School in Oxnard May Adopt Uniform Policy If Parents Consent

For Oxnard fourth-grader Dominique Didenedetto, a uniform could be the answer to the confusion she faces every morning.

“I hate picking out my clothing because I’m usually sleepy,” 9-year-old Dominique said. “I never know where anything is, and I think we would look much better wearing a uniform. I would like to wear a pleated skirt with a white shirt--that would be a real girl’s thing.”

Dominique is one of 950 students at Emilie Ritchen School in Oxnard who may soon be required to wear uniforms.

After several parents lobbied for a schoolwide uniform policy, Principal Ernie Morrison plans to survey all parents next week, and he hopes to have students wearing uniforms by the fall if parents are agreeable.

“I’m confident that we are going to adopt a schoolwide uniform policy because that’s what parents want,” Morrison said. “Whenever I talk to a group of parents, eight out of 10 say they would like their children to wear uniforms.”

The poll comes three weeks after the Oxnard Board of Trustees unanimously voted to allow individual schools to require students to wear uniforms.

However, the board requires the school to poll parents on the issue before adopting a uniform policy. A majority of parents must agree to the policy.

“I think uniforms are great, but it should be up to the parents to decide whether they want their children wearing uniforms,” said Trustee James Suter.

The schools must also give parents six months notice before the policy goes into effect.

If the majority of parents agree that students should wear uniforms, Morrison said he will create a committee composed of parents, teachers and students to decide on the style and color.

The committee may use the school colors of gold and green, Morrison said.

To learn more about uniforms, Morrison spent two days earlier this month visiting the Fresno Unified School District, which has a districtwide uniform policy.

“I learned that although they don’t have a mandatory policy, 99% of the students in the classroom were in uniforms,” Morrison said. “And I think that’s because of the way the school presented the idea of uniforms to the students. They made it into a real positive thing.”

Morrison said the uniforms will not be mandatory, but the school would adopt a strict dress code for students who do not wish to wear uniforms.

Jackie Meyers, the parent of a first-grader at Emilie Ritchen, said she favors uniforms because they would bring unity among youngsters.

“Uniforms put people in a mind-set. It gets people psyched. We have uniforms to play soccer, to play baseball--why shouldn’t we have uniforms in the classroom?” Meyers said. “The sooner we get kids to wear school uniforms, the better.”

A majority of students in a fourth-grade bilingual classroom said they favor uniforms.

“I think it would help my mother a lot because she always worries about getting me and my brother nice clothing to wear to school,” said 9-year-old Randy Hernandez. “And I think everyone would look more dressed up.”

But Liliana Madrano disagreed with her classmates.

“I don’t like it because we would look like a geek,” Liliana said, “and that wouldn’t be fun.”