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The Uniform Test By MICHELE SAGER of The Tampa Tribune
LONG BEACH, CALIF. - Wearing the same type of outfit to school day after day may seem like a dull prospect for some Polk County students.
Maria Mgadan, 7, reaches for the next ring during recess. The second-grader attends Theodore Roosevelt Elementary where every student wears a school uniform.
WFLA for the Tribune/Maurice CapobiancoBut on the other side of the nation, 10-year-old Julia Najar says her uniform is like any other school supply.
``You don't complain when you have to bring pencils or notebook paper, why are uniforms such a big deal?'' she said. ``A uniform is like your work clothes, and you come to school to work.''
The fourth-grader, who attends Theodore Roosevelt Elementary in Long Beach, Calif., doesn't question the idea of wearing a uniform in a public school. That's because she has never worn anything else.
Najar was starting kindergarten in 1994 when the Long Beach Unified School District became the first in the nation to require uniforms in all of its elementary and middle schools. It's a decision that school board members now admit was controversial and risky.
Five years later, that controversial policy has brought dramatic results and has been praised by national leaders, including Attorney General Janet Reno and President Bill Clinton.
Although the California Legislature later required an opt-out clause, less than 1 percent of parents have ever exercised the option to send their children to school out of uniform, making Long Beach's policy a model for the nation's school districts.
Now, Polk County school officials want to achieve the same kind of success by taking their own voluntary uniform policy one step further and removing the opt- out clause. When school starts Monday, the district's 50,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade will be required to wear uniforms or face suspension.
Long Beach leaders said in interviews last week that if Polk wants the same success story it shouldn't bully parents but work with them.
Long Beach School Superintendent Carl Cohn said uniform policies can't work without community support.
``I applaud any district that has the courage to move forward and raise school standards,'' he said. ``But the truth is a policy won't work if the parents and community won't support it.''
Carl Cohn, superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District, said the uniform policy has drastically improved discipline problems and increased attendance rates.
WFLA for the Tribune/Maurice CapobiancoPolk leaders will have to tackle opposition from the Parent Action Committee, a group of about 200 parents who want to stop the mandatory uniform policy. But Long Beach board member Karin Polacheck said an organization with 200 members in a district the size of Polk doesn't seem to indicate a lot of discontent.
``You'll always have a small group of people with very large voices opposed to uniforms,'' she said. ``We were in the same situation, and eventually those voices get fewer and quieter. If you bring results, you bring more support.''
Those results in Long Beach include a dramatic decline in discipline problems and the highest attendance rates in the district's history.
Long Beach schools have seen a decline of at least 90 percent in violations such as sex offenses, robbery and weapons. Student attendance rates are also up to almost 95 percent.
Principals and teachers said the uniforms gave students a sense of pride and made them more focused on schoolwork than fashion. Uniforms also help teachers quickly identify those who don't belong on campus, they say.
But critics say that uniforms are not the sole reason for the dramatic results. Marc Posner, a researcher at the Education Development Center in Newton, Mass., said other reforms, including anti- gang initiatives and smaller class sizes, contributed to student improvement in Long Beach.
Local opponents also point out that Polk's voluntary policy, implemented in 1996, was virtually the same as Long Beach's policy, but with different results.
Polk school officials said that while student discipline rates fluctuated year to year, overall they were up.
``We had a voluntary policy just like Long Beach does, but ours certainly didn't work,'' said parent Tim Tillman. ``Instead of changing our schools and our children's behavior, it just made more parents choose the opt-out.''
A survey of Polk schools revealed that a majority of students didn't follow the voluntary policy, and that many principals didn't enforce it.
So if both districts had almost the same policy, why didn't Polk's achieve the same compliance rates as Long Beach?
For starters, the communities are drastically different. Long Beach, with a population of about 425,000 in its 50 square miles, is an urban community south of Los Angeles where manufacturing and tourism are the prime industries. Polk, with 1,861 square miles and about 464,000 residents, is mostly rural with a strong emphasis on agriculture.
And while the school districts both serve about 70,000 students, each district is set up differently. California districts are set up by cities and Long Beach is a district of choice, meaning parents apply for the schools they want their children to attend.
Parents who want their children in the best schools will easily agree to adhere to a uniform policy, according to Principal Linda Moore. She heads Will Rogers Middle School in Long Beach, a top-performing school that always has a long waiting list.
``We require our parents to sign a contract when they enroll that includes a provision that their children will wear uniforms,'' she said. ``Most parents are so afraid their children won't get a good education that they will do almost anything to get their children through the door.''
Linda Moore, principal of Will Rodgers Middle School, checks the work of 13-year-old Vincent Friedman, Moore said she believes so strongly in uniforms that she wears one herself.
WFLA for the Tribune/Maurice CapobiancoAlthough state law prevents Moore from turning away students who refuse to wear uniforms, those who don't agree to the contract's terms could find themselves at the bottom of the waiting list.
Moore said children whose parents can't afford uniforms are provided ones paid for with donations and fundraisers.
Marnos Lelesi, principal of Roosevelt Elementary, is so concerned that her students have clean uniforms that she has installed a washer and dryer in her school.
``We have some children who don't have access to washers or dryers in their homes,'' she said. ``So at the end of the week, we'll take in dirty clothes and wash them ourselves.''
Cohn said that's the kind of commitment a school district needs to make the uniform policy work.
``We are successful because our teachers, parents and community have made this happen,'' he said. ``This isn't some rule just handed down by the board. This is a team effort that has been built from the ground up.''
Another reason for Long Beach's success is the extra safety the policy has provided in a community with a growing gang problem.
Saul Vidaca, 11, said he feels safer walking the neighborhood streets.
``If I didn't wear my uniform, someone might mistake me for a gangster,'' he said. ``People see my clothes and know I'm not one of them, just a kid going to school.''
Parent Magdalena Diaz also feels better knowing her children are in uniform.
``When they walk to and from school, people in the neighborhood look out for the kids in uniforms,'' she said. ``They know the kids in navy and white are the good kids who don't cause the trouble.''
Long Beach teachers have also reported seeing a dramatic change in students. Fourth-grade teacher Lorraine Griego has worked in the Long Beach district for 18 years and has seen student attitudes become more focused.
``They know they have a job to do because they are in uniform, and they come ready to learn,'' she said.
Griego also said it hasn't been hard to enforce the policy, citing the worst offense is usually an untucked shirt.
Many teachers in Polk have voiced concerns that enforcing a uniform policy will take time away from teaching. Polacheck said it's important for teachers to take a strong stand from the start.
``One of the reasons Polk's first policy may have failed is because the teachers weren't tough enough from the beginning,'' she said. ``If they enforce the rules from the start, fewer children will try to break them later in the year.''
In Polk, principals will be required to suspend any student who repeatedly violates the new policy. While Cohn said that may be effective, the penalty does raise some concern.
``Our efforts are to keep youngsters in school,'' he said. ``Too much debate that results in too many suspensions could become problematic and defeat your initial purpose.''
Polacheck said that Long Beach's community approach has spread to other California districts.
``Everytime we go to a state meeting, I have board members coming up to me just to say thank you,'' she said. ``They are grateful that our district has the courage to make the first move.''
Despite numerous success stories from parents and teachers in Long Beach, Polk opponents say the policy will only strip their children of their creativity and individuality.
But Najar said her individuality is found in places other than her clothing.
``I'm an individual by the way I behave and treat other people,'' she said. ``I may dress like everyone else, but people can always find my differences.''
Michele Sager can be reached at (941) 683-6538 or msager@tampatrib.com
