North Pines Just ‘Talking’ About Uniforms

School uniforms are a bit like spinach. Or Al Gore. Or George Bush. You like ‘em, you hate ‘em. But you’re not neutral.

North Pines Junior High School Principal Dave Bouge knows this. So, he’s treading with care as he engages his school community in a “conversation” on uniforms.

Bouge is a proponent. He says uniforms would bring “an air of civility and calm” to the 440 students in his care. He’s also a realist. Plaid skirts and button-down shirts don’t stand a chance, and he knows it.

He’s suggesting a simple style: blue jeans and a North Pines T-shirt, in white or dark blue, which are the school colors.

Bouge has also suggested that North Pines teachers set an example with a modified version of the dress code.

“I expect we’ll have a very healthy discussion about that,” he said.

School uniforms will be a topic at the next North Pines Parents Advisory Committee meeting at 7 p.m., Dec. 4. All North Pines parents are welcome, Bouge said.

“I’m not going to make the decision,” Bouge said. “I want to see what my community says. I have a lot of faith in their judgment.”

North Pines recently required students to wear uniforms for P.E. classes. The change came about after one too many students reported the theft of expensive, name-brand athletic wear.

“That stopped the problem right there,” Bouge said.

“When we went to P.E. uniforms, they were inexpensive, they were gray, they were boring. We printed your name right on the front and there was no point in swiping them.

“It calmed down my P.E. department immensely, and it feels reasonable to me that I can extend that calm throughout the whole school with this.”

Students have asked a lot of questions, Bouge said. Some have worried about a rumor that tuxedoes would be required.

A conversation with several seventh-grade students showed some are willing to buy into the idea of jeans and T-shirts.

“As long as we don’t have to wear tight pants,” said Allie Dodd. “They’re not good.”

“Kids wouldn’t have to worry so much about fitting in,” said Jamie Eastman.

“People judge each other by their clothes,” pointed out Michelle Williamson.

The students who argued against uniforms say they value their clothes as a form of self-expression.

“Look at me, for instance. You can tell what my favorite color is,” said Jessica Richmond, who wore a lime-green top and matching chopsticks tucked in her hair.

Some parents like the idea of uniforms, if only because it will reduce their clothing bills.

“Kids can’t afford, and parents can’t afford, the prices of all these clothes,” said Margaret Caldwell, a member of the North Pines’ parent advisory committee who has a daughter in ninth grade there. “But my daughter, she’s totally against the idea.”