Spirit of the Dress Code: The first goal of a dress code is to honor the Lord in the way we clothe and carry our bodies, the temples of the Holy Spirit. Following that, a dress code is honoring to the Lord when it allows children to ‘work as unto Him’ in an academic atmosphere that is conducive to learning while avoiding distraction. With this in mind, please send students to school in clothes that are modest, neat, clean and safe. The spirit of ‘modest, neat, clean and safe’ is described below. Please support the faculty and administration when their discernment is called upon to determine that clothing choices are not honoring to the Lord or adversely affecting the learning environment.
Addressing Dress Code With Students:
- Students will be spoken to privately by a teacher regarding the impact that clothing choices are having on their testimony or on the learning environment.
- At the teacher’s discretion, the student may be asked to: 1) change or 2) refrain from similar clothing choices in the future.
- Repeated choices that are inappropriate, after being addressed, will be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in the Parent Student Handbook (Junior High) or as decided by the teacher and administrator (K-5).
Modest for a school environment: A lack of modesty includes clothing that tightly outlines the body in full or part to the extent that it is distracting or suggestive. A lack of modesty allows private parts of the body to be visible or partially visible whether by exposure or by see-through material. A lack of modesty includes clothing cut high or cut low. A lack of modesty would also apply to those clothing and grooming behaviors that are outlandish and draw inordinate attention to oneself. Skirts and shorts should be at least fingertip length and not allow for the appearance of an undergarment in any way. Necklines should not allow any appearance of any private part of the upper torso or undergarments. Shirts must have sleeves. This is not an exhaustive list; other modesty issues may arise and be addressed as needed.
Neat: messy clothing causes a messy attitude in the wearer that spreads to those around. In many cases it can also be distracting. This would include oversized or undersized clothing, excessive wrinkling, purposely mis-matched, untied flopping shoes, excessive accessories, tears, frays, holes, tattered, etc. This is not an exhaustive list; other neatness issues may arise and be addressed as needed.
Clean: A lack of cleanliness includes visibly dirty clothing or a distracting odor. Cleanliness includes personal grooming and hygiene. A lack of cleanliness also includes offensive, filthy, suggestive or otherwise socially unacceptable writing and/or pictorial representations printed on clothing. This is not an exhaustive list; other cleanliness issues may arise and be addressed as needed.
Additional Safety Considerations: Shoes for K-5 students should be chosen with safety in mind. On the playground and on the playground equipment, flip-flops and sandals pose significant safety risks such as slivers, broken bones, loss of footing and falling, etc. Even when there is no injury due to flip-flops and sandals, they often become a distraction in the classroom as they become a ‘toy’ for young children. For Junior High students high heels are a safety hazard and in some cases give the appearance of support for inappropriate life styles. Heels with a small diameter point are dangerous to the student and destructive of the flooring.
