Illing's Switch to Uniforms Going Smoothly - Except for the Shoes

With the first day of school looming,  Principal Troy Monroe says that most parents seem excited and prepared for the prospect of outfitting their children in uniforms for the first time – except that many still have questions about the appropriate footwear.

 in early April, which will mandate that the almost 900 students at the town’s only middle school adhere to a “uniform dress” when school starts up again Aug. 31.

The dress code requires that students wear short or long sleeve polo shirts, fleeces or sweaters in either green, blue or white, all of which will bear the school’s logo and come from an approved vendor, the Hartford-based Connecticut Shirt Man. Acceptable pants include black, navy blue or tan khaki or solid colored pants; skirts and skorts are also acceptable for girls, and boys can wear shorts during certain periods of the school year, but none can be higher than three inches above the knee.

The problem, Monroe says, is the requirement for footwear, which has caused confusion or difficulty for a number of parents. The school’s new footwear requirement states that: “all shoes, sneakers or boots be black, brown, tan, gray, or white. No open toed shoes. (Spiked, platform and slippers, flip-flops, sandals, slides, or other athletic-type footwear are not allowed.) Footwear must have a rubber or other non-marking sole.”

But Monroe said that parents are complaining that they are having difficulty finding solid colored sneakers, and that others have expressed concerns about having to buy their children new shoes on top of the new uniforms. So he’s decided to slacken that policy a bit.

“We’re hearing feedback from parents right now telling us that it’s challenging finding a solid color sneaker,” said Monroe. “So we want parents to know that they can send their children to school with more than one color represented in their sneaker. We’re not going to send their kids home.”

But Monroe did note that more formal types of shoes should be a solid color, and that the restrictions on what footwear students could not show up in were still in place.

On the whole, however, Monroe said the uniform initiative seems to have been embraced by most parents, and that the school has already held four events during the summer where representatives from the Connecticut Shirt Man came to the school to sell the uniforms directly to parents and students. Monroe said that probably two-thirds of the school's students purchased uniforms at those events. 

The fifth and final such date is planned for Thursday, Aug. 18, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Monroe cautioned parents that it would likely be one of the last opportunities to see the uniforms and try them on before the start of school.

Monroe said that he is hoping to schedule a sixth such day before the start of school, but that nothing is in place yet, so parents might have to purchase shirts directly from the Connecticut Shirt Man’s website if they miss Thursday’s event.

Shalewa Batchelor, a mother of a recently graduated Illing Middle School student who will be attending Manchester High School in the fall, exclaimed recently when she stopped by for a visit and Monroe informed her of the pending switch to uniforms. Batchelor said she wished the high school would also make the switch, to put the emphasis back on education.

“I am so sick of seeing the kids with the baggy pants hanging down and their underwear showing,” she said. “It’s not about fashion, it’s about education.

Monroe said that he doesn’t expect every single student to come to school attired in the new uniforms the first day – although it is a requirement, he fully expects that some parents might not purchase them in time to receive the uniforms by the start of school, while other students might be last minute transfers who are unaware of the new mandate.

“There’s always someone who doesn’t make the deadline,” said Monroe. “Don’t keep them home. They are all expected to come to school. We understand that there might be a few people who are still in the process of securing the uniforms. We’ll work with you. We’re not going to kick them out.”