39,000 Kids, All Dressed for Success

The back-to-school shopping blitz has already begun at Santa Ana clothing store Fallas Paredes, and retailers have the local school district to thank.

“People are coming in like crazy,” Fallas Paredes supervisor Helene Wagner said. “On our busier days, we were selling 100 tops in an hour.”

The Santa Ana Unified school board voted last year to require mandatory school uniforms at its 38 elementary and intermediate schools. And as the policy gets underway today, 39,000 students will return to their year-round classes in blue and white outfits.

It’s by far the most dramatic fashion statement that uniforms have made on Orange County public school campuses so far. A few other districts--such as Anaheim City, Orange Unified and Fullerton--have voluntary uniforms or requirements at individual campuses. Santa Ana Unified--among the county’s largest districts--is the first to mandate the uniforms on a widespread basis.

Parents asked for the uniforms, but many students are predictably chagrined.

“Everyone’s saying they don’t want to wear uniforms,” Lathrop Intermediate seventh-grader Maria Rios said, wrinkling her nose at the navy skirts displayed at Fallas Paredes.

Even though she’ll have to reserve her more stylish printed tank tops and denims for the weekend, the 13-year-old conceded that there are advantages to uniforms.

“This way, I don’t have to worry about what to wear in the morning and being picky about the way I look,” Maria added.

Her mother, also named Maria Rios, said that even though buying uniforms for her four children for the first time can get expensive, she supports the dress policy.

“With the uniforms, the kids know they look like students and will have to go to school and act like students,” she said.

That’s precisely the goal of the uniform policy: to help students focus more on school rather than their appearance.

The push for uniforms began four years ago when Santa Ana parents concerned about gang activity on campus lobbied for dress codes. In past years, uniforms had been optional at designated campuses. Restrictions against baggy and other kinds of clothing associated with gang attire were also in place.

But the efforts rendered inconsistent results, school administrators said, prompting them to move forward with a more rigid dress policy.

“As the years progressed, the uniform compliance level varied from 5% at some schools to 80% at others,” Santa Ana Unified administrator Helen Stainer said. “Parents kept coming back to us, asking for uniforms because it eliminates competition among students.”

*

School trustees finally agreed to mandatory uniforms in December after reviewing a series of community surveys and studies on uniforms implemented at Long Beach Unified, the first district in the nation to institute a mandatory uniform policy three years ago.

“In Long Beach, they’ve seen an increase in attendance and overall student achievements,” Stainer said. The study, conducted by Long Beach Unified officials, also marked a decrease in expulsions and behavioral problems.

“Uniforms also help us identify strangers on campus. People not in that attire will stand out,” Stainer added.

Critics call uniforms a futile attempt to curb gang activity and school violence. Standard dress also restricts young people’s rights to express themselves, opponents say.

Santa Ana Unified will allow students to wear street clothes if they have parental approval, Stainer rebutted.

The district plans to conduct a long-term study to determine whether mandatory uniforms actually do improve school life. Officials also will begin researching in September if mandatory uniforms are feasible at the high school level. Currently, only a handful of Southern California public high schools have uniform policies, most of which are pilot or optional programs.

Meanwhile, as the demand for school uniforms has dramatically increased throughout the Southland, the selection has grown broader and more stylish. Everything from shorts to jumpsuits to cardigans are now available at retailers ranging from Fallas Paredes to major department stores such as Mervyn’s and Nordstrom. Even adult uniforms are now sold to teachers who want to promote the concept.

*

Depending on where parents shop and which fashions they buy, the uniforms can be either cheaper or more expensive than a regular back-to-school wardrobe. A boy’s polo shirt can cost as little as $5. But such additions as jackets and matching neckties can run up costs considerably.

As more schools are adopting uniform policies, retailers are dramatically stepping up their inventory. Fallas Paredes prepared for this year’s Santa Ana rush by quadrupling its stock.

Others are reaping profits as well.

“We completely cleaned out for boys’ polos and pants two weekends ago,” said Target division assistant manager Cristina Quintero.

Business is only expected to get busier toward the end of summer when parents from other districts gear up for a new school year.

“It turns into mass pandemonium in August,” Fallas Paredes’ Wagner said.