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Dear Middle School Parents,


As we anticipate the return of summer-like weather next week, we find
ourselves focusing once again on our dress policies. Because this must
be a team effort which includes teachers, administration and parents, I
am writing to explain our policies and to ask for your support.


The policies for the school dress code are found in the Handbook for
Parents and Students on page 8. Additional information is found in the
Middle School section on page 26. To make these statements as clear as
possible, we are asking that students not show underwear, that they not
wear ripped clothing (ripped jeans are especially popular again this
year,) and that girls not wear spaghetti straps or skirts or shorts that
are too short. To help with the latter, we employ the "fingertip rule;"
that is, we ask that clothing reach the bottom of the fingertip when
hands are held down to the side. I am certain that others measures could
be employed, but we have found that that is the easiest and quickest way
to check for appropriate length of clothing,


There are a number of reasons why we emphasize appropriate dress at
school. One is student comfort (we watch girls struggle to keep short
skirts in place as they move about) and in other cases we want to avoid
messages that are counter to our values, such as T-shirts with messages
that are divisive. Those of us who have been around for a few years are
sad to see the acceptance of a culture whose messages to girls in
particular are that they should dress in ways that are overly revealing.
But most importantly, we want to remind students that coming to school
is their "work," and that they should dress for the mission of school.


Teachers who are concerned about a student's dress will send the student
to the office for a check. We have extra clothing that we will supply
to students whose dress is overly revealing or does not meet the
requirements, and we will notify parents with an interim if students are
asked to change clothes.


Many thanks for your support in helping us with this challenging policy
which we know is in the best interest of our students.


Sally Selby