Sporting a black top and white khaki shorts, Brandon High School senior Megan Arnold was confident in her garb when she left home last fall for school.
Assistant principal Jerry Warner thought differently.
‘They were only like one centimeter shorter than my fingertips,? said Arnold regarding the length of her shorts in relation to the dress code. ‘It was humiliating.? She was let off with a warning on the violation, however, she was required to wear a hot pink size XXL T-shirt with, ‘I’m one of Jerry’s Kids? printed on the front.
Arnold’s rather humbling experience stems from a BHS dress code that deemed her shorts just too short for school.
‘Kids are kids, we can try to draw a line, but teens will step right over it just to test their limits, they have always done it and they always will,? said Warner. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the worst, Warner said he would give BHS students? dress about a two.
As summer winds down and the back-to-school shopping swings into high gear, school officials remind parents and students of a few guidelines regarding the school dress codes:
n No clothing which has offensive or inappropriate pictures or writing;
n No clothing inappropriate to the educational setting, such as coats, shorts, skirts, and dresses that are shorter than the full length of fingers when extended fully at the sides;
n No Spandex, bike shorts, dance wear, mesh or see through tops without appropriate clothing underneath;
n Tank tops must have straps that are a minimum of three inches wide;
n No bare midriffs and low cut tops; no chains and other dangerous accessories.
n Other things to watch out for: make sure any holes in pants start below fingertips when fully extended at sides and that pants fully cover the butt so boxers and underwear are not shown.
Warner says that there is no new issue with the dress code; things are the same as always.
‘Our students are pretty good, I usually only have a few repeat offenders,? said Warner.
Before Warner was named high school assistant principal, many thought the dress code was an issue, so he came up with the idea of making violators wear a T-shirt. Not just any T-shirt though, Warner made sized XXL T-shirts in a variety of neon colors, with corny sayings on them. Students who were caught wearing inappropriate clothing at school where required to face the consequences, which included wearing one of the T-shirts.
‘Some kids hated wearing the T-shirts, while others wore them proudly and liked it.?
Students in other grades need to follow the dress code as well.
Harvey Swanson Elementary Principal, Helen Clemetsen, has developed dress code guidelines for the protection and safety of the children.
‘Injuries are more prevalent when students wear open-toe shoes,? said Clemetsen, ‘so to prevent injuries we do not allow open-toe shoes to be worn. This includes sandals and popular flip flops.?
Students have at least 30 minutes of recess outdoors each day. Clemetsen suggests that in warm weather no open-toe shoes be worn, and in winter months students have boots to wear for recess.
‘If students do not wear proper footwear, they are not allowed to leave the safety of the blacktop area on recess.?
Clemetsen has kept parents updated with Harvey Swanson Elementrary’s dress guidelines in the school’s newsletter.