harrisonsdream
09-03-2007, 07:52 PM
Demographics may dictate uniformity
More HISD senior campuses requiring 'standardized dress'
By SARAH VIREN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Skinny jeans and baby doll dresses may be the hot new look for high school students, but such chic clothing had to stay in the closet for many inner-city Houston teens starting school last week.
While most suburban school districts still allow their older students to choose what they wear, an increasing number of HISD high schools require the polo-and-khaki look in class.
And they aren't doing so in a uniform way.
A Chronicle review of dress codes within the state's largest school district found that high schools that have bucked the uniform trend are, on average, whiter and more affluent than those with stricter dress standards, state numbers show.
Terry Abbott, Houston Independent School District spokesman, said there is no significance to the numbers.
"Principals and teachers and parents make those decisions based on the best interests of the children, taking into account the primary need for safety and a good learning environment at the campus," he wrote via e-mail.
The trend in Houston, though, is one that has been seen nationwide, as the uniform-frenzy spreads from just a few schools and districts in the early 1990s to thousands today. More than 8 percent of high schools require what is known as "standardized dress," usually polos and slacks, but that figure rises among low-income communities said David Brunsma, author of Uniforms in Public Schools: A Decade of Research and Debate.
Code fought in the suburbs
A sociology and black studies professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Brunsma said schools aren't making decisions about dress code based on race or class, but student demographics still influence the policies that evolve on a campus.
Wealthier, white suburban parents, for instance, are often more apt to fight uniform policies, he said, and "less affluent parents and those that are struggling on a day-to-day basis to pay the bills and put a roof over their heads, we know they are much more likely to defer educational authority to the schools."
Pasadena is the only other major Houston-area school district where high school students must dress alike.
HISD high schools, though, began restricting dress in the 1990s. Each campus makes the decision by committee — usually a group of administrators, teachers and parents picked by school staff. Of the nine high schools still without standardized dress requirements, whites make up the largest single ethnic group in three schools — a rarity in HISD overall, which is about 90 percent minority — and in one of them, HSPVA, whites are in the majority. Of the more than 20 with some form of uniform dress, only one campus — Lamar — has whites making up the largest single ethnic group.
Sharpstown High School, in southwest Houston, is the latest campus to go the uniform route. At the end of school last spring, school officials told students to arrive this year in khakis and Sharpstown polo shirts.
"We wanted our students to present a more academic presence than the baggy, low-riding pants that are fashionable for young men, as well as to correct the wearing of low cut blouses and short skirts on our young ladies," explained Jane Lozano, associate principal at the predominantly Hispanic school.
The new edict had some talking about transferring schools, but by last week, most had acquiesced — if a little reluctantly.
"I don't like it," said Maria Mejia, 17. "They are khakis, and you have to iron them every day."
But Mejia's older sister, Anabel, 18, said she sees some benefit. "It's OK," she conceded. "You don't have to worry about what you wear."
Reactions like this don't surprise Adolfo Santos, political science professor at the University of Houston-Downtown who studied uniform polices at HISD middle schools in the late 1990s. Poorer communities can benefit from standard dress requirements, he said, because the clothes are often cheaper than trendy ones. And minority communities, especially Hispanics, he noted, are often more open to the idea of a strict dress code. All of the majority-Hispanic high schools in the district have standardized dress.
"When you look at predominantly Hispanic schools, there is often a large immigrant population, and these are students coming from Mexico and other countries where kids are accustomed to wearing uniforms in school," Santos said.
The reasons why schools adopt or don't adopt uniforms, of course, are never specifically about race or class.
Some fit, some don't
At the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, principal Carol Mosteit said uniforms help students learn to "look the part" for the police careers many hope to have later in life. Furr High School Principal Bertie Simmons began requiring a dress code five years ago as a way to ease gang tensions and fighting at her east Houston campus.
Conversely, at Carnegie Vanguard, a gifted and talented high school, principal Ramon Moss said uniforms just haven't been the right fit for his campus, where creativity is emphasized.
"I come from a background of private schools where we wore uniforms," he said. "I would love to see us get to that point, but without the students having any major problems or being reported to the office for dress, there is really no need to change."
In the surrounding areas, parent opposition to uniforms has been the roadblock for stricter dress codes. Last year in Splendora, for instance, school board members in the majority-white district dropped plans for uniform dress because a parent survey indicated opposition.
Last year at HISD's Lamar High School, though, principal James McSwain went forward with a uniform requirement despite some opposition from parents and kids.
McSwain cited safety as the main reason. It's an issue that has become more urgent, he said, in the post-Columbine and post-9/11 world. "We wanted an edge so that we could easily spot someone who doesn't look like they belong."
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described four HISD schools without standardized dress requirements as having white students in the majority. Of the nine high schools without standardized dress requirements, whites make up the largest single ethnic group in three schools, and in one of them whites are in the majority.
More HISD senior campuses requiring 'standardized dress'
By SARAH VIREN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Skinny jeans and baby doll dresses may be the hot new look for high school students, but such chic clothing had to stay in the closet for many inner-city Houston teens starting school last week.
While most suburban school districts still allow their older students to choose what they wear, an increasing number of HISD high schools require the polo-and-khaki look in class.
And they aren't doing so in a uniform way.
A Chronicle review of dress codes within the state's largest school district found that high schools that have bucked the uniform trend are, on average, whiter and more affluent than those with stricter dress standards, state numbers show.
Terry Abbott, Houston Independent School District spokesman, said there is no significance to the numbers.
"Principals and teachers and parents make those decisions based on the best interests of the children, taking into account the primary need for safety and a good learning environment at the campus," he wrote via e-mail.
The trend in Houston, though, is one that has been seen nationwide, as the uniform-frenzy spreads from just a few schools and districts in the early 1990s to thousands today. More than 8 percent of high schools require what is known as "standardized dress," usually polos and slacks, but that figure rises among low-income communities said David Brunsma, author of Uniforms in Public Schools: A Decade of Research and Debate.
Code fought in the suburbs
A sociology and black studies professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Brunsma said schools aren't making decisions about dress code based on race or class, but student demographics still influence the policies that evolve on a campus.
Wealthier, white suburban parents, for instance, are often more apt to fight uniform policies, he said, and "less affluent parents and those that are struggling on a day-to-day basis to pay the bills and put a roof over their heads, we know they are much more likely to defer educational authority to the schools."
Pasadena is the only other major Houston-area school district where high school students must dress alike.
HISD high schools, though, began restricting dress in the 1990s. Each campus makes the decision by committee — usually a group of administrators, teachers and parents picked by school staff. Of the nine high schools still without standardized dress requirements, whites make up the largest single ethnic group in three schools — a rarity in HISD overall, which is about 90 percent minority — and in one of them, HSPVA, whites are in the majority. Of the more than 20 with some form of uniform dress, only one campus — Lamar — has whites making up the largest single ethnic group.
Sharpstown High School, in southwest Houston, is the latest campus to go the uniform route. At the end of school last spring, school officials told students to arrive this year in khakis and Sharpstown polo shirts.
"We wanted our students to present a more academic presence than the baggy, low-riding pants that are fashionable for young men, as well as to correct the wearing of low cut blouses and short skirts on our young ladies," explained Jane Lozano, associate principal at the predominantly Hispanic school.
The new edict had some talking about transferring schools, but by last week, most had acquiesced — if a little reluctantly.
"I don't like it," said Maria Mejia, 17. "They are khakis, and you have to iron them every day."
But Mejia's older sister, Anabel, 18, said she sees some benefit. "It's OK," she conceded. "You don't have to worry about what you wear."
Reactions like this don't surprise Adolfo Santos, political science professor at the University of Houston-Downtown who studied uniform polices at HISD middle schools in the late 1990s. Poorer communities can benefit from standard dress requirements, he said, because the clothes are often cheaper than trendy ones. And minority communities, especially Hispanics, he noted, are often more open to the idea of a strict dress code. All of the majority-Hispanic high schools in the district have standardized dress.
"When you look at predominantly Hispanic schools, there is often a large immigrant population, and these are students coming from Mexico and other countries where kids are accustomed to wearing uniforms in school," Santos said.
The reasons why schools adopt or don't adopt uniforms, of course, are never specifically about race or class.
Some fit, some don't
At the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, principal Carol Mosteit said uniforms help students learn to "look the part" for the police careers many hope to have later in life. Furr High School Principal Bertie Simmons began requiring a dress code five years ago as a way to ease gang tensions and fighting at her east Houston campus.
Conversely, at Carnegie Vanguard, a gifted and talented high school, principal Ramon Moss said uniforms just haven't been the right fit for his campus, where creativity is emphasized.
"I come from a background of private schools where we wore uniforms," he said. "I would love to see us get to that point, but without the students having any major problems or being reported to the office for dress, there is really no need to change."
In the surrounding areas, parent opposition to uniforms has been the roadblock for stricter dress codes. Last year in Splendora, for instance, school board members in the majority-white district dropped plans for uniform dress because a parent survey indicated opposition.
Last year at HISD's Lamar High School, though, principal James McSwain went forward with a uniform requirement despite some opposition from parents and kids.
McSwain cited safety as the main reason. It's an issue that has become more urgent, he said, in the post-Columbine and post-9/11 world. "We wanted an edge so that we could easily spot someone who doesn't look like they belong."
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described four HISD schools without standardized dress requirements as having white students in the majority. Of the nine high schools without standardized dress requirements, whites make up the largest single ethnic group in three schools, and in one of them whites are in the majority.