Kennedy Road Middle adopts school uniforms

Kennedy Road Middle adopts school uniforms
by Thomas Hoefer
from the Griffin Daily News

With the beginning of the upcoming school year, which starts Aug. 8, Kennedy Road Middle School will take its current dress code a step further and implement school uniforms.

Uniforms will consist of khaki pants or shorts for boys and khaki skirts, dresses, jumpers or shorts for girls. They will also come with burgundy, gray or white polo shirts for both genders.

Although school uniforms could become a requirement in the future, according to Principal Brenda Ford, they are not mandatory in the 2011-12 school year. However, parents who don’t want their children to participate must fill out a uniform opt-out form, sent to them on the first day of school.



That shouldn’t be much of a concern, as about 95 percent of the approximately 300 parents who were surveyed on the issue in March responded in favor of school uniforms, Ford said.

“We want to get the focus off of what (students) wear and get the focus back on academics,” she said, adding that research has shown better behavior in students when they are dressed the same. “A lot of referrals (at Kennedy Road Middle) were based on how students were dressed.”

Kennedy Road Middle will be partnering with local businesses to make sure clothing items that are part of the school uniform are in stock for parents to purchase.

“They tend to think that it’s going to be less expensive,” said Ford when asked if parents were concerned about having to spend money on uniforms.

Ford said she spoke to Superintendent Curtis Jones and Assistant Superintendent Jim Smith about her school’s implementation of school uniforms, and both were in support of the idea.

To see uniform samples, visit Kennedy Road Middle School’s new Web site at www.kennedyroad.wikispaces.com.