THE PROBLEM:

The issue coming from the new change in the uniform rules is not the act of buying the new skort or pants, but the cost which comes along with it. If you have attended John Adams Academy for at least a year, you most likely would already have your entire uniform purchased and set to wear for the rest of your time there, or until it is grown out of. Buying all new uniform bottoms is not something that is doable for every family, and we believe the issue should be addressed head on, not by reprimanding everyone for something they did not necessarily do. 

It is commonly known that these uniforms are expensive, and not everyone can afford to replace the perfectly good ones they already own. The average cost for a new skort or pair of pants with decent quality is around $40. It is generally unhygienic to wear the same skort or pair of pants every day, and unreasonable, not to mention even more costly, to wash and dry them every night. The handbook also requires that all scholars remain clean and professional. Based on these facts, multiple uniforms bottoms would need to be purchased, which brings the cost up to $80 or more per person. Many of the families at our school have multiple children, meaning this cost could easily reach hundreds of dollars, not to mention lower income families, who may not have the money to spend on this uniform change. In many families, uniforms are passed down to other siblings or family members, or sold to purchase new ones. The new uniform changes do not allow families to do anything other than get rid of the old uniforms, which is very wasteful and expensive.

These uniforms are also not inclusive to every body type, creating discrimination towards many people. The sizing of the Ibiley uniforms is very different from regular sizes and due to how the skort is meant to fit, the largest size may not fit someone who simply does not have the intended body type. This makes it very difficult for many to buy skorts that fit properly and as intended. Other vendors for uniform skorts have the same issues; either bad quality, uninclusive sizing, or very expensive. Further, this may create uneasiness among scholars who may begin to feel uncomfortable about their bodies just because they do not fit into the difficult sizing. Scholars should feel comfortable in the uniform and if they are wearing something that does not fit them they would not feel confident at school as well as feel uncomfortable. According to the Family/ Scholar handbook, "Based on the principles of modesty, cleanliness and professionalism, it is designed to elevate a scholar’s focus, create unity among the scholar body, and remove distractions from the learning environment” (Page 40). A uniform that does not fit well will result in a distraction from learning. Since distraction is unwanted by both the teachers and scholars, scholars should not be forced to wear something that would distract them. While a solution could be to just wear pants, some may not feel comfortable in the pants and how they fit and further, families are still spending $80 or more on new uniform bottoms to accommodate the new rules.

We understand the issue of scholars rolling their skirts, but request that they be directly addressed, rather than causing the entire secondary female population to have to buy new uniforms. As stated in the John Adams Academy Handbook, “Group Punishment: The whole class will never be punished for the misdeeds of individual scholar(s). This includes loss of recess or other group activities/ privileges” (Page 35). By causing the entire population of female secondary scholars to buy new uniforms based on the actions of a group of scholars who defied the rules goes against the school handbook. We believe there are simpler solutions to this issue, such as asking scholars who are suspected to be breaking this rule to put their arms down so that staff can check to make sure they are following the fingertip length skirt rule. This is a more cost effective and overall easier way to handle the situation. 

This especially affects the seniors, who only have one more year at this school. They should not have to spend the money on skorts which they would only be wearing for 10 more months. The extra money for those uniforms could instead go towards paying for college applications, gas, insurance, or future needs they may have as they graduate and become adults. Furthermore, returning families may not want to spend more money on skorts when they already have skirts and pants in good condition. John Adams Academy promotes themselves as the only tuition free, classical educational school in Northern California. By charging for new uniforms a second time, many families, especially those that are already considering leaving the school, may remove themselves due to the extra charges. All in all, this uniform change can deeply impact scholar retention from 8th to 9th grade and throughout high school, and is unfair to graduating seniors who only have a few more months. 

THE SOLUTIONS:

These are solutions that we propose to compromise on the issue of the new uniform mandates. We understand that there is a problem with the old uniform skirts but we also believe that charging returning families is unfair to the time and money they have spent at John Adams Academy. Below are our solutions to the problem at hand:

1. We think it is fair to stop selling the uniform skirts and only offer the skort to new families or people that need to buy more uniform bottoms, but continue to allow the scholars with the older uniform skirts to wear them until they either grow out of them, or graduate.  
2. Due to the costs of not being able to wear old uniform bottoms and being unable to sell them as they are now prohibited, we believe that it is fair if each scholar is offered a free skort or pants if we are no longer allowed to wear the skirts. This allows families to reduce unnecessary costs, especially families with multiple scholars. This also allows scholars to wear clean uniforms every day. Per the John Adams Academy Scholar Handbook, incoming families are provided with one polo as well as one uniform slack or skort (Page 41). These come at no cost to new families. Because new families receive a new uniform for each scholar, each scholar affected by the new skort enforcement should receive a skort if they are unable to wear their old uniform.

In conclusion, we request the new uniform rule to be revoked, or one of the previous options be selected. John Adams Academy prides itself in creating servant leaders who will fight for freedom when the opportunity presents itself. This new uniform rule is taking away the freedom and the money of those it affects, and we will not stand for it.