MacArthur

[Anonymous]

My kid at walls commented that a girl wore a tube top yesterday. Seems a little much to me ….but no dress code at walls as far as I know. Glad that so far anyway I don’t have to fight a battle over wearing a tube top to school ….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids say it’s mostly Hardy students. Lots of former Burke kids and some other privates. Kids complaining that it feels like Hardy all over again. No varsity sports or extracurriculars no clubs—no theatre. Lots of rules, little freedom, admin overzealous about all manor of weird things but especially about girls dress codes. Backpacks not allowed in hallways. A lot of Hardy vibes.

I thought they were upfront that it will take several years for sports to ramp.

I mean…how well will any team perform if the entire varsity lineup is freshmen.

The DCIAA website lists varsity volleyball games for MacArthur, as well as some cross country meets. Is that incorrect?

In DCIAA you can do fine with freshmen in many sports if some of them are competent players.

[Anonymous]

Why are people okay with banning tank tops? The "dress code" is used to police girls' clothing and bodies. Boys are not wearing "muscle shirts". Girls wear tank tops. It's August in DC and some of the classrooms are very hot. I'm not even talking about crop tops but tank tops that show a girl's shoulder. It's sad to see people on this thread being comfortable with this policy. What is wrong with a 14-year-old girl showing her shoulders? These dress code policies send girls terrible messages about their bodies.

Three inches above the knee for short or skirt length? You can't possibly believe that this is a policy meant for boys and girls too? If the shorts cover the person's butt entirely and don't show off their underwear, there should be no length requirements. What is so terrible about girls having their LEGS exposed? Tall girls and girls with long legs will not find shorts of this length.

This school has had a year to start working on its identity along with getting itself off the ground. That dress code messaging takes up a good chunk of their emails to parents and students is disheartening and, in my opinion, shows a lack of focus on more important things.

[Anonymous]

All teams are JV. No varsity sports. There are only a hundred or so freshmen and 60 sophomores.

[Anonymous]

I really don't understand why Macarthur needs a dress code when Jackson Reed does not just like I did not understand why Hardy has a dress code when Deal does not. These are supposed to be equal schools. Some kids are forced by boundary to attend these schools. They should have equal classes, clubs, sports, facilities, and rules. I am now IB for Macarthur and it saddens me to think that kids in my neighborhood will be forced to go to such an inferior high school when Jackson reed is actually much closer to our home. Hopefully they'll get into Walls and have another option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people okay with banning tank tops? The "dress code" is used to police girls' clothing and bodies. Boys are not wearing "muscle shirts". Girls wear tank tops. It's August in DC and some of the classrooms are very hot. I'm not even talking about crop tops but tank tops that show a girl's shoulder. It's sad to see people on this thread being comfortable with this policy. What is wrong with a 14-year-old girl showing her shoulders? These dress code policies send girls terrible messages about their bodies.

Three inches above the knee for short or skirt length? You can't possibly believe that this is a policy meant for boys and girls too? If the shorts cover the person's butt entirely and don't show off their underwear, there should be no length requirements. What is so terrible about girls having their LEGS exposed? Tall girls and girls with long legs will not find shorts of this length.

This school has had a year to start working on its identity along with getting itself off the ground. That dress code messaging takes up a good chunk of their emails to parents and students is disheartening and, in my opinion, shows a lack of focus on more important things.

Well said. These dress codes are so sexist. And where does one buy such long shorts?

[Anonymous]

That dress code is not ok. It means the girls will be wearing jeans or long pants in hot weather because skirts and inches three inches above the knee are hard to find!

I’d prefer a uniform over that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids say it’s mostly Hardy students. Lots of former Burke kids and some other privates. Kids complaining that it feels like Hardy all over again. No varsity sports or extracurriculars no clubs—no theatre. Lots of rules, little freedom, admin overzealous about all manor of weird things but especially about girls dress codes. Backpacks not allowed in hallways. A lot of Hardy vibes.

I thought they were upfront that it will take several years for sports to ramp.

I mean…how well will any team perform if the entire varsity lineup is freshmen.

And that would be fine if people were choosing to go to this school, but IB kids will be forced to attend a school with seriously limited academic and sports offerings. That's just not fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people okay with banning tank tops? The "dress code" is used to police girls' clothing and bodies. Boys are not wearing "muscle shirts". Girls wear tank tops. It's August in DC and some of the classrooms are very hot. I'm not even talking about crop tops but tank tops that show a girl's shoulder. It's sad to see people on this thread being comfortable with this policy. What is wrong with a 14-year-old girl showing her shoulders? These dress code policies send girls terrible messages about their bodies.

Three inches above the knee for short or skirt length? You can't possibly believe that this is a policy meant for boys and girls too? If the shorts cover the person's butt entirely and don't show off their underwear, there should be no length requirements. What is so terrible about girls having their LEGS exposed? Tall girls and girls with long legs will not find shorts of this length.

This school has had a year to start working on its identity along with getting itself off the ground. That dress code messaging takes up a good chunk of their emails to parents and students is disheartening and, in my opinion, shows a lack of focus on more important things.

It’s also problematic because how clothes fit vary by body type, with larger-bodied girls facing much more scrutiny.

Deal overhauled its dress code a number of years ago to take these issues into account. It’s still not perfect, but it’s much better than 99% of what’s out there, particularly because it doesn’t get wrapped up in lengths and body parts. And they also changed the way they handled infractions (e.g., not being punitive/making kids miss class to change).

One of Deal’s greatest attributes is its diversity. While the primary responsibility for a student’s attire resides with the student and their families, administrators and staff are responsible for ensuring that student attire does not interfere with the health or safety of any student or contribute to a hostile or intimidating environment, and that enforcement of the dress code does not cause the marginalization or oppression of any individual or group based on race, religion, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. As such, students at Deal are not required to wear a school uniform.
Students should use the following guidelines when making choices about what constitutes appropriate attire for an academic setting:
• Students must wear (a) a shirt/top (with front, back, sides, and straps or sleeves); (b) bottom/pants/shorts/skirt; and (c) shoes. These required clothing items must cover the core of the student’s body.
• Students may be required to wear particular items for specific classes, assignments, or activities. For example, students are required to wear athletic clothing and shoes for physical education (PE). Students may also be required to wear protective clothing, shoes, or eyewear for activities such as science experiments.
• Students may wear religious head coverings.
• Students may not wear clothing that reveals undergarments.
• Students may not wear non-prescription sunglasses, hats, hoodies, bonnets, swimsuits (unless
required for class or other school-sponsored activity), or clothing or accessories that could be
dangerous or used as a weapon (e.g., jewelry or shoes with protruding metal spikes).
• Students may not wear clothing with language or images depicting hate speech, profanity, pornography, violence, criminal gang symbols/membership, drugs, alcohol, or other illegal
activities.
• The dress code will be enforced in a consistent, equitable, solution-oriented, non-punitive
manner.
• If possible, students will not be removed from the classroom or miss class time to address an
actual or perceived dress code violation.
• Questions or concerns regarding the interpretation or enforcement of the dress code should be addressed to the grade-level assistant principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids say it’s mostly Hardy students. Lots of former Burke kids and some other privates. Kids complaining that it feels like Hardy all over again. No varsity sports or extracurriculars no clubs—no theatre. Lots of rules, little freedom, admin overzealous about all manor of weird things but especially about girls dress codes. Backpacks not allowed in hallways. A lot of Hardy vibes.

I thought they were upfront that it will take several years for sports to ramp.

I mean…how well will any team perform if the entire varsity lineup is freshmen.

And that would be fine if people were choosing to go to this school, but IB kids will be forced to attend a school with seriously limited academic and sports offerings. That's just not fair.

I understand it is not convenient, but I understand you can play on JR teams if you want. Are you suggesting they should have just launched with all 4 grades? They will offer many sports, but just waiting for the numbers to ramp.

[Anonymous]

Are 9th graders taking AP classes? The recent WaPo article implied freshman could take several. This is certainly not the case at JR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people okay with banning tank tops? The "dress code" is used to police girls' clothing and bodies. Boys are not wearing "muscle shirts". Girls wear tank tops. It's August in DC and some of the classrooms are very hot. I'm not even talking about crop tops but tank tops that show a girl's shoulder. It's sad to see people on this thread being comfortable with this policy. What is wrong with a 14-year-old girl showing her shoulders? These dress code policies send girls terrible messages about their bodies.

Three inches above the knee for short or skirt length? You can't possibly believe that this is a policy meant for boys and girls too? If the shorts cover the person's butt entirely and don't show off their underwear, there should be no length requirements. What is so terrible about girls having their LEGS exposed? Tall girls and girls with long legs will not find shorts of this length.

This school has had a year to start working on its identity along with getting itself off the ground. That dress code messaging takes up a good chunk of their emails to parents and students is disheartening and, in my opinion, shows a lack of focus on more important things.

Here is the problem. Go talk to the source, like I did. The principal is outside in the morning and we had a brief conversation about it. The school is very responsive. I support it! On day one you literally had students who had their undergarments exposed. I saw it with my own eyes. No one is policing the children or bothering them about their clothes from what the school admin explained to me. One announcement was made as a reminder and the policy was located in two of the updates I received from the school. I DO NOT want my child going to school where being close to naked is acceptable. News Flash if you go to Jackson Reed's website they have the same EXACT policy. Why? Because schools are trying to provide students with some type of standards when it comes to appropriate dress b/c some parents allow their children to run their household and think that the same freedom exists in society. No, the policy is not just for the girls either! The overall message was that undergarments could not be exposed. If there was no dress code, people would have a problem. If there was a uniform people would have a problem. The school did not have a year to get its identity when most of the staff did not start until July and August per their contracts. The district did.

How about you get off the computer and get involved? You would have accurate information instead of spewing misinformation for people to believe. See you at the next parent meeting since you are so concerned! I will sure be there to shut this down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people okay with banning tank tops? The "dress code" is used to police girls' clothing and bodies. Boys are not wearing "muscle shirts". Girls wear tank tops. It's August in DC and some of the classrooms are very hot. I'm not even talking about crop tops but tank tops that show a girl's shoulder. It's sad to see people on this thread being comfortable with this policy. What is wrong with a 14-year-old girl showing her shoulders? These dress code policies send girls terrible messages about their bodies.

Three inches above the knee for short or skirt length? You can't possibly believe that this is a policy meant for boys and girls too? If the shorts cover the person's butt entirely and don't show off their underwear, there should be no length requirements. What is so terrible about girls having their LEGS exposed? Tall girls and girls with long legs will not find shorts of this length.

This school has had a year to start working on its identity along with getting itself off the ground. That dress code messaging takes up a good chunk of their emails to parents and students is disheartening and, in my opinion, shows a lack of focus on more important things.

Here is the problem. Go talk to the source, like I did. The principal is outside in the morning and we had a brief conversation about it. The school is very responsive. I support it! On day one you literally had students who had their undergarments exposed. I saw it with my own eyes. No one is policing the children or bothering them about their clothes from what the school admin explained to me. One announcement was made as a reminder and the policy was located in two of the updates I received from the school. I DO NOT want my child going to school where being close to naked is acceptable. News Flash if you go to Jackson Reed's website they have the [b]same EXACT policy.[/b] Why? Because schools are trying to provide students with some type of standards when it comes to appropriate dress b/c some parents allow their children to run their household and think that the same freedom exists in society. No, the policy is not just for the girls either! The overall message was that undergarments could not be exposed. If there was no dress code, people would have a problem. If there was a uniform people would have a problem. The school did not have a year to get its identity when most of the staff did not start until July and August per their contracts. The district did.

How about you get off the computer and get involved? You would have accurate information instead of spewing misinformation for people to believe. See you at the next parent meeting since you are so concerned! I will sure be there to shut this down.

JR does not enforce the policy. At all. Which I fully support. It’s a waste of time that does lots of harm and no good.

[Anonymous]

Good luck to the new students and it's good to see the city making some progress on schools even if there are growing pains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids say it’s mostly Hardy students. Lots of former Burke kids and some other privates. Kids complaining that it feels like Hardy all over again. No varsity sports or extracurriculars no clubs—no theatre. Lots of rules, little freedom, admin overzealous about all manor of weird things but especially about girls dress codes. Backpacks not allowed in hallways. A lot of Hardy vibes.

I thought they were upfront that it will take several years for sports to ramp.

I mean…how well will any team perform if the entire varsity lineup is freshmen.

And that would be fine if people were choosing to go to this school, but IB kids will be forced to attend a school with seriously limited academic and sports offerings. That's just not fair.

I understand it is not convenient, but I understand you can play on JR teams if you want. Are you suggesting they should have just launched with all 4 grades? They will offer many sports, but just waiting for the numbers to ramp.

I’m curious to see if this actually happens. This seems like an easy way to dismiss these concerns but when push comes to shove is Jackson Reed really going to give MacArthur kids a spot on the baseball or football team considering they’d have to bus up there after school and based on the current bus commute that will take approx 45 min at a minimum.