Why are some schools non-uniform wearing and others uniform required?

[Anonymous]

I get a lot of clothing on clearance so its cheaper depending on how the school would do it. Some require expensive uniforms from one shop and that would be far more than I spend now. Others let you choose if its just colors. If people are low income, I can see where it is an issue if you have to buy a full set come fall all at once.

[Anonymous]

What does the color of my skin have to do with a uniform? Go troll somewhere else. I love uniforms!

[Anonymous]

Even with uniforms, some kids come to school without them, even the gentrifying parents at our old EOTP school.

I found myself not buying that many street clothes due to wearing uniforms, but now that my kids are at a non-uniform school, I see no difference in time savings.

The kids pick out their clothes the night before and I don't care if it matches or not --the clothes are clean.

[Anonymous]

My kid’s dcps uniform code is pretty loose - colored polo (choice of light or dark) but the rest is freeform. You see girls with a polo and then elaborate princess/tutu bottoms. I like it. I went to catholic schools with measuring skirts and policing slight deviations in sweater styles and that’s a pain in the ass.

FYI the target and marks and spencer uniform shirts are good, children’s place is trash that can fall apart after one wash.

[Anonymous]

EOTP parent. I don't like uniforms. Small children should not be wearing light colored pants that stain and are too light for winter wear. Small boys destroy the knees of khaki pants. I don't need the government to tell me how to dress my kid, nor do I want to teach my kid that conformity is good.

I never say this out loud, though. I know other parents, especially those with girls, like the uniforms, and I don't want to impose my preferences on the group.

It is the low income parents at our school that have the most trouble with the uniform requirement. You can get regular clothes from friends, charitable organizations, thrift stores etc. Uniforms come from a handful of stores. If you don't have laundry facilities at home, you need more uni forms.

[Anonymous]

Another white high income family here. My kid is at a title DCPS and wears a uniform. I LOVE it! Every morning is so easy. No comments or questions about other kids clothes or wanting certain brands etc. kids can and should express themselves in other ways than clothes in elem school anyhow. I think parents are nuts, and insecure, when they argue against uniforms.

[Anonymous]

I like that it makes getting dressed easier. But I don't care for khaki (arbitrary I know!) Come on guys, make the color navy or something we can work with. (I'm mostly joking, don't hate me)

[Anonymous]

Funny how once a kid is at the "great" private school this never comes up. I guess DCPS should feel privileged to have my gifted kid among it's ranks. How dare they ask us to confirm...SMH

[Anonymous]

Love uniforms. I passed uniforms down to siblings. I also bought them big to last for years. They held up well. Rainbow and Kids 4 less sells them cheap. Also, title 1 schools usually will donate uniforms if you ask. I rotate the style of uniforms so your child will have choice in what they wear. They pick accessories like hair bows. I also let them wear school shoes. The other kids judge on who is wearing fancy or expensive shoes. So, I could imagine if they were wearing their street clothes how much they would be judged. I find that on dress down days the kids act rowdier.

[Anonymous]

I used to be team uniform but not any more. My kids are in public school so they should not have uniforms. I don’t care if my child wears a uniform anymore. She’s there to learn. Other things that are working my last nerve:

Group punishment
Taking recess away as a punishment
Obsession with walking in a straight single file line

It makes me believe they are creating a school to prison pipeline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like that it makes getting dressed easier. But I don't care for khaki (arbitrary I know!) Come on guys, make the color navy or something we can work with. (I'm mostly joking, don't hate me)[/quote

Seriously. Ketchup and grass stains are basically our school color.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I'll be provocative: white parents don't want the uniforms, so when you see your uniformed DCPS switch to non-uniformed, you'll know that you've reached the tipping point.

Black parent here. This is why I don’t like the idea of uniforms, and the EOTP vs. WOTP divide in this—too much tied to race in DC. Also, uniforms don’t improve outcomes in low-performing schools, as had been previously thought.

White parent here who is fine with uniforms EOTP because clearly they are important to others and I am happy to defer to those who care about this.

PP. You're right, I also live EOTP and know people who like them for ease of getting kids dressed in the morning w/o hassle or arguments. But I either think all schools in a given city either have them, or not. It shouldn't shake out along racial/geographic lines.

I don't love it either, but I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable making that as an argument to get rid of them.

Gentrification has brought enough change and tension to our school already. I strongly prefer to defer to lower-income preferences where I can.

PP. But here's the thing, I don't know if that's anyone's strong preference. I feel like many of these decisions were made in the 90s and they just stuck--to my knowledge, it has not been raised as an issue at our school, at least in the past several years.

This. We don't know if the low income families prefer it or if it was foisted on them in support of the (now obsolete) theory that it would improve behavior.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of people associate the plain pants plus plain polo shirt look with poor/inner city schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be provocative: white parents don't want the uniforms, so when you see your uniformed DCPS switch to non-uniformed, you'll know that you've reached the tipping point.

Black parent here. This is why I don’t like the idea of uniforms, and the EOTP vs. WOTP divide in this—too much tied to race in DC. Also, uniforms don’t improve outcomes in low-performing schools, as had been previously thought.

Good point. We now know that uniforms don't control behavior. The optics are bad that the wealthier WOTP schools don't have uniforms but some of the EOTP do. I don't like uniforms. To me, it's a visual reminder/dividing line to kids that they're not in the same kind of school as the kids at wealthier schools. Yes, in DC this is tied to race. I understand that some private schools have uniforms, but the kids in DCPS with uniforms know quite well they're not in privates.

Some posters have equated no uniforms with catering to snowflakes and having uniforms with fitting in with the lower income families. Not every lower income family has the same needs. Surely some lower income families have children with sensory issues too or would prefer to not wear uniforms. Lower Income isn't a group with all the same needs.

I'm sure I'll get excoriated for this, but I would have serious pause about sending my kids to a school with uniforms. To me, it's indicative of the school culture in a negative way, and is tied to lower expectations for socio emotional skills and other UMC expectations. I'm not saying I would never do it, but it would be an issue for me. Luckily we're happy with our uniform-free WOTP school. I'm also not looking for a bunch of responses telling me how great the socio emotional skills are at their kids' uniformed EOTP school. I'm happy for every family that is pleased with their school, but this is how I read the signals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people associate the plain pants plus plain polo shirt look with poor/inner city schools.

+1