Tank tops, halter-tops, flip flops and T-shirts with slogans. What your child wears to school is more crucial than you realize. Area public schools are changing the language in their dress codes and cracking down on parents for what they allow their children to wear. A handful of public schools are moving toward mandated uniform dress.

Most private schools already have strict dress codes, including a majority with mandated uniform policies. But for one private school, students are taking matters into their own hands.

At The Walker School, a private pre-K-12 grade school in Marietta, uniforms are not required. There is a strict dress code for high school students, including a rule that pants must be worn with a collared shirt for boys and girls. Four years ago, the upper school reviewed its dress code policy, and while uniforms were discussed, they were not implemented.

"Over that summer, some of the girls felt that if they were going to be treated like they were having a uniform, then they were going to wear one," says Bob Murphy, head of Walker’s upper school.

Rising senior female class officers select a new uniform for the year, according to Walker officials, who believe it is a bonding experience for the girls and conforms to the school’s dress code policy. When the tradition began, Murphy says the girls thought it would spur the school to mandate uniforms.

Kathy Freebairn, mother of two girls who attended Walker, says uniforms would have been easier for her daughters. "It’s hard finding collared shirts long enough," Freebairn says. "When she raises her hand in class her belly can’t show or it’s an instant demerit."

Freebairn also says her daughter would have been on time for school more if there were uniforms. Her youngest daughter, Emily, who had difficulty choosing what to wear, graduated from Walker in May. She wore a uniform on Mondays and Wednesdays during her senior year.

Freebairn is one of many parents who thinks uniforms would make life easier. No morning arguments about what to wear. Children all look the same and everyone is equal. While there is less decision-making, parents also say uniforms are cheaper.

"It’s a huge timesaver for parents," says George Gamble, owner of the newly opened Optima Uniforms in Atlanta, which serves 20 public and private schools. "Kids no longer compare what they are wearing. It takes that [financial] element out." Gamble says each uniform piece costs about $16, while regular clothes cost $20-$25 or more per piece.

In Marietta City Schools, three new schools – Woods-Wilkins Center, West Side Elementary and Marietta Sixth Grade Academy – will implement a uniform dress code when school begins August 9, according to Gordon Pritz, assistant superintendent for school operations.

Serving the district’s 510 sixth graders, Marietta Sixth Grade Academy’s uniform will include a navy or light blue polo shirt, in long-sleeved and short-sleeved versions, paired with blue denim jeans or stone-colored khakis. Shorts, skirts and capris must be knee length.

Parents play a huge role in the decision to implement uniforms. Marietta City Schools surveyed all of its fifth-grade parents and an overwhelming 80 percent wanted school uniforms. South Gwinnett High School surveyed its parents last fall, but failed to get a large response. Of more than 2,500 surveys mailed, only about 10 percent were returned.

For students, the focus should be education, not the clothes they are wearing, he says. "It’s who they are that counts," says Marrache. "It has nothing to do with what they wear."

Parents who say no to uniforms say they are more expensive. Children should be able to express themselves and their creativity through their clothes and accessories, parents say.

"I want my daughter to wear what she wants. If she wants to wear mismatched clothes, I think she should be able to," says Paula Almond, mother of a rising West Side Elementary second-grader. "I want her to be able to express herself. It’s about individuality and self-expression. After uniforms, what’s next? No earrings?"

Maria Cesaretti-Forese, principal at Marietta Sixth Grade Academy, says she thinks many of the students will participate in the inaugural year, although there will be an opportunity to opt out of the uniform program. It’s the blend between uniforms and spirit wear – shirts with the school name and logo – that will be the biggest draw, she adds.

Last fall, the Clayton County School Board stirred up controversy when it rewrote dress code guidelines. According to Charles White, spokesman for Clayton County schools, the issue is still at the forefront, with new language expected to be implemented before the start of the school year.

Photo courtesy of Optima Uniforms

"We do not want to remove a child from the classroom because of what they are wearing," says White. "We want them to be learning and improving their academic performance."

School officials are adding new language to their student/parent handbook stressing how parents are responsible for the way children appear. Whoever is buying the clothing needs to be responsible, and officials are trying to find a way to drive this point home, White adds.

Like many districts, shirts that contain explicit language or references to drugs, alcohol or gangs are not permitted. Clayton County doesn’t send a child home, but rather asks that the shirt be turned inside out. Other schools offer a student a school T-shirt with the school name or logo.

In Fulton County, elementary students in South Fulton are turning toward spirit wear in their schools. While not mandatory, parents in schools where they are wearing spirit wear – T-shirts, polo shirts and sweatshirts with the school name or logo – like it and are encouraging more of it.

Uniform storeowners Marrache and Gamble are seeing an increase in spirit wear T-shirts at many schools. These are worn on days of celebration and field trips. "It helps identify the kids easily," Gamble adds.

Uniforms or spirit wear T-shirts are good for schools from a security aspect, too, says Gamble, who served in the military. "It’s easy to identify if they belong. If the school or uniform colors are blue and white, and someone comes in with a yellow shirt, it isn’t as easy to infiltrate the campus."