Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Board OKs Program Requiring Students to Wear Uniforms : Education: Trustees approve a variety of ensembles for La Mesa Junior High, which will open in the fall.

By MARK SABBATINI

June 10, 1994 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

SANTA CLARITA —

Uniforms will be required for students attending La Mesa Junior High School, opening this fall.

The William S. Hart Union High School District unanimously approved a pilot uniform program at a meeting Wednesday night.

Although uniforms have been mandated for students at several public schools in the Los Angeles area in recent years, this is the first such program in Santa Clarita.

Paula Olivares, president of Hart’s board of trustees, said she voted for the uniforms because she believes they will improve students’ academic performance and eliminate peer pressure when it comes to clothing.

“Research shows that students who do attend a school with uniforms do have increased learning and better test scores,” she said. “I think part of the reason is students at that (grade) level spend a lot of time worrying about what they’re wearing and what other students are wearing.”

A variety of ensembles--ranging from shorts and T-shirts to dressier slacks for boys and skirts for girls--were approved by the board. The cost to students for the clothing is expected to be $100 to $150 a year, with $100 scholarships available to needy families.

The clothes were modeled at the meeting by 14 sixth-graders who will go to La Mesa in the fall.

School officials and parents who developed the uniform policy said most students were enthusiastic. Lindsey Metcalf, 11--who modeled a plaid vest, white oxford shirt and black shorts for the board--said she likes the policy because finding fashionable clothes to fit her 4-foot-5 1/2-inch height is nearly impossible.

“I’ve got the growth of a 7-year-old,” Lindsey said. “I can’t find good clothes to wear. Now people won’t go ‘Those look like baby clothes.’ ”

But Lindsey said there are disadvantages to the uniforms, including the taunts from students at other schools who won’t be wearing uniforms in the fall.

And many of the models didn’t have positive things to say about the new regulation.

“I want to wear my own clothes,” said Jamie Dirosario, 12. “I wish there was just a strict dress code instead of the uniforms.”

La Mesa will open its doors to about 500 seventh-grade students this fall. The uniform policy will be evaluated quarterly during the school year to determine if it should be continued. It it goes well, it could spread to other junior high schools in the district.

“I have heard from others who say they are interested in the concept,” said district Supt. Walter Swanson. “We have to start someplace.”

The uniforms will make the campus safer by making it easier to recognize non-students, La Mesa Principal Rochelle Neal said. She said that another advantage is that it will eliminate baggy clothing that can conceal weapons and is often associated with gang membership.

In addition to the approved uniform outfits, the board policy bans hats, unusual hairstyles, open-toed shoes and clothing more than one size too large.

The variety of clothing allowed was enough to persuade board member William Dinsenbacher, a skeptic of the uniform policy when it was first proposed, to change his mind and vote with his fellow board members.

“I had my doubts all along,” he said. “But after seeing this, there are a lot of choices they have.”

Students failing to observe the dress code will be required to wear their gym clothing during the school day on their first offense, Neal said. Parents will be notified following a second offense.

Student detention would result from a third offense and subsequent offenses would result in Saturday school assignments.

Parents objecting to the policy can send their children to one of the district’s other junior high schools, Neal said.

A fashion show of the uniforms will be presented at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Valencia Valley Elementary School. Fittings and preliminary orders will be accepted following the show, and will also be taken from 4 to 9 p.m. June 27 and 28 at the Hart district office.

The uniforms will also be sold at a student store at Valencia High School from mid-August through mid-September. The store will be opened at other times during the year if necessary.

La Mesa Uniform Program

GIRLS

Skirt--Box pleated in black or plaid

Pants--Black

Walking shorts--Plaid or black

Polo shirt--Long or short sleeve in white or teal

Oxford button down shirt--Long or short sleeve in white

Turtleneck--White, black or teal

La Mesa T-shirt--Black or teal

Vest--Plaid

Sweater vest--Black

Sweatshirt--Teal or black