| Possible standardized dress for
High School students, but not before spring When this acticle first appeared, we asked for reader comments.
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Dress Code Comments As a former student in LHHS and as a parent of a student, I think that the dress code would help a lot. In Mohave Valley, River Valley High School has implemented a dress code for the past couple years and it has worked very well. School shirts had to be bought but they were only $5.00, that's not much to pay. I think the same type of situation would be good here in Lake Havasu as well. As an educator and a mother, I have been in the position to see the transition in dress code from a basic sensible code to a more uniform attire. The difference in students' attitudes, stress level, and academic attention was marked. The economic playing field was level, students exhibited more respect for themselves, their peers and teachers. Teachers had more time to spend on preparing students for the workplace. Creativity was channeled more effectively into academic assignments than trying to keep up with a fashion trend. -S.D. I think that uniforms are a great idea. It puts kids on even ground and takes the pressure off of other less fortunate families to try and keep up with the changing trends and name brands. I personally don't enjoy seeing the way that kids dress now days. You either have the norm, or the extremes which include girls half dressed and kids wearing all black clothing with chains and dog collars the typical goth dress. How will this effect hair? Will they still be allowed to wear the colored mohawk spikes? -D.C. As a former student of LHHS I believe that the school would benefit greatly from a standardized dress code, in my opinion even uniforms wouldn't be going to far. When everyone knows exactly what to wear, there is no gray area. There is no argument over whether a shirt is to low cut, or a skirt to short, or if a logo on a shirt is acceptable. Teachers shouldn't have to be fashion police. Their job is to teach, not to dress their students. It takes the students' minds off of name brands and latest fashions and puts it where it needs to be, in the books. Maybe then some of the students will gain some self-respect and modesty. -Anonymous Standardized dress takes the attention off what everyone else is wearing and places it in the classroom where it belongs. Not to mention it makes someone who does not belong on campus stand out like a sore thumb. A good safety plus. -J.A. I think it is a good idea to wear t-shirts of some type with the school emblem. for the student because even when the school officials try to enforce the dress code parents still get mad and say that what their child has on is fine. maybe to them it is but not to others and some parent's don't care how their child dresses and then are mad when they get the wrong attention. especially girls. they should be liked for who they are not what they are showing off. they should have more respect for themselves and their body. so until they can realize it maybe they need to be told what to wear. maybe even the jr. high should look into this. and to the parents who sent their kid to charter school do to talk of a dress code change that was wrong why should his education lack just because of a shirt requirement. my daughter wears name brand and non name brand and has many friends. it's her personality that makes her. and she is fine with maybe having to wear a certain shirt to school. education is what is important not what is in style. your education is what is going to get you that career not what you have on or lack of what your wearing. as a parent it is my responsibility to make sure my child does her home work and is doing good in school. I work and so does my husband and we still make sure our children do their work and keep up their grades. and as a high school student they should be more responsible if they want to be treated as a young adult. thank you! -T.C. The way the students dress I believe is unacceptable. They show what they want only to get attention. I don't believe in uniforms but a certain way to dress will be appropriate. Please do something about this situation. -Student We never received your survey..... Its not that we disagree with it, but our son sure did.... He is now enrolled in (local charter school)........ Teenagers have a need to express themselves and we all know that. Both my husband and I graduated from Lake Havasu High School ... 198X and 198X.. Liked the school and felt pretty good about it until this talk of standardized dress. This is a public school, not a private school....... We had no bussing, and our son was not turning in assignments....... As working parents, we come home and ask is your work done? "Yes" is always the answer given..... Of course, we do not expect that the teachers "babysit our child", but we do expect to be notified of what is happening with our child. When we were students at the same school, it was not so easy to slack off. Now, our son is going to what we consider to be a less than adequate school due to rumors of a possible "dress code" Don't get me wrong, we know our son can be lazy... We just feel that teachers should be the motivators... Those running the schools should be watching these things to make sure that the kids are happy as well as educated. That's the way it was when we attended Lake Havasu High School. Just our thoughts, do with it what you will. -D. I feel that standardized dress code for the high school would be beneficial and so does my daughter who is a junior this year. High schoolers are cliché oriented and impressed by whatever brand name clothes they are wearing. This would eliminate this as well as the other end of the spectrum with the all black, chains and green hair I have seen at the high school. Vote me in for standardized dressing. -G.M. There definitely needs to be a uniform dress code. Even within that the students can express themselves, but we wouldn't have to see "flesh and underwear". -V.J. I born and raised in an uniform code school in Puerto Rico. We never have any big problem about fashion because everybody has to wear the same uniform. And is right that a dress code will avoid classes or gangs. Not to mention cost, morning time and even our laundry. I will like to participate as a parent of 2 kids in any referendum or vote. Thanks. -D & L I strongly disagree with the desire of uniforms. As a student of Lake Havasu High School, There are many more important things to worry about. For one, Our education. Why would you rather spend the money on uniforms, when we can use the money for more books, or sport activities. Things that are more important. Also, Lake Havasu High School is a public school, not private. Therefore, the students should be allowed to dress according to the dress code, but not in uniforms. Enforce the dress code more strictly, but please do not take away our own expressions. Use the money for the uniforms, for something we really need. -K.D. Standardized dress is the only way to minimize distraction in classes if parents are going to allow their children to walk around half naked or with their gluteus maximus hanging out of their pants they should be ashamed of themselves. -C.S. Awesome idea - go for it! -C.T. As a parent of three high school students, I'm all for standardized dress. Both of my girls who attended the high school last year received detention due to their manner of dress. After visiting the school many times last year I could see that they had been singled out. There were many girls who dressed like them, sometimes worse offenders. Standardized dress would help administration with useless detention and paper work. Let the administration find other more constructive things to do with their time, instead of chasing dress code violators. -G.N. I strongly disagree with the idea of a "standardized" dress code. I would much rather see you deal with more important things
first, such as: I as a parent think the uniforms are a great idea. This would stop a lot of the gossip about he is wearing she is wearing and so on. As for the letter that said we have no gangs in this town. Open your eyes yes we do. There is nothing wrong with uniforms and it would also help teach the kids that when you get a job and have to wear a uniform that is what you have to do. It would help. If it goes to uniforms then the teachers and counselors and principles, etc. should also have to wear them also. I fill if uniforms are enforced then like 1 person said it would make people look at their peers as people and not for what they have or wear. A person would be more apt to go up and talk to another student if they all had the same uniform on verses if so and so had name brand verses handme downs. How do these kids know if the name brand stuff kids are wearing doesn't come from a thrift store but when they find out say forget that friend and how does that make the other person feel. As a minimum wage maker in lake havasu we all know if you have kids the price and brand names matters for clothing but is this what we want our kids to remember and grow up like. I know I don't. I want my kids to treat everyone equal and fairly. I have raised my kids to treat others as you want to be treated.. So parents do you think that if uniforms will change your kids friends and your friends think about it. Do your friends look at you and associate with you cause of what you have or for who you are. So as a parent and a local think about it do you want your kids to be judged by their clothes or by themselves. -J.B. As a student at Lake Havasu High School I strongly disagree with the uniform dress code. I believe that it will not solve any problems. Students have learned what they can wear and get away with, by stretching the rules of the current dress code. This will also occur with the uniformed dress code. Students will push the limits, and see how far they can go, without getting into trouble. Then you will still end up with the same problem as the current dress code, including the amount of time the administration takes out of their day to write up dress code violators. My observations have concluded that some teachers just don't care about enforcing the dress code. When this happens, students push the limits once again. I believe that the administration should start enforcing the current dress code, and be consistent with it. It does not do any good, if students are only caught once in a while. I believe a better solution to this problem would be to make a violator of the current dress code wear the shirt for a week. This would not punish the students who dress appropriate, and it would take away the freedom for a violator to wear their own clothes. Students could be checked for their shirt at roll call, in each class. This would let all other wannabe violators know that it's not worth going through all that embarrassment, just to wear an inappropriate shirt. -Anonymous A uniform dress code will not solve our educational problems or everyone would be doing it. Just the same as a year round education system will not solve the educational issues being experienced in Lake Havasu City. Hard work, resources and parental participation are the only solution to the concerns we are experiencing. Please do not try the quick fixes, they don't work. What happens when there are the same number of problems and we have a dress code and year round school everywhere, including the High School. Who will you blame then. I would suggest that the high standards of education that the Lake Havasu High School has provided for over 34 years doesn't have anything to do with a dress code. I attended school there wearing flip flops, shorts and a tee shirt and it didn't cause any problems. I graduated college and raised a family. Growing up is about choices. The military is about uniformity. If you want to use uniforms, after the first dress code violation, make them wear the tee shirt. -M.C. almost everyone believes in free speech, well choosing the way you dress tells a lot about someone. taking that right away from these children is like taking there right to free speech away. how do you expect these children to look forward to school every day when they all have to dress the same every day for the whole school year. teachers get the chance to wear what ever they want. what about the children who do dress nice? if parents wanted there children to wear uniforms they would put them in private school ! it is a free country so let the children be free ! here is a suggestion for parents who do want uniforms, put your kids in private school! -M. & D. P. YES! I strongly agree that a dress code would be appropriate and beneficial at the high school. The reasons are obvious: It would help improve the focus on learning--not on competitive fashion, it would help bolster morale & school spirit, and it would save parents money. While I think students believe they need to be able to express themselves creatively through their clothing, they could do this after school. A generally lax and extremely casual fashion style (emphasizing lots of exposed skin) among young people in our community impacts the dress style on campus despite existing clothing policies. I believe a measurable difference in morale, grades, and expense could result from this policy! -M. & B. H. The myth that students would dress appropriately on their own is a great one, but the reality is that they don't. Also, students will talk to other students now, because they are interested in the students, not the name brand they now wear. The students can always wear their own clothes to extra-curricular activities, but as far as a healthier educational system in the classroom, the uniform is a much better path.....hands downs!! -A.R. As a former Class of 2000 High School Student, I will not allow the school system to go for it.... THIS IS A PUBLIC SCHOOL AND NOT PRIVATE. If you have the kids wear "uniforms" then I want you to start to collect tuition from all the students!!!! THIS IS A PUBLIC SCHOOL AND I WILL HELP KEEP IT THAT WAY. The shirts would be good for only School Spirit not every day. -M.L. Come on if I wanted to I would have sent my kid to Telesis. If they do not have uniforms in the low grades why have high school students wear them? I suggest you enforce the dress code in place. I strongly disagree with uniforms. They are soon to be adults and need to learn to make proper decisions. -C.P. I do not feel uniforms or standardized
dress as you want to call it, is I'm sorry, but I don't think that it is necessary to have a uniform type dress code here. Most areas that have adopted this type of code have done so because of gang problems. We don't have that here. (Thank goodness). -K.M. I think a dress code for all schools is a good thing. It is safer, promotes a sense of school pride, and minimizes competition between students. Not to mention, it is cheaper for the parents. -J.E. I agree with a standardized dress code for High School. A standardized dress code would not only be cost effective for the parents it would also bring a sense of unity and pride to the School. I've noticed when people within an organization wear a shirt that has that organization's logo or name on it, there is more of sense of team spirit and acceptance between peers. Thumbs Up for standardized dress. -K.M. I believe that uniform dress in any public school is a bad idea. -B.B.
Return to Top LAKE HAVASU HIGH SCHOOL
DRESS CODE The primary mission of our high school is student learning. Any attire or adornment, including hairstyles, cosmetics, or body piercing, which distracts from or disrupts the learning environment is inappropriate. (1) No bare midriff. (This includes what can be seen when you raise your arm.)
(2) No strapless outfits, backless outfits, tube tops, or
beachwear. (3) No see-through clothing. You will notice that there is no rule this year about the width of girls' shoulder straps. If you wear spaghetti straps and your clothing does not violate the above rules, you're fine. This year, the first time a student is referred to the office for
a dress code violation, the student will change Into a long P.E.
shirt and be sent directly back to class. If a second violation or
occurs, the student will be sent home and will not be allowed back
in school until a parent comes in for a conference with one of the
administrators. Two hours of detention will be given for the second
violation, and for additional violations, refer to the current
student handbook.
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