Trend+4

Return to Movers Shakers Trends and Benchmarks Home

__**Trend Name:**__ School uniforms


 * __Basic Summary of Trend:__** Although most students are against school uniforms, many schools have found that school uniforms have helped in their districts in many ways. “…the adoption of school uniform policies can promote school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment.” Schools have found that having school uniforms results in a decrease in violence and theft of expensive things, prevents gangs from wearing gang related colors, school personnel can detect an intruder in the school, and less peer pressure by students as to what they wear. Uniforms very among schools. Most private schools require everyone to dress a like in a uniform typical to: blue pants or skirt, with either a white top or light blue top. However, other schools, mostly public schools, don’t allow students to wear the same color outfit, promoting gangs, or no logos on shirts.

For a long time, most private schools have required uniforms. Many schools across the country have reported wonderful statistics in changes with performances of the students in their school system. For example, in the fall of 1994, in Long Beach, California, students in grades kindergarten through 8th grade had to wear uniforms in school for the first time. The school saw immediate results. In the first year there was, “a 43% reduction in suspensions, 54% fewer fights, a 70% reduction in substance abuse, over 20% fewer cases of weapons possession and robbery, and an over 50% reduction in reports of battery against employees.”
 * __Key Manifestations:__** States which have enacted school uniform regulations are: California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. In large public school systems, schools have either made uniforms voluntary or mandatory, especially in elementary and middle schools. School systems include: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Miami, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle, and St. Louis.

__**Key Personnel:**__ In March 1996, President Clinton supported the idea of school uniforms. He said, "If it means that the school rooms will be more orderly and more disciplined and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside, instead of what they're wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms." After he did this, the United States Department of Education sent every school in the country a guide called, “School Uniforms: Where They Are And Why They Work.”


 * __Why/How a trend?__** This is a trend because more and more schools are starting to see the problem with students being able to wear whatever they want to school. Many local and state schools have experimented with students having to wear uniforms and found that many problems in their schools were eliminated. A survey that was done in 10 states by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, along with the clothing company, Lands’ End, which was done in 2000, found that 11% of the schools already require school uniforms, and 15% of the schools were going to be requiring the use of the uniforms. Not only do uniforms require parents to spend less money since there children don’t need as many trendy clothes; it also helps with safety in schools. Schools become safer because gang problems become eliminated and school officials can tell if someone is in the school that shouldn’t be there. If schools continue to see an increase in the performance of students in their schools, and other schools hear about these increases, more and more schools will eventually require their students to wear uniforms.

__**Links:** http://www.ed.gov/updates/uniforms.html http://www.eastjeffersonparish.com/educatio/uniforms/uniforms.htm__ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSD/is_2_57/ai_77382140