Who said anything about rich or poor? There are schools that suspend or otherwise punish kids for uniform violations. But dcps is not going to suspend anyone for uniform issues. |
I know this is hard to imagine but there are other opinions in uniforms besides your own. It makes our mornings much easier. |
| How do you all explain to your kids that they have to follow the uniform guidance when so many other kids don’t? |
| I hate uniforms because I fight to get my kids to wear them to be good school citizens, but then for my 5th grader, compliance is genuinely sub 50% so it is hard to think it’s worth the fight. I’ve given up on pants compliance (khaki and dark green is hard for kids) as long as they’re plain. |
| If kids at risk have a 30 per cent plus absentee rate, the school isn't going to suspend a kid who frequently misses school when (s)he does show up because (s)he isn't wearing a uniform. |
DC law specifically forbids schools, dcps and charter, from suspending students for uniform violations. |
My kid went to a uniform school for years and now goes to a non-uniform school, but prefers to wear the exact same outfit every day. |
I am not arguing for this position, I am merely describing the position… Charters can’t be selective about who they take, so they find ways to kick out people who don’t have their lives together and aren’t serious about school. It’s how they select their cohorts. It’s not a rich poor thing, it’s a who has their shit together thing, and they don’t want families who don’t have their stuff together. |
| My middle school had a uniform policy as a kid because it was legitimately a gang thing- you definitely did not want to be wearing red in that neighborhood. |
| My kids school's school is lax. Some in actual uniform, some in the tshirt color. And a few kids here and there that my kid reports never wear the uniform. |
We try and give up by New Year’s. if the teacher won’t enforce it, then I can’t be bothered. Plenty of other fights to have in the morning. |
We tell our kids that we follow school rules in our family, even if other families do not. We also tell them that teachers appreciate when families follow the rules, even if the teacher never says anything to our kids about it, and that it shows respect to the teachers and the school and will ultimately reflect well on our kids. We have used this logic on uniforms, cell phone rules, etc. They don't have to agree with us or like it but they do know where we stand and that we don't bend. |
| If your kid is starting pre-K, see if a fellow parent will help you get access to the uniform swap. I've barely bought uniforms for my kids over the years. Or, if I find something one of them really likes at the swap, I'll go buy three more of the same thing, so they have that specific article of clothing that fits them. It saves me a ton of time I would have spent buying online and returning/troubleshooting random items of clothing to see what might fit them. |
This is the way. I was stunned at how high quality the swap pieces were for the pk grades, but also it makes sense since those kids grow out of sizes quick. One PK we went to had most of the pk kids out of uniform by the end of the year, our current one has pretty high compliance on colors. There are also a lot of uniform free days - my kid will still sometimes choose to wear the uniform. Definitely makes our mornings easier! |
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