Wardrobe freedom could be ending for students at Normandy High School.
Under a proposal being presented to the district’s appointed board Thursday night, a dress code that has applied only to students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade would once again extend to high school students.
Two years ago, high schoolers were exempted from the code which, among other things, bans oversized clothing, hooded sweatshirts, hats and caps worn indoors, bare midriffs and “Any other items/styles that are deemed by the principal to be inappropriate.”
A call to reinstate the code for high school students as well as those in lower grades has come from “students, staff and stakeholders” in Normandy, a spokesman for the district said.
The dress code is part of a larger code of conduct that will receive its first reading by Superintendent Charles Pearson to the Normandy Joint Executive Governing Board.
The policy says the district will support a concept known as "positive behavioral intervention strategies." It is designed to help students recognize and avoid unacceptable behavior and nurture proper conduct. Among the seven principles at the root of the philosophy is that children are capable of self-regulation, instead of needing to be controlled, and that misbehavior is a call for help, not a show of disrespect.
The purpose of the dress code, the policy says, is “to give the district a positive and distinctive identity and reflect the values of the schools and community.” It says students “are expected to adhere to common practices of modesty, cleanliness and neatness.”
In the lower grades, students will be expected to wear slacks, capris, shorts, skorts or skirts that are navy blue, black or khaki, no more than one size larger than their waist and no more than three inches above the knee. Tops should be solid white or navy or powder blue – no print allowed.
In the high school, the color of tops will depend on a student’s grade – white for freshmen, black for sophomores, green for juniors and red for seniors. All shirts must be long enough to be tucked in, and no sleeveless shirts or T-shirts are allowed.
The policy says that in the case of severe financial hardship, parents may ask the central administration for help paying for the proper clothing.
Attendance, truancy and “educational neglect”
The code of conduct also goes into detail on matters such as attendance and truancy. It also defines an area it calls “educational neglect.” This occurs when school officials suspect a child is being “subjected to home conditions or circumstances which would reasonably result in truancy.” In such cases, administrators would be required to make a report to the child abuse hotline.
Both in-school and out-of-school suspensions are included in the policy. It stresses that administrators, students and parents are responsible for requesting assignments for suspended students and making sure such assignments are completed.
In general, the document spells out consequences this way:
- Consequences for infractions range from verbal and written warning, academic detention and/or up to four hours of academic Saturday detention and in-school suspension.
- Repeated infractions or more severe offenses include in-school suspension and out-of- school suspension ranging from 1-10 days.
- Consequences for infractions range from academic detention, in-school suspension, 5-10 days out-of-school suspension to 10- 180 days of out-of-school suspension for severe acts and acts that violate safe schools.
Students may not be re-admitted or enrolled in Normandy classes if they have been convicted of or had a petition filed against them for crimes including murder, rape, sodomy, first-degree robbery, first-degree arson, distribution of drugs or kidnapping.
Under new code, Normandy students would be "expected to adhere to common practices of modesty, cleanliness and neatness."
Under the positive intervention system, there is a list of 40 possible intercessions to help the situation. The list includes conflict mediation, academic contracts and goals between students and parents, daily behavior progress reports, tutoring and “verbal praise for choosing appropriate behavior.”
Student discipline has been a concern in Normandy for the past few years. A report in 2013 branded the high school as the most dangerous in the area— a reputation that echoed when students began attending schools in accredited districts after the transfer law was upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court.
District officials have said that the number of disciplinary incidents has tapered off, though a flare-up at the start of the just-completed school year prompted administrators to ask parents to come in for meetings before their children would be allowed to return to class in the middle and high schools.
At the start of the most recent school year – the first for the newly formed Normandy Schools Collaborative – the security budget was cut, although the reductions were later partially restored.
A recent report by superintendent Pearson to the board cited problems with discipline and academic progress at the middle school. To help alleviate those concerns, sixth graders will be moved back to the elementary schools for the coming school year, and kindergartners will attend a centralized center in the old Bel-Nor elementary school.
