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Lowndes County Public Schools are taking community opinions seriously after conducting a series of town-hall meetings. As a result of community input, a change in uniform options has been rolled out with the goal of fostering team spirit among extended school families.

Lowndes County Public Schools Superintendent Samita Jeter said the upgrade involved the addition of colors aimed at providing options for each school to choose from a handful of shirt colors selected to coincide with teamwear.

“What we did was take some parents’ concerns into consideration,” Jeter said. “The dress code has been the same for many years, using burgundy and white. A different generation of parents are wanting the school’s colors for the uniform options.” 

The school system mandates adherence to a dress code, and students are expected to wear a uniform each day. Each school provides options which include black, khaki or navy bottoms and white tops. In addition, students may now elect to wear a top of the color representing the school’s official colors.

For example, 

According to Jeter, the school board adopted burgundy uniforms in order to remain neutral. The color is now quite unpopular among parents, she explained.

“If you follow the Facebook posts, you’ll see a lot of [comments] hating burgundy and [saying] it is not one of the school’s colors,” Jeter said. “But burgundy, when it was selected many years ago, was chosen to keep a neutral color as the district’s choice. It was an effort to avoid the appearance of showing favoritism between the schools.

The Calhoun School students may select from shirts which are gray, royal blue, light blue or navy blue. By contrast, Central High School selections include maroon and hunter green.

Nick Townsend, principal at Calhoun, said students now have more options than before.

“We’ve added some additional colors,” he said. “I have the option to wear any of the colors [designated for our school]. We added the black pants students can wear as well.”

Options for uniform tops:

• Central Elementary – Maroon, gold or white;
• Fort Deposit Elementary – Gold, white or kelly green;
• Jackson-Steele Elementary – Royal blue, gold or white;
• Hayneville Middle – White, gray or navy blue;
• Lowndes Middle – Red, black, gray or white,
• Calhoun – Gray, royal blue, light blue, or navy blue; and
• Central – Maroon, hunter green or white.

The dress code standards require students to wear a belt at all times. Outerwear can include non-hooded, zippered sweaters, sweatshirts or jackets but no “hooded” garments. Closed-toed shoes with a back and rubber soles are permitted. Crocs, flip-flops and slides are not allowed.

The policy also includes standards for jewelry, hair and nails. Jewelry must be plain, minimal and should not pose a safety concern. Nails must be short, not long or pointed. Hair must be neat and tidy.

Schools hope the upgrade will help families begin the new year on a positive note, Jeter said.

“A lot of times, people say the burgundy shirts don’t hold up,” Jeter said. “We wanted to give them more options for the children to wear.”