THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608270137
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 23 lines
Ruffner Middle School's dress code policy, which requires students to wear color-coded uniforms, was highlighted in the August issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine in an articled titled ``Dressed to Learn.''
Ruffner has received nationwide attention since the U.S. Department of Education earlier this year cited the school's uniform policy in a manual promoting uniforms as a way to improve a school's learning climate. The manual was sent to the nation's 16,000 school districts.
Last school year, Ruffner became the first school in Norfolk and the first middle school in Virginia to require students to wear uniforms.
Three elementary schools are following suit beginning in September. The School Board has given approval to Bowling Park, St. Helena and Poplar Halls to require uniforms. Bowling Park had experimented with uniforms in the past, but earlier this year received formal approval from the board.
The General Assembly in 1995 passed a law allowing school boards to require student uniforms. by CNB