it goes into effect.

She said many parents had already voluntarily sent their children to school in the uniforms this year even though it was not required.

“I’m very optimistic about the program. A majority of board members and parents support it and I think will be a huge success,” she said.

Holland said the uniform policy will eventually be required at the Middle School and High School but that it may be implemented slowly.

“We are going to watch what happens in the elementary schools and that will help the board make a determination on expanding it, perhaps as early as next year but parents will be surveyed first,” she said.

Holland said the policy may be implemented on a graduated basis with each class continuing with the policy as they advance into the higher grade levels.

“They will then be accustomed to it and it may move through the upper grades that way,” she said.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 3:27 pm and is filed under Education, Neptune. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.