An Open Letter To All Catholic School Principals

Can we talk about uniforms?  Full disclosure, I come from a long line of Catholic school advocates.  My mother, my brothers, my niece, nephews, daughter and I have all worn uniforms. I love uniforms.  They make school clothes shopping easier, and they make mornings infinitely less drama-filled.  They are wonderful. But why, dear principal, must you torture us with your inevitable changes and multiple formats? 

In the three Catholic schools my daughter has attended, we have witnessed “warm weather” uniforms, “regular” uniforms, and “winter” uniforms.  This isn’t as simple as a short sleeve golf shirt for the “warm” weather and put a sweater/fleece over it for the winter.  Oh no.  This is a complete change of shirts, skirts/shorts and even footwear for each season.  There are multiple formats of gym uniforms. We currently even have a “special event” uniform.  We have worn it three times this year. 

The real thrill of having these multiple uniforms is that it typically doesn’t matter what the weather is, nor does it matter the temperature in the classroom.  80 degrees in your classroom?  Sorry, you must have your sweater on…it’s the winter uniform.  And the enforcement goes from general compliance to the outlandish.  We have had school principals measuring the height of socks to make sure they are in fact, ‘ankle’ high as specified in the handbook (you know who you are!).

Then there is the basic practicality and comfort to consider.  $80 for a gym sweat suit that is worn once per week for a maximum of 5 months seems a little outlandish.  Particularly when that jacket can’t be worn over any other uniform apparel during the school day, as it is not part of the “winter” uniform!  Those classic, round-collared, paper thin blouses stick like plastic wrap in warmer weather.

And then the inevitable spring time notice:  "We have a new logo! Please discard every item you have bought in the past and purchase new items".  "We decided we like blue golf shirts instead of white!  Please discard all your white shirts and buy our new blue ones".  Or, the best one, which appears to be the “students are too comfortable!  Please buy new, constricting-hard-to-maintain items".  

As parents, we are trying to work with you.  As I said, I love uniforms.  Many parents do!  But we hate the endless changes and configurations. And we hate when our child complains about how uncomfortable they are everyday.  Could we please simplify?  Pants, skirts, shirt, fleece or sweater.  Done.  If you want to allow shorts, let everyone wear them (not just the boys), anytime, not Sep 1 – Oct 16.  If sneakers, boots or shoes work some of the year, allow them all year.  If you have a monogrammed sweater or fleece, let the student decide if they are warm or cold and whether they wear it or not.

When selecting uniform items, please use some common sense and consideration.  Girls past third grade do not want to wear a white blouse for fear the presence, or lack of, particular undergarments might show through.  Parents do not want to iron blouses and dress shirts every day.  And for heavens sake, if it says ‘dry clean only’, do not even consider it!  Students should be neat, but comfortable.  Dress shirts and ties can remain in the boardrooms, not the schoolrooms.  (And btw, there aren’t many of them in boardrooms either). And for those of you considering blazers, please don’t.  I don’t want to spend the money on them, I don’t want to dry clean them and my student doesn’t want to wear them.

With that said, when you do change the uniform, give us time. Yes, children grow.  It is very unlikely that the clothes you bought your first grader will still fit your second grader.  But when your first grader outgrew their clothes in March, then they probably will fit in September.  When your child has a massive growth spurt in elementary school, it is likely those golf shirts will fit well through middle school.  Don’t give us a few months, or less, to invest in all new clothes.  The former items should be valid until they wear out.  After all, aren’t you always teaching the students not to be wasteful?

Dear Principal, I appreciate all you do.  But let’s free you up to focus on the important stuff.  Make sure my child knows how to read.  Challenge them in math.  Teach them a new language.  Help them understand their faith.  Let’s not worry about their socks.