School Uniforms Help Our Students Attain Higher Standards

HIGH SCHOOL UNIFORMS

Beginning with this fallÕs ninth graders, Millikan High School will phase in school uniforms a year at a time until all students are in uniform by September 2006. Wilson High School phased in uniforms in 1997 and now enjoys higher attendance, higher achievement and fewer suspensions.

Now beginning the 10th year with school uniforms, the Long Beach Unified School District has experienced improved student achievement and behavior, and recently achieved its highest attendance rates in decades. Uniforms are an important part of local school reforms that raise standards in dress, behavior and achievement.

To improve learning, schools are creating a safer, more positive environment for students. Throughout the district, uniforms reduce distractions and conflicts and help students appreciate each others worth based on their character, not fashion competition. In some neighborhoods, uniforms also alleviate the problem of gang attire. Teachers appreciate uniforms because, with fewer distractions, learning can be the primary focus. More students are coming to school ready to learn. They are being judged more by what they learn and can do, and less by what they wear.

 

Thousands of local students began wearing uniforms in 1994, when the Long Beach Unified School District became the first public school district in the nation to require uniforms in kindergarten through eighth grade. As a school uniform pioneer, the district won the Golden Bell Award, the top state award from the California School Boards Association.

 

Students who complete the 8th grade this year are eligible to apply to attend Wilson or Millikan high schools. Both schoolsÕ educational programs include uniforms, and attendance is by signed application and agreement only.

 

Beginning with its freshman class, Millikan High School is now phasing in uniforms year-by-year. At Wilson High School, the first area high school to switch to uniforms, student behavior, attendance and achievement have improved. The schoolÕs annual suspension rate has

dropped dramatically. As noted in Time magazine, Wilson students Òbecame more self-confident and self-disciplined, less judgmental of other students, better able to resist peer pressure and concentrate on school work.

 

Wilson recently was one of two area high schools ranked by Newsweek among the top 4 percent of U.S. high schools this spring. Uniforms help students break down social and economic barriers, so they compete on a more even playing field. Nearly 500 students attracted from private and parochial schools have enrolled at Wilson during the past six years. Millikan expects similar results with school uniforms.

 

Text Box: The district requires all students in kindergarten through grade 8 to wear a uniform as identified by the studentÕs school. In cases of economic hardship, help in obtaining uniforms is available. You may obtain an exemption from the K-8 uniform requirement. For more information, call our uniform contact person, ______________________________________ at __________________. If there are any problems, call Karen Hilburn at 997-8000, ext. 7141. If you are unable to resolve your concerns, you may obtain a Parent/Guardian Complaint form at your childÕs school.

 

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El distrito requiere que todos los estudiantes que asisten del kindergarten al octavo (8th) grado usen uniforme escolar, como se indica en la escuela del estudiante. En casos de dificultad econ—mica, puede obtener ayuda para conseguir los uniformes. Puede conseguir un permiso para quedar exento del requisito del uniforme. Para m‡s informac’on, llame a la escuela de su hijo y hable con

 

______________________________________ al

 

___________________. Si tiene algœn problema, llame al Sra. Karen Hilburn, al 997-8000, ext. 7141. Si no puede resolver su problema, puede obtener una forma de queja (Parent/Guardian Complaint) en la escuela de su ni–o.