Reply to Hardy Middle School -- 5th grade in feeder school -- who's considering Hardy for 6th?

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Reply to "Hardy Middle School -- 5th grade in feeder school -- who's considering Hardy for 6th?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]After reading yesterday's Washington Post article on School uniforms in many DCPS schools, I came away not reassured about Hardy's uniform requirement.  Rather, it has convinced me that if Hardy is to change (and if the perception of Hardy is to change, especially to attract more IB families), the uniforms should be dropped.  Why?  Despite some benefits (strengthening school identity and not having to make choices about clothing in the morning), the negatives are higher, at least for Hardy.

--public school uniforms have become synonymous with "urban" public schools.  [b]Parents in higher SES population schools reject them. [/b] The article noted that no DC public schools in Upper NW, Ward 3, have uniforms.  In fact, there is only one public school west of Rock Creek Park that does, and that's Hardy.

--the  article reported that, according to a study by a Va Tech professor, [b]the prevalence of uniforms in high-poverty schools means that African American and Latino children are more likely to be viewed as a group, while white children are more likely to be viewed as individuals[/b].

--more troubling are the reasons why urban public school uniforms were embraced more than 20 years ago, which is an association that Hardy should want to avoid.  According to the article,

"Once synonymous with parochial or elite public schools, [/b]uniforms took hold in public schools largely as a strategy for improving those that were struggling. Early advocates of uniforms in public schools saw them as a way to reduce gang violence and crime in schools.[b] President Bill Clinton, in his State of the Union address in 1996, gave the movement a boost when he said, 'If it  means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms.'"[/quote]

Brent - an EOTP majority white, low FARMS (%13) school has uniforms and I love them (and think most parents are pretty happy with the situation)!  So, not accurate that all high SES population schools reject them, and no worries on my part that the white kids are going to be viewed as a group and not as individuals.[/quote]

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