Ellington

Early the morning of Sept. 2, a mother stood at the intersection of Highway 80 and Highway 18 with her two children, protesting the new Jackson Public Schools mandatory uniform policy, as traffic sped by. Their sign read"Suspended Not Dressed for JPS."

Vistera Knox, whose children attend Van Winkle Elementary School in south Jackson, believes the district's reasons for the new uniform policy are not enough for her to force her children to participate. Cutting down on fights over one student having better clothing than another and added convenience for some parents are not good reasons to implement a mandatory uniform policy, she says: "I do think that I should have an opinion about what my children should wear. I make my children's clothes and don't think they should be forced to buy a uniform."

Knox is not the only parent at Van Winkle who believes the policy is unfair. On Sept. 7, Doris Wilkerson, who has a child at Van Winkle and one at Whitten, appeared at a school board hearing to protest the policy. "I was allowed only three minutes to speak my case, and that was not enough time to say what I needed to about the situation," Wilkerson said. "I think the school board thinks that if they pretend to be interested in the parents' concerns then they (parents) will be quiet."

Students who do not wear the uniform are placed in In-School Suspension (ISS). Both mothers sat in ISS with their children. Wilkerson said many of the children in ISS—apparently for other reasons—were wearing uniforms. "So how have they helped with discipline problems?" she asked. "How is suspending my children for two or three days educating them?"

The authorities at Whitten Middle School sent Wilkerson's daughter to ISS without an initial warning, the procedure outlined in the handbook. Dr. Martha McLarty, Whitten Middle School principal, said that she and her assistant principals made a mistake putting the children in ISS without an initial warning. "It was the first day of school, and we did not document the incident on the children's records," McLarty said. She also said that the major focus for bringing the un-uniformed students there was to talk with them about being a part of the Whitten team.

The principals of both schools say the majority of parents are excited about having the students wear uniforms. Petra Robinson has a seventh-grader at Whitten, and she says the uniform is a wonderful idea. "You know what your children are going to wear, which saves a lot of time," she said. Another parent at Whitten, Patrice Marbra, said that the uniforms were a good way to keep the students focused on what is important, like classwork, instead of what someone else is wearing. "If it were up to me, high-schoolers would wear them, also," she said.

At Van Winkle, Principal Wanda Bowen says there is a subtle change in the way the students carry themselves due to the uniforms. "I like to use the analogy of going to church. When you dress up to go to church, you carry yourself in a certain manner, just as these kids carry themselves differently now that they have to dress a certain way for school," she said.

If the Knox and Wilkerson children continue eschewing the uniform, both principals are obligated to proceed with the disciplinary procedure provided by the school district—after the fourth offense, children will be suspended from school. Both principals said that they are doing all that they can to keep the children from being suspended—but they have to wear the uniform to stay in class.

JPS is not the first public school district in Mississippi to implement uniforms, nor is it the first to be protested against. In March 2000, 41 students at East Central High School in Jackson County wore red, white and blue T-shirts that read, "School uniform laws are unconstitutional." Other student protesters wore regular clothes. The policy, however, has not been revoked. And courts, including the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Mississippi, have upheld school uniforms as constitutional if there is a substantial government interest being furthered, and if it is unrelated to student expression. The court said that students can express themselves through other methods while they're at school.

Child behavior experts give school uniforms mixed reviews. Dr. Alan Hilfer, senior psychologist in the Children's and Adolescent Unit at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., says on FamilyEducation.com: "Uniforms do eliminate competition, pressure and assaults perpetrated by older kids on younger kids for their sneakers and other possessions. They also allow some kids to focus better, especially in the lower grades." But Dr. Hilfer says there is a downside: "Clothes are a source of expression for children, and as kids get older, they become increasingly resentful of uniforms."

The decision to have uniforms in JPS was made after seeking input from parents in the spring. Site councils at every JPS school but McWillie Elementary voted to require uniforms this fall; now students at all district elementary and middle schools are required to wear uniforms. "I commend these site councils for this bold move," said Dr. Earl Watkins, JPS superintendent, in a press statement. "A change like this requires energy and support from all of us. However, when we are instituting a change that has such positive statistical and community support, we know that we are taking a positive step to improve our schools and their environments."