New School Dress Code Takes Effect Monday

A new dress code for the Cedar Grove School District will take effect this Monday, and school officials are expressing confidence in the new standards.

Cedar Grove High School Principal Michael Fetherman sent a letter to parents today explaining the re-vamped dress code. In it, he explains it is the responsibility of both parents and students to ensure all clothing worn in the high school is "modest and appropriate."

"Your school affirms that acceptable standards for students are predicated on decency, neatness, cleanliness and safety. Dress for school must not distract from nor disrupt the educational process," he wrote.

Following lengthy discussions, and a report from a uniforms committee comprised of parents and school officials, the Board of Education unanimously of mandatory school uniforms for all students in the district last October, opting instead to devise a revamped, stricter dress code.

At a December Board of Education meeting, Principals from three Cedar Grove schools presented , who expressed concerns about the clarity and enforceability of the suggestions.

School board president Frank Mandala at the time said the proposed changes contained "too many loopholes."

"I would like it to be more definitive," he said. "I don't want it to be lax, I want it to be enforced."

In an interview Friday, Mandala said he and the board were pleased with tweaks the principals came back with, as well as the decision to apply the standards uniformly from elementary school through high school.

"We discussed it as a board and were happy they made it a bit clearer and defined the areas of concern to make it more measurable. We feel this is something they can work with and enforce."

Mandala said the board will be reviewing violations of the new policy, and left the door open to the possibility the board may re-consider uniforms if students consistently flout the dress code.

"If we see consistent violations than we will start discussions again on the implementation of uniforms."

Fetherman said Friday that he was confident that the message about the new policy has been clearly communicated to staff, parents and students.

"All of the staff is on board. The directives have been clear and we know what we have to do."

When asked what the reaction of the student body has been, Fetherman said there has been "some push-back" from students, which he's heard during multiple conversations with students about the policy, particularly seniors who are months away from graduation.

"There's been a little 'why me?' syndrome," he said, "But by and large the kids are supportive of it."

Starting Monday, April 11, Cedar Grove students will have to live within the confines of more than a dozen new restrictions on dress. The complete list can be found on the district's website, but just some of the new changes include:

• No "extremely low cut, plunging or transparent clothing and clothing that is suggestive."
• No tube tops, halter tops, backless and bare midriffs.
• No spaghetti straps, or any straps less than the width of two fingers.
• No sleeveless tops, such as muscle shirts, for boys.
• No bottoms that "exaggerate, emphasize, reveal or call attention to anatomical details"
• No Pajamas and other forms of sleepwear.
• No hats, hoods, visors, bandannas, sweat/athletic bands, sunglasses, or accessories with "inappropriate messages."

According to the district's website, enforcement of the new dress code will be conducted by teachers, support staff, para-professionals and administrators through "Persistent and continuous inspection of changeable student dress," sending offenders to the building administration and documenting all offenses in a student's discipline record with Genesis.

In the event of a dispute over whether an article of clothing falls within the confines of the dress code, the district policy states that the building administrator in conjunction with the school nurse or staff designee shall be the final arbiter of the school dress code.

One issue raised at Board of Education meetings has been the touchy subject of putting a male teacher in a position where he would have to comment on the state of a female student's wardrobe.

Fetherman says the school has "simplified the process" to give teachers in that situation the option to not address the issue with the student directly, but to immediately notify the administration.

"They won't have to discuss it with students at all. Pick up the phone and tell administration we have a dress code violation, and either myself or [Vice Principal Joseph McBride] will go to the room and remove the student with the athletics director or nurse," he said.

Backing up the new rules is a tiered system of discipline. Each tier includes each of the previous tier's penalties, plus a gradually increasing severity of punishment.

For a first offense, parents will be notified, and the student must change clothes. Second offense, a student will be assigned administrative detention. For a third offense, a student is assigned in-school suspension, and a parent conference will be scheduled upon re-admittance. For a fourth offense, a student will lose privileges, including campus parking, activities, recess or others. An out of school suspension may be initiated at this point, and a parent conference will be called.

The policy will be communicated to parents, staff and students in a multitude of ways, ensuring everyone has an opportunity to view the new guidelines and penalties for disobedience.

A complete copy of the dress code will be mailed to parents with the 3rd marking period report cards, as well as email blasted to parents. Staff discussions will be held regularly at faculty meetings, and in-class meetings will be held with all students. All information will also be available on the district website, and will be discussed with parents of incoming students at orientations.

Fetherman said he hoped the changes would lead to a "less casual attitude" by students.

"It's just too casual here. In the short term the goal is to create an environment that is a little less casual. You're not going to the beach, you're not going to a friend's house to watch a movie, you're going to school."

"You come in here with a purpose. It begins with the clothes you put on. That's how your attitude starts each day."

Fetherman's full letter to parents can be found here.

A letter to Middle School and Elementary School parents is reportedly in the works by principals Richard Mangili and Brian Cavanagh, but was not available at press time.

In an interview, Mangili told Patch Friday that the entire student body has been told about the changes during health classes, and that he has provided the full text of the new dress code to students, teachers and parents.

"The kids understand. The biggest concern is the footwear, no flip flops, for example," he said.

"The kids were really good about it. This is a big deal for them, and we wanted to listen to them and give them the opportunity to voice their questions and concerns."

Brian Cavanagh, Principal of South End Elementary, said Friday that parents and students have been made aware of the changes, but that fashion is not as big an issue at the elementary school level.

"The younger kids are still dressed by their parents. I don't foresee it as a huge issue here. There may be issues that do need to be addressed, but parents are really cooperative here with most things, I'm sure they will be with this too," he said.

Cedar Grove Schools Superintendent Dr. Gene Polles said in an email the administration believes the transition to the new guidelines will be "seamless."

"We are very optimistic about the implementation and we will re-evaluate the dress code implementation and the overall effectiveness prior to the end of school in June and share that information with the board and public."