MIKE KRANZLEY -- Community commentary

Just say “no” to school uniforms.

School uniforms seem to be the latest issue sweeping the Newport-Mesa

School District (“Parents not uniform at Andersen,” March 14). As a

parent of a fifth-grade boy and member of the site council for Newport

Elementary School, I am currently in the midst of this discussion. I

would like to present what appears to be the minority opinion.

The real question that I have is, why? Let’s examine the various reasons

that proponents of school uniforms give to support their argument and why

they are not relevant in the Newport-Mesa district.

In a number of areas throughout the country, most notably Long Beach,

school uniforms were implemented to address increased violence in the

schools. If a student wore the “colors” of a rival gang, he or she was

physically assaulted. School uniforms -- along with heightened parent

awareness, increased patrolling of halls and playgrounds, and some

generous private funding -- have all been instrumental in reducing school

violence in Long Beach. However, based on state surveys reported recently

in the Daily Pilot, incidents of violence in Newport Beach schools are

among the lowest in the state.

Another rationale is “leveling the social playing field.” The “in brands”

are expensive and a child’s social status is determined by the brand

worn. So we are asked to believe that by making everyone dress the same,

cliques will miraculously go away (as though there are no cliques in

private schools). This is a flawed method of dealing with this issue. The

lesson we as parents should be teaching is that it’s not the clothes but

the person that matters. We are missing an important opportunity to teach

our children about life.

I also hear the argument that uniforms will create a better learning

environment and thus improve the quality of education. I am all for

improving the quality of education for our children. The problem is that

the research supporting this point is very weak. In The National

Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, schools that required uniforms

did not have levels of delinquency significantly lower than those that

didn’t require uniforms. Unfortunately, that study didn’t really address

grades. However, a 1998 study done by David Brunsma and Kerry Rockquemore

at Notre Dame showed that school uniforms have no positive impact on

academic achievement.

So I return to the original question. Why do we need or want school

uniforms in the Newport Beach public schools? Is it to address violence

in our schools even though violence is all but nonexistent? Is it to

teach our children that social tolerance is facilitated by uniformity? Or

is a uniform policy being implemented in the hope that test scores will

improve even though there is no scientific evidence to support that

claim?

I believe that our children should dress appropriately. When enforced,

the existing dress codes are more than adequate. Until someone can show

me that school uniforms have anything to do with the quality of education

that our son is receiving, school uniforms are a waste of school

teachers’ and administrators’ valuable time and energy.