How one school’s dress code revisions sparked a national conversation around equity, body positivity and belonging.
When students at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) demanded significant change to the school’s long-standing student dress code, school leaders had an opportunity to not only change the “what” about student dress – they had the chance to develop a policy that was better aligned with the district’s equity mission and purpose by establishing the dress code’s “why” (a dress code philosophy) and changing the “how” (dress code enforcement).
In partnership with other school leaders, I led the development of a student dress code that would center on a body-positive and identity-affirming philosophy with a more clear expectation for the staff’s role in enforcement. The goal was to improve the day-to-day interactions between students and adults in the building, increase a sense of belonging by implementing a code that affirmed all identities, body types, and styles of dress, and reframe dress code enforcement practices to reduce disciplinary infractions based on student dress that too often resulted in students missing class time.
After an extensive review of existing student dress codes, we landed on the Oregon National Organization for Women’s (NOW) model school dress code that was developed in response to the needs of students at Portland Public Schools. This would serve as the basis for our revised dress code. I partnered with a working group of school leaders who represented key areas across the district, including athletics, school safety and discipline, extracurriculars, student well-being services, teaching staff, and the principal. As I reworked the dress code edits, we reflected on our “why” and the “how” using shared stories of ETHS students and graduates – including my own son – who had walked the school halls and experienced micro-aggressions (or worse) on a daily basis because of their personal styles. We included multiple perspectives of staff to help stretch our purpose even further and to determine what kind of staff training would be needed to ensure success.
Deliverables:
- Project Management
- Policy Development
- Copywriting/Editing
- Communications Strategy
- Email Strategy
- Media Relations
- Development of Staff Training
Results:
Our efforts resulted in the implementation of a ground-breaking, equity-centered, and body-positive ETHS Student Dress Code that included a revised what, why, and how. Anecdotally, these efforts seem to have helped improve the day-to-day interactions between students and school adults. Students report an increased sense of belonging and more positive interactions with staff during the school day. While official data from ETHS is still forthcoming, early reports suggested a reduction in dress code-related disciplinary violations which would suggest an increase in overall student class time.
We secured media placements and coordinated major media interviews with various news outlets, such as Today, Self, Insider, and Teen Vogue, which quickly placed the school’s dress code revisions in a national spotlight.
The conversation around ETHS’s dress code implementation has inspired school systems around the country – and across the globe – to reach out to ETHS for guidance and to discuss how updating their dress code policies to underline equity, body positivity, and belonging while also reframing dress code enforcement could lead to a positive shift in their school’ climate and culture as well as an increase in student seat time.
In 2018, I was awarded the Outstanding Service to the Community award by DePaul University College of Communication in part for my work on the ETHS student dress code. The dress code continues to garner significant attention, and the success of its implementation has been a basis for other districts to make similar changes in their schools across the United States and elsewhere.
