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Attending to teacher attire: school leaders wage a tense campaign to maintain a staff's professional look

School Administrator, Feb, 2003 by Ruth E. Sternberg

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Attorney Julie Underwood, general counsel for the National School Boards Association, says a lean policy with carefully worded goals is the least complicated approach. If the goals are clear, teachers will understand them without needing an itemized list of acceptable and unacceptable clothing styles.

"Times change," she says. "The more narrow your definition, the more you're going to have to write about it. It's a lot easier to say, 'You must wear shoes that cover your feet' than 'No open-toed sandals, no flip-flops,' because one day someone is going to come with dental floss wrapped around their feet and they'll say, 'Well it doesn't say 'No dental floss.' People's imaginations are probably a whole lot bigger than those of us who write policy."

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In Colorado Springs, district leaders have had to retool their eight-year-old policy to accommodate new styles and trends--even one nobody could have anticipated.

"A female teacher was out on the playground and a senior teacher came in outraged that this person didn't have underpants on," says Griego, the administrator overseeing high schools. "She had on a mini-skirt but was wearing a thong-type panty."

Discretion by Site

Some districts circumvent the need to revise periodically by framing policy language with general goals, then giving principals and teachers leeway to decide what's right for their buildings.

Wake County, N.C., officials ended up producing a dress code that was short and spelled out the principals' discretion. The one-paragraph guideline was a matter of practicality in a district with 7,000 teachers, says Walt Sherlin, associate superintendent for operational services. But he also believes, "It's important that you assume professionalism on the part of the teachers and not set a lot of little rules."

In Denver, a 1999 policy adopted for teachers, then expanded in 2001 to non-teaching staff, takes the same approach. It spells out some prohibited items-- shorts, sunglasses, tight or backless clothing and anything with sexually suggestive words or symbols--but the language is vague enough to give principals discretion.

For example, what constitutes "disruptive" jewelry or clothing is up to the building administrator.

"One of things we are emphasizing is trying to not let our dress be a distraction from our learning," says Andre Pettigrew, Denver's assistant superintendent for administrative services, adding, "Principals are delegated the authority for ensuring compliance."

Principal Mario Williams of George Washington High School in Denver appreciates the latitude to set the tone and to handle violations by considering the situation.

"I've seen some things that are questionable. I've seen jeans that were raggedy looking or T-shirts that were just kind of sloppy or a teacher that had some personal hygiene issues," he says, noting he usually talks privately with the teacher in question to determine the circumstances.

Pettigrew says Denver, with more than 4,000 teachers, just wanted something clear and flexible--and manageable.

Attending to teacher attire: school leaders wage a tense campaign to maintain a staff's professional look

School Administrator, Feb, 2003 by Ruth E. Sternberg

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