No Uniforms At Bradford Middle School

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To: Members of the Bradford County School Board

We are concerned citizens of Bradford County who believe that elected officials should not restrict the rights of those who put them in office without reason. We believe that basic choices such as what to wear are the rights of individual citizens. We do not oppose a modest dress code in schools. However, we oppose restrictions in the type and fabric of clothing with no rational link to behavioral or learning outcomes. We have seen no rationale for why polo shirts are more conducive to learning or behavior than t-shirts. We have seen no proof that khaki material affects school outcomes over jeans.

We feel that we were taken advantage of and lied to by the board. We were patient when the board established the uniform policy at the last minute without input from the community before the 2008-2009 school year. Parents insisted that children wear uniforms so the board could gather data for one year regarding educational outcomes as a pilot study. We are disappointed that the board wasted time and financial resources of families during that year, gathering no data nor looking at available outcomes to make the decision to continue the uniform policy an additional year. We see no need to conduct pilot studies in our county when empirical studies show that, student uniforms have no direct effect on substance use, behavioral problems or attendance ... [and] [a] negative effect of uniforms on student academic achievement (Brunsma, D. L., & Rockquemore, K. A. (1998). "The Effect of Student Uniforms on Attendance, Behavior Problems, Substance Use, and Academic Achievement." The Journal of Educational Research).

We are troubled that the board ignored a parent survey that showed a two-thirds vote against uniforms and the recommendation of the superintendent to end the uniform policy. We are also concerned that board members would have us think that dress code violations were a major problem at the middle school prior to the uniform policy, when in reality only 13 referrals were written at the middle school for dress code violations in 2007-2008. We recognize that after the 2008-2009 school year, a mere 3\% reduction in total referrals at the middle school shows that uniforms had virtually no effect at reducing problem behavior.

For the reasons stated above, we demand that the board eliminate the uniform policy at Bradford Middle School for the 2009-2010 school year and instead establish a modest dress code policy that can be effectively enforced by parents and school administrators.

38 Signatures

  • Michael Barber
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Kathrine Shannon
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Robbie Shannon
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Genie Dyals
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 8404 N.W. 185th St. Starke, FL 32091
    • Comments
    • I agree with this Petition 100\%
  • Debra McKeown
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32091
    • Comments
    • Uniforms should not be a policy. It's very wrong. Children know who you before going into middle school. Clothes are not going to change anything. It's more money out of our pocket since you have to buy regular clothes plus uniforms. A lot of people do not have that kind of money. The parents should take the action of their child if they can't dress appropriate. I don't accept my child to wear a uniform everyday unless he is going to a private school. Our taxes pay for our children to go to public schools. They should not have any say so on what they wear. I'm very outraged. We are serioulsy thinking of taking him somewhere else because of this.
  • Samtoria Jenkins
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • P.O. Box 77;32044
  • Derrick Jenkins
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 9949 Temple Ave;32044
  • Terry Jenkins
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Eddie Blocker
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Ruby Small
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Samuel Small
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Amy Radford
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32622
  • Julie Martin
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32091
    • Comments
    • My child is not at BMS yet. However, I was at the initial meeting to speak against the use of uniforms. I was asked to be on a dress code committee about the use of uniforms during the pilot program. My husband and I attended these meetings once a month which took hours of volunatry time and was time away from my children. During these meetings, I asked numerous times to speak to students to see how they felt about theunforms and I asked to see data showing a decrease in problems at school. However, the only response I got was that the data "must be wrong" because it did not show favorable to them and I was told that the students "loved it". When the principle resigned during the year, I was not contacted again. The school board made yet another decision to keep the uniforms w/out contacting committee members that had spent so much time away from their families and was supposed to be able to give a recommendation to the board. I contacted the school board office by phone and got no return call.
  • Robert Martin
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32091
    • Comments
    • It should be noted that there was no abundance of scholarship money for the uniforms as first indicated. Now the board chose not only to ignore me but the parents that voiced their opinions on surveys that were sent home. Our opinion should matter to the elected officials, they are there to represent us not just their 5 opinions along with some of the staff. Uniforms are not going to solve all of the problems that BMS is having. If the board wanted to solve these, it would take diving into the home life of most of the troubled kids and loads of therapy sessions back to the time the child was 5 to find out why they are acting out now. Sticking them in uniforms for a period of 3 years at BMS is not going to stop the picking on, the drug use or the hormone drive. If they continue to insist on wearing uniforms, we should insist on our tax dollars paying for them. At the end of the day, the parent & student opinions, the dress code committee and the voters did not matter to the board. What does that say?
  • Eloise Jones
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32091
    • Comments
    • grandparent of Bradford County students
  • John Samons
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32091
    • Comments
    • Did anyone consider students that may have a disability when making this dress code?
  • Judy Norman
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Comments
    • I am a grandparent of a middle schooler
  • Jason Norman
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Tisha Clark
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32091
  • Alexia kelley
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Comments
    • lets git rid of uniforms
  • Cassidy ellington
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Nikol
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Kayla Nugent
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32091
  • maria underhill
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • В
    • Comments
    • thank you i hate the uniforms from: andrea
  • Christina Troup
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Comments
    • The uniforms are not something that should be required. Buying uniforms are not changing any of the problems. Kids are still getting picked on for not having brand name clothes, and some parents have children who go to bothe the middle school, and the high school, and it's not fair to the kids who get to wear regular clothes, and the kids who HAVE to wear uniforms. Kids have moved, from our school because of this, and if you don't wear uniforms, you get referrals. That is not acedimically correct that children aren't aloud to learn because something as small as having the right kind of clothes.
  • Sheri
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Comments
    • i dont like the school iniforms it makes the people that cant afford aero postal and hollister clothes seem out of place and seem poor!!! i dont like it at all!
  • Christopher Michaud
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • Catherine Thigpen
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 23592 northwest county road 225A Lawtey Fl.
    • Comments
    • I moved here two years ago..at the time I really had no say so in the voting of uniforms..I am now understanding that the uniforms aren't helping the problems at the school..some kids have name brand uniforms and some dont so some kids still discriminate against them for that..and the problems just go on..
  • Michele Thornton
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 6067 nw 216th st 32091
    • Comments
    • I feel that the children are in public school. Uniforms should be a choice not a requirement for the students. The uniforms are hard to find and expensive, not all children fit into the walmart brand of clothes so it is hard to find an uniform for a child to fit comfortable. Regular clothes you can find on a clearence rack, not the school uniforms. If the children have to wear uniforms what about the teachers are they any different? They get to wear the clothes they want to, wheres there uniform, if the kids have to wear an uniform I believe the teachers should too. They have adult size plain polos and slacks. So every body looks alike. I dont agree with the uniforms the children have already formed friends and there personality before middle school. If regular clothes are a problem with some children make it where after so many violations they are required to wear an uniform dont punish the kids who dress properly.
  • melanie jackson
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 614 fairlane st 32091
    • Comments
    • if your going to do this at least include jeans with no design on them like Ganisville is doing i have a very hard time finding dsress pants that fit my little son
  • karrie olive
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 32091
  • Michelle
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • carole hirsch
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
  • tina wheeler
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 607 bradford ct. apt. 301 32091
    • Comments
    • i believe we should have no uniforms
  • marquita griffis
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
    • 30291
    • Comments
    • no uniforms
  • axxuhmk
    • Parent of Bradford Middle School Student
    • No
    • Address; Zip Code
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    • Comments
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