Lynn school uniforms gain favor

LYNN – Green polo shirts embroidered with rams and maroon shirts with bulldogs are styles that may be making a comeback in Lynn.School Committee member Maria Carrasco has asked fellow board members to explore the idea of adopting a dress code with uniforms for city schools.”I have been approached by many parents asking for uniforms,” Carrasco told other members of the committee at last week’s meeting. “So I am just asking the committee to consider it.”Parents like the idea of a uniform that would simplify the morning rush to get ready for school, Carrasco said.And they also appreciate the amount of money they can save by purchasing three or four uniforms versus a new wardrobe every fall with spring updates when teen styles inevitably change.Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, chairwoman of the School Committee, reminded the board that in Massachusetts school officials are not allowed to require any type of dress code unless student clothing compromises reasonable standards of health, safety and cleanliness.But since that law seems to come with a slight bit of room for interpretation, the committee decided to ask John Mihos, the lawyer who represents the school district, under what circumstances, if any, can a school system mandate uniforms.The idea of a Lynn school uniform isn’t completely new. Lynn English adopted one several years ago, and Principal Tom Strangie said it worked well.”They were maroon polo shirts with the English logo, and every kid was handed one,” recalled Strangie.He said the shirts were paid for with a donation from the James O’Brien Foundation.In addition to giving one free shirt to each student, the office kept a supply of extra shirts on hand that were sold to kids for a small fee.Strangie said for the 2005-06 year, the uniform policy was fairly successful, but it was always a voluntary system. Gradually, interest waned, shirts faded and students started wearing their regular clothes again.Still, Strangie is all for giving school uniforms a second shot.”I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “It gives a certain sense of order and discipline to a school.”But Strangie said uniforms go a step further and add a layer of safety to the building and the grounds.”Strangers who aren’t wearing a uniform stand out,” he said.And that makes it a lot easier for teachers and staff to approach visitors and make sure they have valid reasons for being at the school.It also shuts down any possibility of students flaunting associations to the different gangs in the city by displaying the group’s colors.”Safety is the biggest reason for uniforms,” said Strangie. “Our goal is to protect the kids so we can do our job of educating them.”Over at Classical, Principal Gene Constantino also thinks a dress code with a uniform would bring some real benefits.Like Strangie, he said it would increase safety and security at the school.”It also takes the pressure off of everybody to go out and buy the latest styles,” said Constantino. He added that uniforms can also foster a sense of unity and inclusion.But Constantino worries about the financial burden some students might face if they were required to buy uniforms.”In private schools, parents go out and buy kids three, four, five shirts and pairs of pants or skirts,” he said.He said that might be a hardship for some families.”If there was some kind of grant to pay for uniforms that would help,” he said. “It’s an added cost for families, that’s really the only negative to it.”Constantino doesn’t think Lynn students would have many problems with a requirement that dictated the way they should dress for school.He said there have been no problems with the requirement that students carry and display student IDs.”These kids are resilient,” he said. “They have adjust to all kinds of different rules, and they do it with no problems.”