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Follow the (dress) code

New school year brings new attire requirements for students at Hickory, Catawba Valley high schools

Robert C. Reed

Student By Lao (right) will no longer be able to wear her favorite casual attire in the classroom. Hickory and Catawba Valley high schools both now have dress codes. Students Jessica Lineburg, Josh Lineburg and Shamia Jenkins model proper attire.

THE NEW DRESS CODE FOR HICKORY, CATAWBA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOLS

The guidelines were revised to allow students to wear T-shirts or sweatshirts with high school club, class or athletic themes on Fridays.

Tops: collared short-sleeved or long-sleeved, buttoned, knit shirts; collared, long-sleeved buttoned dress shirts or turtlenecks in garnet, white, gold, pastel pink or light gray. Logos other than HHS or CVHS are not allowed.

Bottoms: pants, skirts, shorts, skorts or capris that are knee-length or longer, and must be khaki, black or navy. Jeans and cargo pants are not allowed.

Other requirements: Bottoms must be worn with a belt, and shirts must be tucked in. Slippers are not allowed.

WANT TO DONATE TO THE CLOTHES CLOSET?

$75 will buy a few changes of clothes for one child for the year.

For more information, call Marcia Hammond at 322-5860 x1117.

By Sarah Newell Williamson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: August 20, 2008

HICKORY - In four days, students will fill the halls of Catawba County schools.

At Catawba Valley and Hickory High, they'll be sporting a new look as part of a standardized dress code.

Students are no longer allowed to wear Abercrombie and Fitch, Aeropostale or American Eagle logo shirts. Pants must be pulled up at the waist and worn with a belt, and skirts and shorts must be knee-length or longer. Students must wear long- or short-sleeved knit shirts, button-up dress shirts or turtlenecks.

"It's OK, until you get to the tucked in part of the clothes. I just wish there were more colors. I want to wear green, purple and orange. And I want a more yellow than gold," said Jessica Lineburg, a Hickory High junior.

Her brother, Josh, is a senior. He said he wanted other colors and solid-colored T-shirts to be added into the mix.

Their mother, Katrina Lowrance, stocked up on clothing so they'd have plenty of options for what to wear.

"I bought Josh six pairs of pants, two in each color, and each color shirt," she said. "I wish they'd done this a while ago."

Several students had pieces of clothing they said they'd miss wearing this year. For Jessica, it was jogging pants and a hoodie she could pull on when she didn't feel like getting dressed up for school.

For sophomore Shamia Jenkins, it's high heels.

"They won't go with this outfit," she said, looking over the polo shirt and khaki pants she was wearing, a sample of what she'll have to wear to school every day.

Students will still be able to wear T-shirts and sweatshirts with a high school club, class or athletic theme on it on Fridays and Hickory High will still have Spirit Week, allowing students to dress up on different days.

"I'll participate in every day during Spirit Week," Jessica said. "I didn't do it last year, but I will this year."

Junior By Lao said she didn't like the idea of a dress code initially, but she doesn't mind it so much now.

Many parents agree with Lao.

Robert Nelson, Jenkins' father, said he supports the dress code. Although he said Jenkins dressed appropriately before, he still thinks a dress code's a good idea.

"I didn't worry about my daughter, but with guys, you've got to watch them," he said.

Nelson said his biggest problem with the dress code was actually finding clothes that fit the school board's requirements.

"I finally got them at Conover Hardware. I had to ask around, to some other people, to find where to get them," he said.

Marcia Hammond, assistant principal at Hickory High, said she expects all the students to dress appropriately the first day.

"The plan's been published and mailed to parents and students, and we expect them to be dressed the way they should be," she said. "The seniors traditionally dress for success their first day, in church or business attire, so they'll set the pace for the rest of the school."

A clothes closet has been set up at Hickory and Catawba Valley high schools for students who cannot afford to purchase new clothes for the dress code, with an application process for students. However, the students don't get to keep the clothing.

"It's a check-out system. Students take care of the clothes through the year, and are expected to give them back at the end of the year," Hammond said. "Students grow, so they might need a new size the next year."

Faculty, too, is expected to use the dress code as the minimum standard of dress each day, although they can dress above the dress code standard if they'd like, said Hickory Public Schools board Chairwoman Sarah Talbert. And although the dress code doesn't specifically prohibit faculty from wearing clothing with logos, Talbert said she hopes they won't.

"We're not treating the faculty and staff like students, because they're not. I don't know that I'd have an issue with them wearing a logo," she said. "I would hope our faculty would be sensitive to the fact that if our students can't wear that, they should think about that before wearing them."

Chemistry teacher Scott Rhodes said he's looking forward to the new standardized dress code.

"Several times a week, at least one student is on the edge of the dress code or beyond it. Pants that are down too low is one of the big problems. And it's hard to tell females to cover up if you're a male teacher," he said. "I hope this will help solve that and improve the atmosphere in the classroom."

Newton-Conover Middle School Principal Jim Elliott has said discipline problems dropped significantly after the dress code was implemented there last year.