Uniforms for Wareham students?

The School Committee will explore whether to require school uniforms for all students in Wareham Public Schools.

Currently, Wareham High School has a dress code, but no set uniform is in place at any of the district's schools.

Noting that requiring uniforms could positively impact students -- especially by alleviating peer pressure to keep up with the latest trends -- School Committee members were concerned about costs for parents, and agreed to research the potential types and costs of uniforms.

"The last thing we want to do is create a burden," School Committee Chair Geoff Swett said Wednesday. "In fact, I'm hoping parents will see this as a simplification of their lives, rather than as a financial burden."

High school administrators have already been researching the potential impacts of requiring uniforms, even involving students in the discussions, and agreed to help the School Committee with its research.

Wareham High School Principal Scott Palladino and Assistant Principal Debbie Freitas both spoke in favor of the idea.

Surveys of parents and students have been conducted at the high school in recent years "because of the dress code issues at the school and the difficulty in enforcing them right now," Freitas said, later noting that Fall River has a "modified" uniform of certain colored shirts and pants for its students. 

Cindy Pham, a Wareham High School senior and student representative on the School Committee, supported the idea, adding that she's seen the difficulties that the high school staff has faced in enforcing the dress code.

"You can't follow them around," she said, explaining that some students are told to fix a particular wardrobe issue, only to change it back moments later.

Pointing out that sports teams have uniforms and even school council members have their own shirts, Pham said: "Why shouldn't a school have a universal 'look?'"

School Committee members agreed to approach schools with the idea to see how the greater school community feels about uniforms. The School Committee will discuss the topic again at a later date.