Hot New Trend: Uniforms : Schools: Dozens of public elementary campuses try an experiment aimed at solving various clothing-related problems by urging students all to wear the same thing.

Scattered among the puzzle pieces on the kindergarten floor at Pio Pico Elementary sat a dozen youngsters in look-alike outfits of neat white blouses and navy shorts, pants, skirts or jumpers. A few matching maroon sweaters were slung around some shoulders.

No, this is not a private school where uniforms are among the requirements. It’s one of about 50 public elementary school campuses in urban patches of Orange County where simple frocks and slacks are an optional experiment whose goals are to keep students safe and help them concentrate.

“I feel better with my uniform,” explained 9-year-old Murilio Perez, a fourth-grader at Pio Pico. “I feel like I study more and pay more attention to the class.”

“With uniforms, you’re not dressing like the gangs,” piped in Cynthia de Anda, her big brown eyes peering out onto a table filled with children whose duds matched hers. “If you don’t wear uniforms, the gangs will get confused and kill you.”

Cheaper than trendy children’s fashions, uniforms limit competition among students and makes getting dressed in the morning much simpler. And wearing the solid-color shirts, shorts, pants and skirts is a sure-fire way to keep students out of clothes that could be considered gang-related.

Pio Pico, a small school of 330 students, was the first in the county to try the uniforms on two years ago. About two-thirds of the kids there own uniforms, and most wear them whenever the clothes are clean, Principal Judith Magsaysay said.

This fall, students at four schools in the Magnolia School District, which covers Stanton and Anaheim, seven schools in Fullerton and one in Mission Viejo may don the outfits for the first time. Other elementary schools in Santa Ana, along with La Habra’s kindergarten through fifth grade, have been in uniform for about a year.

While administrators doubt the uniforms would work in high schools, they said the fad has caught on among youngsters and made a positive impact wherever they’re worn.

“To me, a uniform is a little more simple. Having had a daughter in school and having to wrestle with her about what’s appropriate, this releases a little of the pressure,” said Richard Hermann, superintendent of the La Habra district.

“When it comes to the safety of a youngster, fashion is not important,” Hermann said. “What I see as fads in the retail stores are not what we want to encourage the kids to wear. We’re not out to prove anything, we’re just really trying to do right by the kids.”

In all four districts that offer the optional uniforms, parents either suggested or have overwhelmingly supported the idea, officials said.

“In the area where we live, there’s too many gangs and . . . sometimes they’re shooting the kids that have different color clothes. It’s for protection of the kids’ lives,” explained Juana Torres, 29, whose four children go to Pio Pico. “When the kids use the uniforms, they feel the same together. They sit nice, and we like it.”

At Pio Pico--which is in one of Santa Ana’s most troubled neighborhoods and serves a population where nearly every student comes from an immigrant family living below the poverty level--parents asked if their kids could wear uniforms even before the school opened three years ago.

Principal Magsaysay recalled the first community meeting, called to talk about the prospective school. “When we turned the tables and opened it up, this overwhelming concern for the safety of the children was (the parents’) issue. When we said, ‘What can we do right now?’ one of the parents stood up and said, ‘Can we have uniforms?’ ”

“The parents chose the colors,” she laughed. “They said, ‘We want red, white and blue because we’re in the United States.’ ”

A garment store about a mile away from the Pio Pico campus, in the heart of the 4th Street shopping district in Santa Ana, sells the school’s uniforms: blouses and shirts cost $5.99, pants are $9.99, a jumper is $9.99 and sweaters are $14.99.

In other districts, the uniforms are sold on campus or can be purchased through local manufacturers or department stores. La Habra schools even keep patterns on hand for parents who want to make the clothes themselves.

“They’re beautiful!” Pio Pico fifth-grader Adrian Rios said simply when asked about the uniforms.

“The only bad thing is when you get undressed sometimes this falls off,” Juan Moreira, 10, cautioned, pointing to a button.

His classmate, 9-year-old Raul Mata, quickly added: “The thing I hate is every day I’m supposed to wash them.”