Schools

BOE Extends Uniform Program At Illing; Administration Does Not Recommend Uniforms for Manchester High

Students at Arthur H. Illing Middle School will continue to wear uniforms during the 2012-13 school year.

Arthur H. Illing Middle School will continue its pilot uniform program next year, while it does not look like students at Manchester High School will have to worry about wearing uniforms anytime soon. 

The Board of Education approved an extension of Illing's uniform program for an additional year as part of Monday's school board meeting, but later on during the same meeting heard a recommendation from the interim principal at Manchester High School and the interim superintendent that a similar program not be adopted for high school students in the coming year. 

"We didn't have the overwhelming support of parents that we had hoped for," said Interim Superintendent Richard Kisiel of a study Manchester High conducted recently to gauge public interest in the idea of school uniforms. "And we didn't have the overwhelming support of the high school staff." 

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Kisiel said that a recent study of parents of Manchester High School students found an even split on the concept of uniforms, while a similar study aimed at school staff was only taken by about half of the 310 total staff at the high school. 

"Having a uniform dress code at Manchester High at this time just sets a negative climate for a new principal coming into the building," said Interim Manchester High School Principal Gregory Ziogas. 

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Ziogas has at Manchester High since February of 2011, but is scheduled to leave by the end of the month when his permanent replacement, , will come on board to replace him. 

However, the school board unanimously approved the extension of the pilot uniform program at Illing Middle School for an additional year, even though several members expressed concern with aspects of the proposal, and after it had when Illing Principal Troy Monroe last appeared before the Board of Education seeking an extension. 

"I'm still torn by the fact that it's just Illing Middle School, it's not district-wide, and I haven't heard from other administrators that they're in favor of it for their schools," said Neal Leon, a Democratic member of the school board. "In fact, I've heard just the opposite." 

While Sarah Walton, another Democratic member of the school board, said she was concerned that the policy has led to 129 student suspensions since being implemented at the start of this year. 

"I still feel very strongly that we have a responsibility to educate all children that walk through our doors, regardless of what they come to school in or how they behave," Walton said. "I think they need to receive discipline and there should be a consequence of that, but I don't think it's ever fair to pull a kid out of instruction based on what they show up in." 

A small handful of parents and teachers spoke out in favor of the uniform policy before the school board voted to extend it Monday. 

"The new uniform policy has increased instructional time in my room," said Susan Stepanski, a parent and teacher at Illing who supported the idea of uniforms. "I feel that the uniform is preparing our students for the real world and for a job force that is looking for them to dress properly." 

Raymond Zemanek, another parent with children in the school system, was the lone voice to speak out in opposition to the uniforms Monday, but Zemanek said he did not believe the meeting was sufficiently publicized to allow the public the opportunity to comment on the uniform policy and that, if it had been, many more residents would have turned out in opposition. 

"I believe I am in the majority of people in Manchester who do not want this dress code to go through," Zemanek said. "In a Democracy, everyone gets a say, and I don't believe everyone was informed of what was going to be happening in this meeting tonight."

At one point during the debate, Kisiel was asked how he could recommend that Manchester High not adopt uniforms in the coming year, but that Illing should continue its uniform policy. 

Kisiel said it was unfair to compare the two schools and that he supported Monroe's advocacy of continuing the uniform policy at Illing based on the data provided to the Board of Education. Monroe has repeatedly praised the program for leading to a decrease in students late to class, a decrease in harassing behavior and an overall decrease in disruptive behavior at Illing since its implementation. 

Board of Education Chairman Chris Pattacini said he also made a distinction between the two schools when it came to deciding the issue of uniforms. 

"In my view, this age is a critical age for students. It's a time when they are trying different things…they need to have some of those ground rules to help them make good decisions," Pattacini said of Illing students, but added that "at the high school, I think we need to have students making their own decisions and dealing with those consequences a bit more."

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