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Tarpon Elementary to require uniforms

School officials want emphasis removed from who's wearing what and gain an easy identifier.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published May 13, 2006

A new school address won't be the only thing different for Tarpon Springs Elementary students next year.

They will also be required to wear uniforms, school officials decided this week.

The uniforms will consist of navy or khaki bottoms with white polo or collared shirts. Burgundy school spirit T-shirts also allowed, principal Leah Pappas said.

The decision was part of the school's yearly improvement plan, Pappas said. The state-mandated annual report requires that each school devise a plan to improve its academic environment.

Tarpon Springs is the Pinellas County School District's 14th elementary to adopt a mandatory uniform policy.

"As for Tarpon Elementary, under the goal of school safety, it has been one of our objectives to institute a mandatory uniform policy," Pappas said.

The policy is meant to take the emphasis from who's wearing what, which can breed competition among youngsters and refocus students' energy on academic achievement, said Jan Rouse, assistant superintendent for the school district.

It will also make identifying elementary students easier next year once the elementary school merges temporarily with students at Tarpon Springs Middle School, 501 N Florida Ave.

The elementary students will attend classes at Tarpon Springs Middle in January while a new school is built for them.

Last year, dozens of complaints of possible mold problems were issued against Tarpon Springs Elementary, 525 Disston Ave. The school district ran several air quality tests on the 54-year-old school.

The results showed no evidence of mold. But after urging by parents and city officials, superintendent Clayton Wilcox recommended accelerating the construction of a new Tarpon Springs Elementary. Originally, construction on a new school was to begin in 2008.

The new school is expected to cost more than $19-million and be completed in 18 months to two years. Students are expected to start at their current school in the fall and move to the middle school in January, Pappas said.

"If kids are sharing common space, uniforms give staff the ability to tell their kids from the middle school kids," Rouse said. "The idea of having elementary youngsters on the middle school campus, it made people feel comfortable that they'll be able to see if youngsters are where they're supposed to be."

There are about 590 students attending Tarpon Springs Elementary. Parents were surveyed in January about the change to uniforms. About 57 percent of parents returned the survey, with more than 80 percent agreeing with uniforms, according to records.

"The parents recognize that schools are really trying to create more positive environments," Rouse said. "And school uniforms can contribute to that."

Twenty-six schools in Pinellas County have either mandatory or voluntary uniform policies. The elementary schools with a mandatory uniform policy:

Azalea

Bear Creek

Blanton

Eisenhower

Fairmount Park

Gulfport

John M. Sexton

Lealman Avenue

Rawlings

Rio Vista

Starkey

Tarpon Springs

Walsingham

Woodlawn

[Last modified May 13, 2006, 02:30:25]