The School “Fitting Day” Program

We have heard from a number of schools recently who are all running into the same problem: it is difficult to find a uniform supplier who will carry their plaid if they don’t buy from them exclusively. More and more schools are running into this problem. In Utah, for example, charter schools are required by state law to offer more than one supplier to parents. What’s to be done?
First of all, you have to understand the problem. Generally speaking, uniform suppliers can only carry a school’s plaid if the school buys from them exclusively because they need to be able to gauge the amount of inventory to stock. When a school offers their parents more than one option, suppliers don’t know how many uniforms they will sell and so it becomes difficult to know how many to stock.
If you have run into this difficulty, ask your supplier if they can set up a school “fitting day” program. Here’s how it works: your supplier will bring in one of each size of every item in your dress code. Towards the end of the school year in June, they send the items out to your school. Your school will advertise the fitting day to parents so that they can have their kids try on the items that they are interested in. When they know what size they need, they can place an order with the school. The school then gives the orders to the supplier so that they can order the exact items from the manufacturer.
Why does this help? It helps because kids are able to try items on to find their exact size, and because they place their orders in June, suppliers can order the exact sizes from manufacturers. The result is that students don’t have to worry about returning items because they don’t fit. Uniform suppliers don’t have to worry about how much to stock. And schools can get any plaid, in any style, and still have two suppliers.

Model School Uniform Policies

States and local school districts must decide how they will ensure a safe and disciplined learning environment. Below are some examples of school districts that have adopted school uniforms as part of their strategy.

Long Beach, CaliforniaType: Uniforms are mandatory in all elementary and
middle schools. Each school in the district
determines the uniform its students will wear.
Opt-out: Yes, with parental consent
Size of program: 58,500 elementary and middle school students
Implementation date: 1994

Support for disadvantaged students: Each school must develop an assistance plan for families that cannot afford to buy uniforms. In most cases, graduating students either donate or sell used uniforms to needy families.

Results: District officials found that in the year following implementation of the school uniform policy, overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights decreased 51 percent, sex offenses decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased 50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism decreased 18 percent. Fewer than one percent of the students have elected to opt out of the uniform policy.

Dick Van Der Laan of the Long Beach Unified School District explained, "We can't attribute the improvement exclusively to school uniforms, but we think it's more than coincidental." According to Long Beach police chief William Ellis, "Schools have fewer reasons to call the police. There's less conflict among students. Students concentrate more on education, not on who's wearing $100 shoes or gang attire."

Seattle, WashingtonType: Mandatory uniform policy at South Shore Middle School
Opt-out: Yes, with parental consent. Students who opt out
must attend another middle school in the district.
Size of program: 900 middle school students
implementation date: 1995

Support for disadvantaged students: South Shore works with local businesses that contribute financial support to the uniform program. In addition, the administration at South Shore found that the average cost of clothing a child in a school with a prescribed wardrobe is less than in schools without such a program, sometimes 80 percent less. School officials believe that durability, reusability and year-to-year consistency also increase the economy of the school's plan.

Results: The principal of South Shore, Dr. John German, reports that "this year the demeanor in the school has improved 98 percent, truancy and tardies are down, and we have not had one reported incident of theft." Dr. German explains that he began the uniform program because his students were "draggin', saggin' and laggin'. I needed to keep them on an academic focus. My kids were really into what others were wearing." Only five students have elected to attend another public school.

Richmond, VirginiaType: Voluntary uniform policy at Maymont Elementary
School for the Arts and Humanities
Opt-out: Uniforms are voluntary.
Size of program: 262 elementary school students
Implementation date: 1994

Support for disadvantaged students>: Responding to parent concerns about the cost of uniforms, the school sought community financial support for the uniform program. Largely as a result of financial donations from businesses and other community leaders, the percentage of students wearing uniforms rose from 30 percent in 1994-95, the first year of the program, to 85 percent during the current year.

Results: Maymont principal Sylvia Richardson identifies many benefits of the uniform program, including improved behavior, an increase in attendance rates and higher student achievement.

Kansas City, MissouriType: Mandatory uniform policy at George Washington
Carver Elementary School
Opt-out: None. Carver is a magnet school to which parents
and students apply knowing about the uniform
policy.
Size of program: 320 elementary school students
Implementation date: 1990

Support for disadvantaged students: Students receive their uniforms at no cost to them. The state and school district pay for the uniforms primarily with magnet school funding.

Results: Philomina Harshaw, the principal for all six years that Carver has had uniforms, observed a new sense of calmness throughout the school after students began wearing uniforms. "The children feel good about themselves as school uniforms build a sense of pride. It forces adults to know a child."

Memphis, TennesseeType: Voluntary uniform policy at Douglas
Elementary School
Opt-out: Uniforms are voluntary.
Size of program: 532 elementary school students
Implementation date: 1993

Support for disadvantaged students: Douglas has business partners in Memphis that have contributed financial support to purchase uniforms for needy families.

Results: According to Guidance Counselor Sharon Carter, "The tone of the school is different. There's not the competitiveness, especially in grades, 4, 5, and 6, about who's wearing what." Ninety percent of the students have elected to wear uniforms on school uniform days, Monday through Thursday. Fridays are "casual" days during which none of the students wear uniforms.

Baltimore, Maryland Type: Voluntary uniform policy at Mt. Royal
Elementary/Middle School
Opt-out: Uniforms are voluntary.
Size of program: 950 elementary and middle school students
Implementation date: 1989

Support for disadvantaged students: Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School keeps a store of uniforms that are provided free to students who cannot afford the $35.00 to purchase them. Ninety-eight percent of graduating eighth graders donate their uniforms to the school.

Results: According to Mt. Royal's assistant principal, Rhonda Thompson, the uniform policy "has enhanced the tone and climate of our building. It brings about a sense of seriousness about work." All of the students have elected to participate in the uniform program.

Norfolk, VirginiaType: Mandatory uniform policy at Ruffner Middle School
Opt-out: None. Students who come to school without a
uniform are subject to in-school detention.
Size of program: 977 middle school students
Implementation date: 1995

Support for disadvantaged students: The school provides uniforms for students who cannot afford them.

Results: Using U.S. Department of Education software to track discipline data, Ruffner has noted improvements in students' behavior. Leaving class without permission is down 47 percent, throwing objects is down 68 percent and fighting has decreased by 38 percent. Staff attribute these changes in part to the uniform code.

Phoenix, ArizonaType: Mandatory uniform policy at Phoenix
Preparatory Academy
Opt-out: Yes, with parental consent. Students who opt
out must attend another middle school in the
district.
Size of program: 1,174 middle school students
Implementation date: 1995

Support for disadvantaged students: A grant from a local foundation covers the $25 to $30 cost of uniforms for families that cannot afford to buy them.

Results: According to the principal, Ramon Leyba, "The main result is an overall improvement in the school climate and a greater focus on positive behavior. A big portion of that is from uniforms."

Users' Guide to Adopting a School Uniform Policy

The decision whether to adopt a uniform policy is made by states, local school districts, and schools. For uniforms to be a success, as with all other school initiatives, parents must be involved. The following information is provided to assist parents, teachers, and school leaders in determining whether to adopt a school uniform policy.
Get parents involved from the beginning
Parental support of a uniform policy is critical for success. Indeed, the strongest push for school uniforms in recent years has come from parent groups who want better discipline in their children's schools. Parent groups have actively lobbied schools to create uniform policies and have often led school task forces that have drawn up uniform guidelines. Many schools that have successfully created a uniform policy survey parents first to gauge support for school uniform requirements and then seek parental input in designing the uniform. Parent support is also essential in encouraging students to wear the uniform.
Protect students' religious expression
A school uniform policy must accommodate students whose religious beliefs are substantially burdened by a uniform requirement. As U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley stated in Religious Expression in Public Schools, a guide he sent to superintendents throughout the nation on August 10, 1995:
Students may display religious messages on items of clothing to the same extent that they are permitted to display other comparable messages. Religious messages may not be singled out for suppression, but rather are subject to the same rules as generally apply to comparable messages. When wearing particular attire, such as yarmulkes and head scarves, during the school day is part of students' religious practice, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act schools generally may not prohibit the wearing of such items.
Protect students' other rights of expression
A uniform policy may not prohibit students from wearing or displaying expressive items -- for example, a button that supports a political candidate - so long as such items do not independently contribute to disruption by substantially interfering with discipline or with the rights of others. Thus, for example, a uniform policy may prohibit students from wearing a button bearing a gang insignia. A uniform policy may also prohibit items that undermine the integrity of the uniform, notwithstanding their expressive nature, such as a sweatshirt that bears a political message but also covers or replaces the type of shirt required by the uniform policy.
Determine whether to have a voluntary or mandatory school uniform policy
Some schools have adopted wholly voluntary school uniform policies which permit students freely to choose whether and under what circumstances they will wear the school uniform. Alternatively, some schools have determined that it is both warranted and more effective to adopt a mandatory uniform policy.
When a mandatory school uniform policy is adopted, determine whether to have an "opt out" provision
In most cases, school districts with mandatory policies allow students, normally with parental consent, to "opt out" of the school uniform requirements.
Some schools have determined, however, that a mandatory policy with no "opt out" provision is necessary to address a disruptive atmosphere. A Phoenix, Arizona school, for example, adopted a mandatory policy requiring students to wear school uniforms, or in the alternative attend another public school. That Phoenix school uniform policy was recently upheld by a state trial court in Arizona. Note that in the absence of a finding that disruption of the learning environment has reached a point that other lesser measures have been or would be ineffective, a mandatory school uniform policy without an "opt out" provision could be vulnerable to legal challenge.
Do not require students to wear a message
Schools should not impose a form of expression on students by requiring them to wear uniforms bearing a substantive message, such as a political message.
Assist families that need financial help
In many cases, school uniforms are less expensive than the clothing that students typically wear to school. Nonetheless, the cost of purchasing a uniform may be a burden on some families. School districts with uniform policies should make provisions for students whose families are unable to afford uniforms. Many have done so. Examples of the types of assistance include: (a) the school district provides uniforms to students who cannot afford to purchase them; (b) community and business leaders provide uniforms or contribute financial support for uniforms; (c) school parents work together to make uniforms available for economically disadvantaged students; and (d) used uniforms from graduates are made available to incoming students.
Treat school uniforms as part of an overall safety program
Uniforms by themselves cannot solve all of the problems of school discipline, but they can be one positive contributing factor to discipline and safety. Other initiatives that many schools have used in conjunction with uniforms to address specific problems in their community include aggressive truancy reduction initiatives, drug prevention efforts, student-athlete drug testing, community efforts to limit gangs, a zero tolerance policy for weapons, character education classes, and conflict resolution programs. Working with parents, teachers, students, and principals can make a uniform policy part of a strong overall safety program, one that is broadly supported in the community.

School Uniforms: Where They Are and Why They Work

A safe and disciplined learning environment is the first requirement of a good school. Young people who are safe and secure, who learn basic American values and the essentials of good citizenship, are better students. In response to growing levels of violence in our schools, many parents, teachers, and school officials have come to see school uniforms as one positive and creative way to reduce discipline problems and increase school safety.
They observed that the adoption of school uniform policies can promote school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment. The potential benefits of school uniforms include:
decreasing violence and theft -- even life-threatening situations -- among students over designer clothing or expensive sneakers;
helping prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school;
instilling students with discipline;
helping parents and students resist peer pressure;
helping students concentrate on their school work; and
helping school officials recognize intruders who come to the school.
As a result, many local communities are deciding to adopt school uniform policies as part of an overall program to improve school safety and discipline. California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia have enacted school uniform regulations. Many large public school systems -- including Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Miami, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle and St. Louis -- have schools with either voluntary or mandatory uniform policies, mostly in elementary and middle schools. In addition, many private and parochial schools have required uniforms for a number of years. Still other schools have implemented dress codes to encourage a safe environment by, for example, prohibiting clothes with certain language or gang colors.

Campus Wear

In response to an unending debate over uniforms, many schools are turning to Campus Wear. The most controversial aspects of the Uniform Debate have been summarized. Most fear school uniforms prohibit individuality. Campus Wear helps schools monitor the student’s clothing, but gives students the flexibility they need.
Male students could wear a short sleeved oxford, long sleeved polo, or turtleneck, etc. in any combination of colors with shorts or pants in varying styles and colors. Maybe throw in a sweater vest or a cardigan.
Female students can choose from any number of blouses and shirts in varying styles and colors, different lengths and styles of skirts, skorts, culottes and pants with the popular mid and low rise styles. The possible combinations go on and on. Consider coordinating with your school colors. Campus Wear can be tailored to fit your school and your students. Parents, students, and schools all benefit.

A Ladies School Uniform

Many of the people who oppose school uniforms criticise the lack of originality they afford. There, of course, is an element of truth to this. But they also don't realize how many options there actually are. So what are some of the elements of a ladies school uniform? Here is a start:


The Blazer. A Classic.
Navy with gold buttons and patch pockets.




Pullover. Cardigan. Sweater Vest.
Youth, Adult, Big and Tall.
Acrylic, Cotton, or Fine Guage- Navy, Wine, or Tan.




Knit Shirt.
Polo Shirt. Turtleneck.




Blouse.
Camp Shirt. Peter Pan. Pointed Collar. Oxford.



Plaid.
Jumper. Skirt. Cullote. Skort. Short.





Slacks.
Plain Front. Pleated. Mid-Rise. Classic.

Hurricane Katrina Relief

Hall Closet School Uniforms is offering 40% OFF all in-stock items to families affected by Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of students and families have been displaced as a result of the disaster, and have been forced to find new schools at the start of the school year. If you are in need of new school uniforms as a result of the disaster, or know someone who does, call toll free 877-275-7903 and speak to one of our staff, or email us.

About Hall Closet Uniforms & Apparel

Hall Closet Uniforms & Apparel is committed to providing quality uniforms and apparel to schools and families across the country. We have brought together products from manufacturers such as School Apparel, Royal Park Uniforms, Elderwear, Executive Apparel, Ee Dee Trim and Classroom Uniforms and made them available at prices you can afford. Through the convenience of our secure e-commerce website, new catalog and friendly, helpful staff in Moscow, ID – you’re just a click, email or phone call away from beautiful, tasteful apparel.
Nestled in the midst of the rolling wheat fields known as the Palouse, from which the Appaloosa horse derives its name, Hall Closet Uniforms is located in Moscow, Idaho – also home to New St. Andrews College, Logos School, the Association of Classical & Christian Schools and the University of Idaho. Though our horses don’t talk, the Palouse is a wonderful place to live, not so unlike the land that Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund encountered in the wardrobe of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. In this closet, though, you will find quality school uniforms and the friendly folks that bring you the great customer service you are looking for. You’ll also find a wide selection, great prices and a partner you can trust. Thanks for visiting Hall Closet Uniforms & Apparel – where your satisfaction is our highest goal.
By leveraging today's technology we are able to deliver excellent quality school uniforms without having to pass on the cost of expensive overhead. Parents, schools and kids all benefit.
Thank you for considering us for a mutually beneficial partnership with your school. Please consider the following services and programs.
~Toll free phone service for questions, orders and advice
~Same day email response to all inquiries
~Customized section on web-site for your school
~On-site "Fitting Day" program for your school
~Investment rebate of up to 8% of sales for your school
~Interactive web-site for questions, orders and research
~Custom embroidery, screen printing and heat-press service with name or logo
~Flexible return/exchange program
~Low-cost shipping charges