Please Complete a Survey for Your Child's Family

Welcome to the MacArthur Uniform Committee website.  We hope you will find the information provided here, in regard to the issue of implementing a voluntary uniform policy at our school, helpful.  A survey will be going out to all MacArthur families the week of October 17th and we need your input, so please complete the survey and let us know your thoughts on this issue. 

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail us at macuniform at gmail dot com.  We also have a link in the tabs section above.  The committee will make every effort to reply to questions in a timely manner and will ensure that all comments are shared with the MacArthur Leadership.  Thank you!

Comments

There is currently a blogger wide issue (reported on a blogger help forum) that is causing our comments and those on other blogs not to appear.  Comments seem to appear if you comment on a post, for instance by clicking on 'comment' at the end of this paragraph, those comments will appear.  You will be unable to comment on any of the tabs above, so please use this post to make your comments.  If you do not see your comments appear, you are welcome to email us via the contact us tab above and we'd be happy to post your comments, either anonymously or attributed, your choice.

Technical Issues with Comments

We removed the moderation of comments and then tried to add a message when you make a post.  Unfortunately somehow both the comments were hidden and it has removed our anti-spam feature.  We are working on the issue, so please check back and as always feel free to send an email to the gmail account.  Thanks for your patience.

Next steps

Thanks to those of you who attended one of the two Community meetings that were held last week and this week.  Please look for a survey in your child's Communication Folder the week of October 17 and in the meantime feel free to contact us with any questions or post directly to the website.

Uniform Committee Meeting(s)

The Uniform Committee  will conduct a community meeting this Wednesday, September 28 and next Tuesday, October 4th at 7pm in the library. The format will be the same for each meeting so there is no need to attend both if you don't want to.

Come and ask questions not already addressed on the website that will better enable your household to complete the survey coming out in mid October.
 

For additional information on the process, FAQs and proposed sample uniforms, please visit the website:

www.mesunicom.blogspot.com  

September 8 2011 Meeting Minutes

September 8, 2011 committee meeting
MacArthur Library
7 – 8:30pm

Committee members in attendance:

Carolyn Ostermann-Healey
Karen Avery (on phone)
Jeff Lane

Crystal Gaines
Christina Sarchio

Chad Sarhio
Katie Munson
Elizabeth Jones
Ann Tucker
Vinnie Penoso
Debbie Thompson

Gene Fischer

Dara Surratt

Committee membership:  Down to 17 official members.  Quorum is now 9.

Mt. Vernon Elementary uniform attempt – did they go through this survey process on uniforms?  What happened and when?  Need to follow up to get information on this before we can put it in the FAQs.  A number of people will follow up with contacts at Mt. Vernon.

Back to school night – have the Technology Resource Teacher (Ms. Petratich) set up the web site on the overhead so people can see it.  Then any questions can be referred to the web site.  Gene Fischer is working with the central office to get a link to the uniform web site on the MacArthur main web site.

MacArthur Guidelines for Student Dress:  There is nothing written.  Mrs. Thompson said the dress guideline is:

• shoes for safety
• clothes that are seasonally appropriate
• shorts to the knees or slightly above the knees
• straps on shirts should be 3 fingers wide
• have appropriate slogans and logos
• no student is penalized or sent home, but they might go to the nurse to get appropriate clothes.

There is really not much of a problem with this right now, and it’s mainly the girls as they start to mature.

The language that we will use in our materials is “Voluntary Uniform Policy”.

Survey committee: Jeff Lane
Met with survey expert who will meet with the survey subcommittee to begin to refine the survey and the analysis of the results.  

What other languages should we do the survey instrument in besides Spanish and English? Maybe Urdu?  Debbie will check on the numbers of different languages at MacArthur.

Back to School Night:  Website put up on the screen during the talk.  

Posters in the lobby:  Do one on the community meetings in the lobby during BTS night.  No pictures before BTS night.  After BTS night, we will put a poster up with pictures so it isn’t confusing.  There’s at least 200 people at each BTS night so we’ll need at least 500.  

PTA meeting:  September 19th.  This meeting is a good way to reach a lot of kindergarten and new two MacArthur parents.  Elizabeth Jones will give about 10 minute presentation.  Hand out the tri-fold from the BTS night.  Deflect the questions to the community night.

Community Meetings:  

1. Where to have it?  Probably best in the library if we move all the tables and chairs out of the way and put folding chairs there.  
2. Format of meeting:
1. Initial 5-10 minute presentation.  History and timeline, establish ground rules, cost of uniform.
2. Need to have sign up to speak with a time limit
3. Goal is to have people express their opinions.
4. Limit the amount of contentious debate.  
3. Have pros and cons available to look at.
4. Take notes.
5. Ask school board rep (Charles Wilson) to attend.  

Do we need a translator?  If a lot of people request translation at back to school night, then we should have it at the community meeting.  Also, depends how many come to the Hispanic Parents meeting.

Next meeting September 20, 2011 at 7 pm at MacArthur.

Comments and Contacting Us

We had a report of emails sent to the macuniform@gmail.com account bouncing.  We did some testing and could not find any problems.  You can always choose the 'leave a comment' option and your comment will appear on the website.  Please note, to reduce spam, all comments posted to the website are approved before they will appear. 

Uniform Committee meeting

This Thursday the Uniform Committee will be meeting in the Library at 7pm.    As stated in the google groups email, this will be a business meeting for the Uniform Committee to prepare for back to school night and the Community meetings later this fall.  Anyone is welcome to attend, but we will not be answering questions and engaging in dialogue with the larger community but rather focusing on getting through our full agenda hopefully finishing in 2 hours.  Committee members will be available after the meeting should anyone wish to ask questions or make a comment.  However, we do encourage you to use our 'contact us' feature on this website to make comments or ask questions or use the 'leave a comment' tab.  Please also check out the FAQ page to see if your question is addressed there.  We will be providing regular updates to this website, so be sure to check back as we move through the fall.

Latest information

We are in the process of modifying the layout of the blog to support an FAQ and a 'contact us' page.  Please check back for this information....

Meeting Minutes: June 6th 2011

June 6, 2011

Uniform meeting

MacArthur Cafeteria

Committee Attendees:   Kate Munson, Eugenio Fischer, Ann Tucker, Elizabeth Jones, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Holliman, Ms. Caldera, Vincent Penoso, Ms. Merbeth, Crystal Gaines, Jeff Lane, Carolyn Ostermann-Healey, Kathleen Kuehnast, Chad Sarchio, Julie West, Karen Avery, Deanne McNulty

Out:  Sally Eastman, Pilar Latorre, Ms. Norman

(Members: Stacey Caldera, Ms. Norman, Ms. Merbeth, Chad Sarchio, Dena Battle, Dara Surratt, Deanne McNulty, Jake West, Sally Eastman, Eugenio Alberto Fischer, Pilar Latorre, Vincent Penoso, Elizabeth Jones (Chair), Carolyn Ostermann-Healey, Agandi Mulahi, Crystal Gaines, Rena Brown, Ann Tucker, Jeff Lane, Karen Avery, Kathleen Kuehnast, Christina Lytle, Kate Munson, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Holliman)

Meeting times:  For the future meetings, should we meet at 7 or 6:30?  The teachers and administrators like 6:30 because it’s a long day for them.  Perhaps we’ll switch it around each time.

Timeline:

Some of the points on the timeline that we need to be prepared for is Back to School Night and the date to send out the next survey. 

Back to School Night:  it would be a good time to present the work of the uniform committee to date.  Possibilities are to have kids model potential uniforms (or have pictures available).  Mrs. Thompson thinks anything done at Back to School night needs to be more informational.  The parents really want to get into the classrooms.  So this night would be to introduce the idea and give people an idea of what a voluntary uniform might look like.  The topic would only get 5 – 8 minutes at Back to School Night, but it’s an opportunity to get the widest exposure.  Put in people’s hands a fuller explanation of where the uniform process is. 

There was general agreement that the Back to School Night information was not sufficient to inform the parents, and therefore there should be a couple of meetings dedicated to the uniform issue.

In communicating the uniform issue, especially to incoming kindergarten families, there needs to be information given to them during k-prep and in any other ways so they are not surprised.

These and other issues will be dealt with in the communications subcommittee.

Survey timing:  When is the best time to get it out?  If we get it out at the middle of October, there is plenty of time to follow up on responses before thanksgiving.  One possible last ditch effort is reminders in the first quarter report card envelopes that are required to be signed and returned.  This is usually the middle of November.

Ideas for communication: We could look into a Robocall for a reminder to complete your MacArthur Voluntary Uniform Survey. We would need to contact the central board for information on a Robocall.  Gene would be willing to do a robocall message in Spanish.  However many phone numbers in the school’s database are wrong.  Another option for reaching out to the vast population is through emails in the directory. 

Ideas for communication for the population that may not have email addresses:   Mrs. Katzer has a Latino parents meeting in early October, this could be an opportunity to discuss uniforms and the survey.

Another opportunity for parental involvement: We will have one information session about uniforms after Back to School night open to all. We need to give dates for this session at Back to School night.  This needs to be an information session as well as an opportunity for parents to give speak at the meeting.  Prior to any sessions, we must get out a FAQ. 

Communication will come from The Committee on the Voluntary Uniform Policy.

Discussion of Elizabeth’s Process email:

Survey Subcommittee:  The final survey should be released to all families at MacArthur by mid-October.  Getting the student and teacher voice is also important but not required per the ACPS policy.  In the first committee meeting, the Brozmann Family mentioned doing some type of a professional survey. We need to contact them to see if this could be a viable option for this survey. The final survey should have the type and colors of uniform we are recommending.

The Logistics Subcommittee: This subcommittee  should really focus on the various places to purchase uniforms, the cost and work with PTA on developing a clothes closet for students in need. The logistics subcommittee will look into bulk purchasing for uniforms. We must have all of this researched and documented by the beginning of school.

We decided to discuss the colors with the whole group at this meeting tonight (mtg 6/6/11). The colors should be limited to three colors on top and two colors on the bottom so that we do not have to revisit this issue at a later date.

Colors for uniforms discussed: Dark Blue and Khaki bottoms, this includes pants , shorts, jumpers, skorts, and skirts. This will follow the current length dress code guidelines (finger length to the knee). This will include cotton-type pants (or yoga pants, cargo pants) but no jeans. Blue sweat pants or sprit wear will be acceptable for gym day.

Tops-  the tops will be plain, with no graphics.  The preferred top is a collar shirt, in red, white and blue.  Slight variations on dark blue will be acceptable.  Sweaters within the uniform color scheme are acceptable.

Other items discussed:

Foot wear should follow the same policy as our current policy..

The group will not speak to hair accessories or hats.

A Motion was made on the following:

Navy or khaki pants or shorts for boys. No jeans.

Navy or khaki skirt, skort, dress, jumper, pants (including yoga pants or cargo) for girls

Navy sweats/shorts for gym days

Dark blue, red or white collared shirt with no graphics or logos

Shoes/sneakers will follow the current policy, however the new policy will discourage light up shoes.

Any colored socks are acceptable, preferably white or to match top but we will not limit colored socks.

Vote on Motion:  Unanimous vote with Chad Sarchio abstaining.

Misc Notes:  Elizabeth will attend the PTA meeting on 6/7/11 to discuss the uniform update.  A suggestion was made to link to FAQ on the MacArthur webpage.

Vincent discussed the Google groups, to make sure everyone is clicking the bottom link once to sign in. 

Elizabeth will discuss the pros and cons of uniform at the next meeting. Many members discussed articles out there to review on this issue.

The committee could have an information booth in the front lobby during first quarter conferences for report cards. This was a suggestion by Mrs.Holliman.

After tallying the calendar, August 22 is a potential date to meet as a majority group before school starts.  The subcommittees will work during the summer via email.

Meeting adjourned 8:22pm.

Meeting Minutes: June 2nd 2011

June 2, 2011

Uniform meeting

MacArthur Library

Committee Attendees:  Elizabeth Jones, Ann Tucker, Crystal Gaines, Sally Eastman, Jeff Lane, Dara Surratt, Ms. Caldara, Ms. Norman, Deanne McNulty, Kathleen Kuehnast, Carolyn Ostermann-Healey, Julie West, Debbie Thompson, Karen Avery, Afandi Mulahi, Ms. Holloman, Ms. Merbeth, Katie Munson, Christina Sarchio

Maury school representative:  Tonya Kelly.  The push for uniforms started when Maury was a failing school with trying to look nicer by wearing nice pants and collared shirts.  When Ms. Jackson came over as a principal in 04/05, she got the support of the PTA and student body and implemented uniforms in the fall of the 05/06 school year.  On the first day of school, about 80% of students showed up in uniform, despite having so little time between announcement and implementation.  Now, most students come in uniform.  Uniforms are only worn Monday through Thursday with Friday being free dress within the overall dress code guidelines.

Maury’s uniform is powder blue or navy shirts and khaki or navy blue bottoms.  No sandals, no flip flops.  Girls can wear skorts, jumpers, shorts, pants, sweaters.

Mrs. Kelly likes the uniform policy now, but having a girl, it reduced the morning clothing battles.  She and other parents donate used uniform clothes as their children outgrow them to the nurse for redistribution. 

Q:  Did you fund for some of the uniforms when you started?

A:  I don’t think so, but they knew the PTA would step in with the parents who had need.  To supplement the uniform they had some Maury spiritwear printed, but she doesn’t exactly remember. 

Q:  What about those families that were against uniforms?

A:  Ms. Jackson met with parents and there was lots of communication about the uniform and where to buy them. 

Q:  What was their timeframe?

A:  Started the conversation about uniforms in January or February and it was implemented at the start of the next school year.

Q:  How many meetings?

A:  At least one PTA meeting to discuss, then the survey, then another PTA meeting where the issue was decided.  Then it was implemented.

Q:  If the uniform issue was brought up in 02/03 why did it take until 05/06 to implement?

A:  There were 3 different principals during this time period.  Ms. Jackson spearheaded it.

Q:  How many students were at Maury then and now?

A:  140 students when the uniform issue started and now 350 students (the school is at capacity.)

Q:  What was the motivation to go to uniforms?

A:  They were a Title 1 school, and there were many poor children who came to school in very bad clothes and the children were noticing it.  It was an equalizer socioeconomically.  The children didn’t have to worry about who was wearing what and they could concentrate on their school work.

Q:  Has it had this intended effect?

A:  Scores have shot up since they went to uniforms, and while it’s due to the teachers and the principal, but it certainly didn’t hurt. 

Q:  You said there didn’t seem to have many parents ask for uniforms for free?

A:  The social worker would know which parents need help, and she works with the PTA to highlight which families may need uniform assistance.  Sometimes, individual parents just step up and buy uniforms when it is said that there is a need.

Q:  Are there children who do not wear uniforms?

A:  Not that she has ever seen.

Q:  What about children with sensory issues or can’t do zippers or buttons?

A:  They don’t have these children at Maury, but they would have to make exceptions.  They can wear yoga pants or leggings.  Maury is quite relaxed about the uniform.  What’s important is that the students look like a team and contribute to school pride.  It’s more about the colors than the style or fabric of the clothes.    

Q:  Does the general population understand it is voluntary?

A:  Yes, but it doesn’t say it in the materials.  She hasn’t heard any parents complain in the many years she’s been there. 

Committee Structure and Voting:

Does this committee need to follow Roberts Rules of Order for committee business?  It was agreed that we will follow Robert Rules of Order for any formal committee business, such as motions, seconds and votes, but follow a loose conversation style during discussions. 

The committee was reminded that it is an advisory group to Ms. Thompson, who will get the final say. 

Decision:  We will be doing seconds and motions. 

Decision:  50% of members for a quorum.

Implementation based on State and Alexandria guidelines:

State guideline legal considerations:  The City guidelines already follow the state guidelines, but the committee will consult the state guidelines as it goes forward. 

Communications Notes:  [During the committee’s discussion, many members and visitors brought up issues relating to committee communications.  These are contained here.]  As the committee communicates about these issues, the fact that that uniforms are voluntary should be repeatedly stated.  We should call the committee the MacArthur Parent/Teacher Uniform Committee to reflect the input of the teachers on the committee.  We will gain input from the teachers, staff, and students next fall.  To maintain transparency, we need to be neutral in our communications to parents and the school. 

First Survey Results:

36% or 118 families responded NO, representing 115 children

64% or 203 families responded YES, representing 277 children.

Motion:  Committee feels that there has been “sufficient interest” in evaluating and making recommendations for a process going forward.  Second.  Vote:  Unanimous with Christina Sarchio abstaining. 

Motion:  Cap the committee at 25 members.  Second.  Vote:  Unanimous.

The committee directed Elizabeth Jones and Mrs. Thompson to issue a joint communication that states that the committee’s process in evaluating and making recommendations for a process going forward on the issue of uniforms at MacArthur will not reach its conclusion until after the start of the next school year.  Therefore, there will be no change to the MacArthur dress code for start of the 2011/2012 school year.

Adjourned.

Public Schools can have a uniform policy that is Voluntary

*******

First Committee Meeting Update

Rough notes recorded during the meeting are being deciphered for an update.

We are going to meet next Thurs. the 2nd at 7pm and on Mondays thereafter.

The sentiment was that we meet often to make quick progress.

 There was general consensus on a uniform and agreement that we will discuss the process of moving forward at the next meeting.

Welcome to the Uniform Committee Website

The Uniform Committee of the Gen. Douglas MacArthur elementary school created this site for the purpose of communicating to interested  parties to the status  of the movement to bring school uniforms to our school.
Updates and general committee meeting minutes will be posted here for the benefit of the public who cannot attend any open meetings.