It’s True…You Can Dress

For Success!

Schools find that Dress codes

Improve student

Performance

Submitted by Katherine Callan

Pelham Preparatory Academy

kccallan@rcn.com

It’s the last week of summer, and kids and their parents are flocking to stores like Old Navy and Jimmy Jazz to stock up on clothes for the school year.

“Sixty-five dollars for an Izod shirt?!?!” one mother asks incredulously, as her son makes a pile of the clothes he wants.

“Ma… I have to have it,” he responds and after some negotiation, in the pile it goes.

After the first month in school, the boy comes home and tells his mother that he needs a Sean John leather jacket, now that the weather is turning cold.

“Are you crazy?,” his mother responds. “I can’t afford all this. You’re going to have to start buying clothes on your own!”

To be sure, it’s expensive to get dressed for school these days, as more and more students are wearing designer labels in class. The high price of clothing is not the only cost of looking good. There’s also increasing social pressure to keep up with what everyone else is wearing. All the expensive clothing has led to a rising number of thefts and even fights. Everyone’s heard of someone who’s been jumped over a North Face jacket or the victim of locker room theft. At the end of the day, school administrators say all this focus on brand name clothing is distracting kids from the real focus of school: learning. So, what’s a school to do?

In Fall 2004, Fall Pelham Preparatory Academy addressed the dilemma by introducing a dress code policy that requires students to “dress for success.” From day one, students, teachers and parents have expressed differing points of view about the new policy. Many students, especially juniors, disagree with the policy, arguing it is unfair that after two years in school they are being asked to change their style of casual dress. The PPA administration say the dress code will create a more serious tone for the school and return the focus to academics. In addition, say administrators, the code will better prepare students for the post-school world in which dressing up is often a requirement.

In this Public Policy inquiry, students will research the effectiveness of the new dress code and determine whether it solves the social problems it was created to address.

You are a member of the newly formed student government committee, and you have been asked evaluate the effectiveness of the dress code in improving student performance. Again, dress codes were created after schools saw that brand name clothing was creating unnecessary peer pressure as well as theft. Most importantly, administration say studies show a link between how you dress and how you perform academically. Does the new dress code policy address these issues? This task will require that you do research. You will create surveys that will be distributed to members of your school, parents, teachers and administration. In addition, you will research other schools that have implemented dress codes to assess their experience. After you are done with your research you will present your findings to the class. When all the groups have presented, students will write a final evaluation of the dress code policy and any recommended changes. Any recommended changes must help solve the social issues that have been identified through the research.

Below are link that will take you to required worksheets for each of the six steps required for this project. Work with your group to complete each one, using the resources noted below.

1. Define the problem. http://www.maxwell.sr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet1.doc
2. Gather evidence of the problem. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet2.doc
3. Identify causes of the problem. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet3.doc
4. Evaluate existing policies of the problem. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet4.doc
5. Develop an original public policy solution. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet5.doc
6. Choose the best solution. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet6.doc

In addition to completing the six worksheets and conducting Internet research, each group will write and deliver an opinion survey on the dress code at PPA. The survey will be given to students, teachers, parents and administrators.

Once the survey has been completed, the group will write up the results (including creating graphs and charts) and present the results to the class.

As groups present their findings in the class, students will take notes. Then, each group will write up its final evaluation of the dress code policy and any recommended changes.

Each group’s final report will be presented to school administration.

http://www.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/29/whitley/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/08/31/cnna.chool.uniforms/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/06/15/uk.scarf.school/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/28/brucato.cnna/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNIT/08/28/strossen.cnna/index.html

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/09/19/loc_loc3adress.html

http://www/modrall.com/articles/article_13.html

www.mtv.com/news/articles/1491197/20040920/index.jhtml?headlines=true

http://www.nyclu.org/siegel/siegel.html

http://www.parentsmart.com/SchPractices/DressCodes/

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.htm

http://www.opinionpower.com

Students will produce a written report on what they have learned through using the Public Policy Analyst process to bring about change in public policy.

Students will be graded on their written and oral presentations plus their ability to analyze information and draw conclusions based on the information presented and obtained through Web sites.

The following rubric will be used as part of the grade.

:

	A (4)	B (3)	C (2)	Redo (1)
Research	*Problem well identified and thoroughly researched *All six steps of the PPA are thoroughly addressed *Evidence of notes and action research	*Problem identified and reasonably well researched *All six steps of the PPA are addressed,	*Problem identified with limited research. *All steps of the PPA are addressed,	*Problem identified but research is lacking *Incomplete work
Written Proposal	*Well organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence structure *Thoroughly addresses each of the six different parts (see Task)	*Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or sentence structure. * Addresses each of the six different parts	*Well organized, but illogical sequencing and sentence structure. * Barely addresses each of the six different parts	*Weakly organized. *Does not address each of the six different parts
Presentation	*Social problem introduced with authority based on information *Utilizes clear and helpful visual aids *Generate and field questions and responses from audience around their topic of discussion. *Every member in group participates in presentation.	*Social problem introduced with some authority *Visual aids used *Generate questions and responses. *Most members of group participate.	*Students state the social problem *Students require prompts to generate questions *Limited participation within the group	*Teacher generates discussion
Group cooperation	*Group establishes and maintains an equal distribution of labor among all participants. *Differences are dealt with maturely and students exercise listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills	*Group makes attempts to maintain an equal distribution of labor among all participants. *Almost all differences are dealt with maturely and students exercise listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills	*Groups make unsuccessful attempts to maintain an equal distribution of labor among all participants. *Only some differences are dealt with maturely as students attempt to exercise listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills	*Group is unable to equally distribute work. *Differences are not dealt with maturely

To use a cliché, you can’t argue the facts. At the end of this project, students should be able to analyze a policy and draw a well thought out conclusion that they can support with evidence. They will demonstrate that they can research a policy, comprehend what the policy is about and support their findings by citing evidence from given information and hold intelligent discussions about the policy. Finally, students will make recommendations based on research that will improve the social issue.

:

This WebQuest addresses the following English Language Arts Standards:

Standard 1:   Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas.

Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation.

Standard 4:   Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people.