<p>@deitz199 - Well-put!</p>
<p>just saying, i’m a student, and i go to a public high school, and there is no uniform enforcement. we don’t have that many gangs. to think that public high schools are a center of gang activity just shows that some people are overly sheltered. also, I don’t care what the rules are, no one is going to force me into a uniform. I can make my decisions for myself. in fact, your forcing me to wear a uniform would cause resentment between you and I. sorry if it’s harsh but i’m just being honest.</p>
<p>07Dad, I’m sure it varies widely, but our suburban public requires PE, and there is no uniform - kids wear shorts or sweatpants depending on the weather, a T-shirt, and tennis/running shoes. They also have to swim every year for PE for several weeks, requiring a one piece bathing suit for the girls. My D chose to wear a sports bra under and shorts over her swim suit.</p>
<p>I went through 12 years of catholic school wearing the same skirt every day with a white blouse. I do not approve of that type of uniform for the public schools. Plus it was darn cold in the winter walking home in that skirt! I have less trouble with a choice of several colors of pants, several colors of polo shirts, etc, that some places have today, but I am very happy my kids HS does not have a uniform policy!</p>
<p>No gym uniform policy for any public school I know of around here.</p>
<p>Our public schools all have gym uniforms.</p>
<p>My youngest took PE in elementary & middle school. No uniforms, locker room wasn’t usable.
High school she didn’t take PE, she had it waived as she participated on school sports teams, and that allowed her to take an academic class instead. I don’t think they used uniforms, in PE ( they did for their sport teams 
)</p>
<p>My older D’s middle school had basic blue/black bottoms, white shirt uniforms for class and gray tees/blue shorts for PE. They had lockers in PE. She took PE in high school one year and I think there was some vague uniform-like requirement, but it was an elective class as far as I can remember. She was also on the swim team which of course had uniforms.</p>
<p>The thing I hated most in middle school were those horrible school-color onesies we had to wear in PE. Why simple shorts and shirts were not allowed I never understood. I’d have worn any color or style had they been an option. So glad that trend has died.</p>
<p>yep-- the girls at my (1960s) public school had to wear a specific color blue onesie and the boys had to wear the same color blue gym shorts and a specific color gold t-shirt.</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought about those blue onesies in decades–shudder. And I don’t think anyone ever brought them home to be washed until vacations when they made us empty the lockers. They must have been ready to walk away on their own by then. One of the many reasons I have no desire to relive those years!</p>
<p>public middle schools have gym t-shirt required for PE with school name and logo and a white space to write kid’s name in sharpie - no PE uniforms in HS</p>
<p>How do you know when something has gone completely mainstream…when Costco starts selling it. Yup they will now be selling school uniforms.</p>
<p>I wore school uniforms from kindergarten till 8th grade. I didn’t like them at all, but didn’t actively hate them either. But it was nice to wear my own clothes once I reached high school.</p>
<p>One thing I do object to is making students at schools in low-income areas wear uniforms if students in affluent areas don’t. What a horrible message to send to kids . . . It should be implemented citywide or not at all.</p>
<p>My oldest attended public elementary until 5th grade and then went to Catholic school until 8th and back to public high school. Uniform years were good for her because it was easy to wake up and know what she was wearing. She also liked the high school years because she could show her individuality. </p>
<p>My younger children are twins. The twins attended a different public school for a pre-k program because our home school did not have the program(no child left behind right!). This other public school had uniforms. Couple of different colors shirts and pants, skirts or skorts. You could buy them anywhere you wanted. Because they could buy anywhere the quality of clothing was different between the kids. I could not see how this was going to help self esteem. Kids that could afford more expensive uniforms bought them and many different combinations. They bought hair accesories and better tights and shoes. Uniform or not you could tell the kids that were better off from the ones that were not. </p>
<p>My twins went to our home public school for 1st and 2nd grade. They had the regular dress code and their were no problems with the code at their school. </p>
<p>I put them in Catholic school for 3rd grade and they are back in uniforms. It is costly to buy uniforms times two and they wear the same size so no passing down clothing. This school has a summer and winter uniform which added even more costs. I did not buy the summer uniform last year and my kids were upset that they were one the few that didn’t buy the summer uniform. It was not mandatory to buy. So due to social pressure. I had to put out more money for the summer uniform for this coming year. They also have to have a PE uniform which consists of shorts, tee shirt, sweat pants, and sweat shirt. Every item has to be bought from one company and they are costly for some of the items. Things like hair accessories, tights, socks, sweaters and the other pieces of the uniform must be purchased from this one company. The one saving grace is that the items are made in America and they hold up very well. There is an uniform exchange twice a year but we have never taken advantage. I do not really like uniforms because I only bought enough for one set everyday of the week. For whatever reason we ran out of some piece of uniform on a routine basis. Shirt not making it into the laundry when I was doing that color. I just placed and order and bought extras this year just so this was not a problem again.</p>
<p>I am going to say that school uniforms in public schools does not work as well as in a strict private school that require a certain uniform. Public school authority to enforce the uniform policy is not really there like it is for a private school. </p>
<p>I think a very strict dress code is just as effective as a public school uniform. It may even be cheaper for the parents since they don’t have to have two wardrobes.</p>
<p>When the kids are growing the uniforms are not too economical. Once the growing levels off, they can get more years out of a uniform.</p>
<p>I have no problems with uniforms in private schools, or even charter schools. But to claim that uniforms in public schools are not a hardship for people without means is really disingenuous. For a single parent working three jobs who can only do laundry once a week at a laundromat but who can’t afford more than two sets of the required clothing (because you really can’t always find the right size at Goodwill) and for whom homeschooling is quite obviously not an option, required uniforms can be a nightmare.</p>
<p>Sop-I was in a position to need uniforms for a growing D when I didn’t have any spare money. The school had a large number of very low-income families and they had a stash of uniform pieces that these families could take for free. And Goodwill may not have all the sizes all the time but parents also shared outgrown items. AND instead of buying jeans and t-shirts I bought uniform pieces. I bought nothing new. It was actually cheaper than “regular” school clothes because if you ALWAYS wear the same thing it’s not as obvious that you have little variety in your clothing. No one cares if you have only 2 pair of black pants but they’ll notice if you have only 2 pairs of jeans or 3 t-shirts.</p>
<p>ssea, as I’ve said many times, my experience is like sop’s. My family couldn’t afford it. The school didn’t have any at the swap in my size. We had to buy new uniforms constantly because I am so tall and grew so much. I got in trouble because the skirt wasn’t long enough. I could go on and on but uniforms were horrible IME. Absolutely terrible. I don’t think a public school should make unreasonable demands on a child’s clothing. They don’t know the situation of the family and it should be left to the family. Period. Private and charter schools can do whatever they want because parents make the choice to go there. </p>
<p>My wardrobe consists of 2 pairs of jeans and numerous, numerous free t-shirts. No one in high school ever noticed the lack of variety. Or if they did, they sure as heck didn’t say anything about it to my face and I had a fabulous time in high school.</p>
<p>Yeah, I also don’t think most people notice when jeans get re-worn. They all look pretty similar anyway.</p>
<p>Good point about the money, I hadn’t thought of that before. If schools insist on a uniform, they should provide uniforms to all families free of charge, including “upgrades” as a child grows out of the old uniforms. It’s only fair.</p>
<p>Ok, let’s change it from jeans to pants. Going by what my own kids observed even at a young age, kids DO know who comes to school wearing the same things over and over. And while I don’t think districts should have to pay for uniforms, I do think they should be as easy to follow as possible. Gypsy has mentioned before extremely restrictive rules that caused her to stay home rather than go to school out of uniform. That’s just crazy. Public uniforms really can be as simple as “black pants or skirts, white tops, any brand of either.” No one can tell me that it’s impossible to buy 3 pair of pants at Goodwill for $1.29 (sale Mondays, which is what I did) that cost MORE than some other kind of pants. No one can tell me that it’s not possible to buy 2-3 white shirts of ANY brand then 3 of some other color. If you have to replace black pants you’ve outgrown, you replace red ones, or jeans, or blue ones. Replacing is replacing. </p>
<p>But I think that’s the issue, really. You have to have the uniforms so easy to match and the penalties for NOT wearing so mild that they aren’t a burden. They were a SAVINGS for me, and it was middle school, when D was growing like a weed. There’s a thing like hemming pants you intentionally buy too long then letting them out. More money saved. </p>
<p>Shrug. No longer a huge issue. Younger D has uniform-type rules at her school and even though I can afford better, I still buy such items at Goodwill. I still hem long pants and I still offer to trade if someone else needs something she’s outgrown. Were this a private school with 1 brand only and the only option was to be sent home if she wasn’t in uniform, I’d feel otherwise. Most likely, we wouldn’t be there. But even the Catholic school nearby doesn’t send kids home if they aren’t wearing their $40 skirts. There’s a huge closet full of donations for exactly this situation. Parents also run an exchange. That too, would be the right thing to do if such a program is in place.</p>