|
Parents help their kids get ready for school
Published August 7, 2008
Looking at the colorful backpacks lining the school supply aisle in Target, 15-year-old Brielle Byrd’s decision on which to get isn’t clear this year.
The Brazoswood High School sophomore, no longer constrained by a Brazosport ISD policy mandating see-through backpacks that was eliminated for the upcoming school year, has a tough choice to make — pink or black.
“If you have the mesh backpacks everything falls out because they get holes in them really easy,” Byrd said. “Even if you have a clear backpack, you can still put stuff inside other things to put in your clear bag. I guess they realized it wasn’t doing much.”
The new rule on backpacks is one of several changes parents and students need to remember as they shop for the new school year. Others include guidelines on shirt length and the policy requiring shirts to be tucked in.
With the state tax-free weekend approaching Aug. 15-17, more parents are scanning district policies before spending money on items that could be banned, such as cut-off shorts, spaghetti-strap shirts, bandanas, halter tops and pants with excessive zippers.
LET'S SEE
Brazosport ISD implemented the see-through backpack rule last school year as a way to discourage students from bringing anything against school policy onto campus. The policy was introduced at the elementary level two years ago then expanded last year to intermediate and high schools, where the rule proved to be more difficult to enforce.
“At the high school level, you’ve got kids in band, athletics and dance who are carrying three or four types of different bags for various things,” Brazoswood Principal Steve Snell said. “Those aren’t covered under the rules, they’re not clear, and it was hard to get consistency and uniformity, so it just works for us not to have that rule.”
While Brazosport ISD has done away with its clear backpack policy, Columbia-Brazoria ISD is preferring its fifth-grade students to purchase see-through backpacks, saying it helps ensure a safer campus.
Students looking to roll their way into class will still have to leave their Heelys at home as every school district in the county has outlawed the shoes. Heelys come equipped with a wheel nestled in the heel, allowing the wearer to skate at will.
“I’ve never worn them but it seems that kids slip all the time just wearing regular shoes, so it’s definitely a hazard when you throw a wheel in there,” said John Briseno, principal of Rancho Isabella Elementary School in Angleton ISD. “Dress codes are really about safety, not only because of hazards but because it helps show who is supposed to be on campus and who’s not.”
WHAT NOT TO WEAR
Brazosport ISD has done away with the rule requiring students’ shirts to be tucked in at all times, a rule that has received much public feedback since it was implemented during the 2006 school year.
“A recommendation came from our campus administrators that they didn’t see any need for it,” Brazosport ISD board president Jay Luce said. “They felt that security was good and thought it would be easier on the kids and the families to not have to go that route. With the recommendation and because they know the campus atmosphere, we took their advice.”
As a guideline for Brazosport ISD students now sporting a seam at the bottom of their shirts, the district is implementing a policy that shirt bottoms cannot extend below the fingertips when the student is standing.
“Everybody’s made such a big deal out of a shirttail so we thought we’d try to do something about it that still had some structure,” Luce said. “We’re not going to let them have the big jerseys where they can hide stuff underneath and look tacky. We want this to be a good learning environment, and we expect them to learn the guidelines so that when they go out into their career they know how to handle a dress code.”
Some students think the Brazosport ISD policy alterations could be a way to create a more relaxed learning environment around campus.
“I think they’re trying to loosen up the rules so it might motivate the students to do better in their grades,” Brazoswood High sophomore Hannah Wright said. “It will be kind of a compromise and balance for students to get them to focus on their classes and try to get up their TAKS scores instead of worrying about stuff like that.”
While some districts are loosening up on their dress code policies, Alvin ISD is sticking to its rules from years past and creating consistency among high school and elementary levels.
“Our school is pretty flexible as far as color ,but shirt-tucking is one of our big things here,” Alvin ISD Public Relations Coordinator Shirley Brothers said. “Some of the cute little tops girls wear that hit just above the hips are too short to be tucked in but we’re working closely with principals to be consistent, particularly at the secondary level.”
Though many districts see dress code as a way to maintain structure, others who are changing their policies hope alterations will ease public concerns and allow them to focus more on the classroom.
“The majority of our kids are great and comply to whatever the rules might be,” Snell said. “But just like discipline rules, code of conduct or any other rules, at a large school you’re going to have a few violations and that takes time away from instruction and other things.”
Jessica Hamilton is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0149.
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print
|
|
|
 |
|
FREE BAY BOAT WITH WATERFRONT PURCHASE Get
...
Click for all
Top Ads listing
|
