"Strictly and consistently" enforcing the Code of Conduct

Question: It states on the school website that one of the Board of Education goals this year is to improve the school culture by ensuring faculty and staff "strictly" and "consistently" enforce the district's Code of Conduct. Several parents have been talking about how, at the middle school, their child has had to call home for new/different clothes. Mine included. I would call myself a pretty conservative dresser and I insist on the same from my children. So, when I received the phone call to bring my daughter new clothes I was, to say the least, surprised! But I brought clothes and told my daughter, "I don't make the rules," and even though she may not believe she is dressed inappropriately, if the school says she needs to change, she needs to change! And to be honest, I'm glad it is finally being addressed -- there is definitely inappropriate dressing going on at the middle school and high school! So, my question is, are the same "strict/consistent" code of conduct rules being enforced at the high school?

Answer: Thank you for your question. We recognize how challenging and complex it is for parents to address appropriate attire with their children when many commercially available clothes for children do not necessarily adhere to our school dress code.

At B-P, we have four buildings, 300 staff members and nearly 1800 students, which makes consistency in any endeavor difficult. We're not perfect -- as much as we try to be consistent, there will always be instances when things fall through the cracks. However, rest assured that we have a renewed vision for creating consistent responses to all students, K-12, who are inappropriately dressed for school in violation of our Code of Conduct.

We recognize that our consistency (or lack thereof) in reacting to students' inappropriate dress has been a concern in the past, and we're looking to improve on this consistency.

We want to work with both children and parents to make school a positive experience for all, and that includes working toward meeting the board goal of strictly and consistently enforcing our code of conduct, including our dress code.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, superintendent of schools