August 20, 2008
Greene Elementary gets a fashion make-over.
9 Comments »Starting this fall, students at Greene elementary will be black, white, and navy. They’ll be wearing uniforms.
According to WRIC 8 News:
Based on the results of a summer survey, students at Greene Elementary School will have to begin wearing uniforms when they head back to school this fall.
The uniform requires students to wear white or light blue tops with solid black or navy blue bottoms.
Greene’s principal, Linda Sims, said the idea is for students to focus on their education instead of what their classmates are wearing. Sims also said help is available for parents who need assistance purchasing the uniforms.
“If there’s any concern or pressure or problems going on, just come to us and address it to us,” said Sims. “We’ll certainly be here to help and assist all parents in this program.”
Other Richmond elementary schools are not affected by the uniform policy.
School uniforms are a hot issue for many parents. Do you think Richmond is ready for this new policy? Can concerns for freedom of expression be balanced with a need for students to be prepared for the work force? If schools are responsible for holistic education, are uniforms are reasonable part of this process? Can school uniforms reduce behavioral issues and save parents money?
Your comments are appreciated!
As the only candidate for Mayor whose platform endorses and advocates the use of school uniforms, I believe Principal Linda Sims has made a wise and indeed gutsy decision. She has my admiration and the same goes to those in the survey who support uniforms. Unfortunately, too many in our town have proved resistant to any change.
We need to turn the page on the old thinking that has produced the same old failed results.
The reaction to my endorsement several months ago of uniforms at a press conference in front of a school in Church Hill played out on the Church Hill People’s News community blog, leading to well-over 100 posts from citizens if I remember correctly.
Let’s cut to the chase: We need to accept the fact that the status quo in terms of the RPS school system isn’t working for our children the way it must work if they are to be all they can be.
That’s why in several press releases, I have discussed the many points of my education plan. I am the pro-education candidate for Mayor, and in that regard, my initiatives are geared to make the RPS system accept the need for fundamental changes, such changes requiring students and parents, teachers and administrators, to realize there is no short-cut, no easy path to a true 21st education.
We have the oldest school facilities in the state, and the most expensive school bureaucracy. We waste far too much on administrative overhead, and short-change classroom instruction. Far too few students actually graduate and far too many are truant with far too many unfortunate incidents in our schools.
As Mayor, I have pledged to change the culture at City Hall, and do what I have done as a private citizen, try to work with the School Board and the School Superintendent to improve the quality of education for the children and the quality of the workplace for the teachers.
One of my proposals is to create a Parental Involvement Officer in each of the 9 middle schools, working with the families of sixth graders, as a perhaps a first-in-the-nation initiative to see what it will take to get parents more involved in their child’s education. In all the studies in recent years, improving parental involvement is regarded by educators as the single most important change that can be made.
So let’s get to work and see if we can’t figure out how to do it.
A Mayor can not constantly run down the school system: he must be able to advocate needed changes without doing what has been done in the past year starting with the illegal attempt to throw the School Administration out of City Hall.
My approach is cooperative, as it was in my putting together the coalition that passed the Elected Mayor referendum in 2003.
It has to be a “we” thing, not a “me” thing.
Will School Uniforms cure everything? Of course not.
But it has proven to be successful in places like Senator Obama’s hometown of Chicago.
Principal Linda Sims has, in my view, issued a challenge to all those who talk a good game, but can not walk the walk.
She has shown that she cares, that she is not afraid to challenge the conventional thinking.
Richmond can not be a first tier city until our public schools are first rate across all our 9 Council districts.
Even my opponents praise my “City of the Future” plan for being the first to ever show, in detail, how to begin truly modernizing our schools without raising taxes. City Council passed it several years ago but yet not a single school has been modernized.
Style Magazine called me the “man who Got Things Done” for my success in getting things done for Richmond.
Who best then to implement a visionary plan than the person who had the vision in the first place? I call this my Construction Initiative. My website has details of my Instruction Initiative.
Our children deserve the best school system we can give them: that is not being done now, but it needs to be done as soon as possible.
As Mayor, I will help lead a cooperative effort, with our elected officials and interested citizens, to get Richmond the quality public schools all our children deserve.
It’s an easy gimmick but won’t have much effect on student bahavior.
It’s typical of all aspects of modern society to look for the easy fix rather than making the hard choices that are really needed.
As far as curtailing “freedom of expression” goes, that’s a pretty bogus arugment.
In “my day” we had VERY strict dress rerquirements in RPS and trust me, the “nut cases” were still able to make themselves known. I spent enough time in after school detention to be able to attest to that.
TvNB
Here is the post Goldman mentioned above http://chpn.net/news/2008/06/30/goldman-and-west-to-propose-school-uniform-policy/ . Check out posts #139 and #189 by Lamplighter -they’re good ones.
Although I think Goldman might make a good mayor, I oppose uniforms (I’m still undecided re mayoral candidates).
Awesome…..Uniforms should be mandiatory and no it won’t fix all of the problems with the public school system but the first step is to treat education seriously. Anyhow, if you don’t do well in school your just gonna be wearing a uniform anyway at MCDeath shoveling fries so who cares.
Uniforms surely help the parents’ pocketbooks, as long as they have not already done their back to school shopping. I spend nearly 200 dollars on each of my children, and I was trying to be thrifty.
$50 for 5 shirts, $40 for 1 jumper, $50 for 2 pants, $20 for belt, $25 for sweater, ? for shorts – so far my friend has spent $185 on uniforms for one child. This cost does not include shoes, socks, underwear, and coat.
Uniforms would not save our family any money because our youngest wears hand-me-downs and our family shops at thrift stores and on sales racks for new clothes. Two days ago, the Clothes Rack on Southside had all children’s clothing at 50 cent a piece.
And what about the poor people who receive free clothes from churches, shelters, salvation army, etc? Will these places provide uniforms?
“…first step is to treat education seriously.” Mr. Willis I agree and the way to do this is to clean house down at city hall and rid our RPS system of cronyism. I’m tired of seeing inept leaders giving their inept and unqualified friends leadership positions.
To clear up any confusion, the Willis posted above is not Charles Willis who is running for the school board in the 8th District. Thanks for your attention in this matter.
I think uniforms merit discussion, but are yet another distraction from larger issues.
I’ve summarized briefly, with an example, here: http://jonathanmallard.com/answering-the-question/
Jonathan,
Check out again how administration shuts out community here http://rvanews.com/2008/08/school-board-candidate-says-read-the-contract/ .