By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
April 3, 2003
Parents of Meridian Public School students will receive surveys next week asking if they favor mandatory school uniforms.
If uniforms are approved by the school board, all students would be required to wear them starting next school year. It would be up to the board, or to individual schools, to determine what kind of uniforms would be chosen.
School Superintendent Janet McLin believes school uniforms are a good idea for several reasons.
PTA Council President Connie Shannon said she plans to take the matter before the school board in May.
Shannon said she thinks school uniforms allow students to focus their creativity on their actions, rather than on their appearance. She also said uniforms give students a sense of belonging.
About five years ago, Witherspoon Elementary School tried school uniforms, but administrators said it was unsuccessful.
Shannon said she plans to bring the issue before the school board even if a majority of parents are not in favor of it.
Meridian School Board President Fred Wile said he has no opinion about school uniforms, but looks forward to the results of the survey.
The survey cost about $1,400, which includes printing and postage paid by the PTA Council.
Shannon said, to her knowledge, this is the largest survey ever distributed in the Meridian Public School District. She said the PTA Council's goal is to get parents involved and to seek each parent's opinion.
Shannon said this may be a difficult battle because students want to wear their own clothes. Her son, a fourth-grader at Poplar Springs Elementary, is not in favor of school uniforms.
However, uniforms have had a positive effect on student achievement in some areas of the country and Shannon wants to test the waters in Meridian.