" 100% agree!!! "

" Great idea, should have been done years ago! "

" Halleluiah! It is about time. khaki pants polo shirts one color for each school, shorts when the weather is APPRPRIATE, no more then 1" gap in waist band, everyone wears plain black or brown leather belts, no less then 8 inches from thighs, no over sized or extra large clothes at all. Girls with dresses or skirts must be bleow the knee and tights underneath, one pair of earrings, one bracelet, everyone wears a watch, no more then two necklaces, white or black, blue or brown shoes, solid colors, no logos or emblems of any kind other then school mottos. SOUNDS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE FOR WPS. We did this at my childhood private school and each year we had a swap out of clothes so no one had to buy new uniforms each year if they didn't want to. We got two skirts, two slacks, one pair of shorts, five long sleeve shirts, two sweaters, four short sleeve shirts, five under shirts to cover our bras or chest hair, and getting ready for school was EASY. Also no make up or hair color was allowed before we were in highschool. AND THE BOYS HAD TO HAVE HAIR CUTS. It is called modesty and we should all be embracing it. We were also expected to wear deoderant, brush and floss our teeth and our hair had to be kept neatly... or we here sent home to change and in inschool detention for not being prepared when we came back. I never saw a gang until I left that school. Didn't even fathom the concept there was such a thing. Then I basically had to join one to protect myself. Life in WPS sucks, this would be AN AWESOME INPROVMENT and I may send my kids back to public schools. BUT not a chance the way things are now. I would sell my left arm to keep them out of WPS. THIS idea is the best I have heard yet, even better then desegregation being over! PRaise GOD... Maybe someday our kids will be able to carry thier bibles to school again. Maybe they will learn how to appropriatly express themselves through art and literature rather then bling and blang... which eventually turns to crack and bang. "

" How about parents doing their job and be involved in what is going on in their child's school, checking homework, discipling their child when necessary and guiding their child down the right path. How is wearing a uniform to school going to fix anything? Sorry, I don't get the benefits of uniforms. "

" Really uniforms? Talk about taking away a child identity!! Dress Code, maybe, but uniforms NO WAY. I will open enroll my children to a different school and take away funds from the Waterloo School District if this passes. "

" As a parent I would love to see a uniform! My kids went to private school in elem. and have often said that they would love to wear a uniform again. I am not sure if I believe that we need to go as drastic as "nottelling" has wrote, but to not have to listen to my kids wanting to go out and buy new clothes everytime fashion changes would be awesome. I think the WCS would greatly benefit from this! "

" wloogirl - why don't you send your kids back to the private school sector if you love the uniforms so much? I agree with itsme - what's so wrong with letting the kids have their own identities within reason? Dress Code, sure - uniforms, I don't think so. "

" I think there's a lot of positives that come by wearing uniforms. Granted, older teenagers will balk at it, but I suppose I would have too when I was their age. Still, the positives outwear the negatives. "

" I agree with the uniforms!! My son and daughter-in-law do as well! They would not have to spend as much on school clothes. By the way for the two comments on the dress code, well there is a dress code at Lincoln Elementary in Waterloo and the children still wear what they want! Kids cannot wear camoflage pants or skirts? Why? The dress code also says no shirts with any pictures or writing on them. Sorry but what is wrong with butterflies or things like that? I say go to uniforms and forget the dress codes because the dress codes do not work! Parents would only have to buy a couple of uniforms to start with and not have to spend a fortune on what the kids think they should wear to keep up with the others!! As far as the private schools, well they are no better then the public schools! My husband went to a parochial school in Waterloo and he said he would never let our son go to one! Does that say something there? I think so! There is as much trouble in them schools as public but the parents pay to keep it quiet! "

" I went to private school K-10th grades and had to wear a uniform. I wasn't always thrilled about having to do so. I am 23 now and realize what a good thing it was. It eliminates a lot of teasing and whatnot. I saw public school kids get made fun of because they didn't have the brand name clothes and it can really put a kid down. I say the Waterloo Schools would really be taking a step in the right direction with uniforms. I don't think the uniform policy should be as strict as Catholic/Private schools. But it's a good start. "

" My wife sees kids (6-7 yr olds) on a daily basis who have the latest designer clothes and piercings and shoes. The ones who don't have those things notice right away how "different" they are. And the ones with all those nice clothes like to rub it in too. So, itsme, how do you think a less-dressed child's "identity" within that peer group fares? School is not about a fashion parade or a show of conspicuous consumption. These things actually take away from the educational experience. Parents without means would find it cheaper in the long run to have their kid(s) in a school uniform. "

" What will happen to the Bush economy if parents can't bling up their kids for school? "

" Indy- a wealthy conservative will start a foundation to supply disadvantaged youth with Nikes. I doubt George Soros will. "

" Uniforms DO NOT take away kids identies. It would be sad if a child's entire identiy is based on their clothes. I teach junior high and all the kids want to dress alike anyway. The girls call each other to coordinate outfits and most of the guys wear the same types of jeans and t-shirts anyway. There's no individuality, they want to dress to fit in. With uniforms they would fit in and the students who can't afford the stylish clothes would not be left out. As a teacher I'd love uniforms and would gladly wear one myself!! "

" You can open enroll your kid if you want to but you aren't taking away much funding becuase your taxes will still go towards the Waterloo schools. "

" I think that instead of kids judging kids for what they look like they will judge for who they are which actually gives them more of their identity back. "

" Without the parents spending their tax cut money on bling for their kids the consumer driven Bush economy will hit a recession? I'm all for uniforms but not at the exspense of our American economy. "

" If you want your kids in uniforms,send them to private school or the military. Kids need to learn a life lesson that you will always be judged for your material posessions. Right or wrong, that is the way it is. Worry more about the education than what they are wearing. "

" yall r crazy wouldnt treat my babies like that...i have boys and a girl...but thats why i live here in dsm, ia "

" I'm not totally sure where I stand on this issue. Seems like education in this country is falling behind other nations (google for aptitude tests) and when they show footage of these other countries schools, one commone thread is that they are all in uniforms. So maybe the pressure to have the right "look" is taken off some kids and they can focus on learning. As for "learning life lessons" or showing their "individuality", you go into any school right now, and most kids are basically dressed the same anyway (baggy pants, baggy shirts, etc.). Where's the individuality there? Only a handful of kids really look like "individuals" anyway. I think the pros may outweigh the cons. I'd like to see it and if studies and educators think it's a good thing, who am I to question their opinion? "

" I guess maybe if there were uniforms, my son wouldn't of gotten his shoes stolen while in his locker at school. The people that are stating taking away identity, clothes don't make the person, attitude does. I am tired of these "kids" wearing pants down around there bottoms, that is nothing but a distraction for other students. Buy your kids clothes that fit and maybe they won't have to result in uniforms. I am all for it!!! "

" yes open enroll your child to another school - your tax money will stay in the Wloo schools or you could consider moving move to "dsm" so your child can go to school with "xn20girl's babies" and you can both fight over which kids are look "cooler". "

" Hooray for the Uniforms!!! It's about time. Love it! Love it! Love it! Parents that have more money than others use their kids to flaunt it at the schools anyway. I didn't think kids had identities anymore anyway. The boys all wear those big baggy pants with their boxer shorts hanging out, walking along pulling at them evey 2 seconds so they don't slip down around their ankles. The girls all wear skirts so short that if they bent over they wouldn't even need a skirt anyway and with half of their stomachs hanging out, Why wear clothes? I believe that the uniforms would help kids' true personalities shine. Sure they would all look the same but it's what's under the uniforms that count anyway right? Kids who wear glitzy clothes are distracting anyway, put every child in a uniform and the schools would all be a better place to go to learn! "

" Do you seriously think the kids whose parents have money are going to fade into the background because they are wearing a uniform exactly like everybody else's? Oh, I think you're still going to know who has money and who doesn't. I don't necessarily agree with what the kids are wearing today to school but, hey, we had our fads too and they were just as ridiculous as wearing pants around you knees. Don't believe me? Get out your yearbook sometime. People keep saying the pros outweigh the cons. Maybe I'm not getting it but what exactly are the pros? My children's education is more important to me than wearing some silly plaid skirt or polo shirt. And I totally agree with Waterloo88 people will always judge you for one thing or another. We need to let our kids take the scrapes and the disappointments that happen along the way in life - these are the things that mold you into an adult. That's exactly what is wrong with kids today -they don't keep score in sports because we don't want to disappoint little Johnnie or Susie. Remember when you had to try out for a sports team and you either made it or you didn't? Sure it was disappointing but, guess what, you pulled yourself up by the boot straps and you worked harder so next year you'd make that team. Kids need to learn that life isn't always fair, the good guys don't always win and not everybody is going to love you. Cowboy up, baby. That's how you become a grown up. "

" A child's education is paramount. Priority one. As in Japan. Of course most public schools there also require uniforms, and have for years. The reasoning is that kids are more able to focus on being learning conscious than being fashion conscious. If a kid needs to present an "image" at school, then something is wrong with both the kid and the parent. Sadly some parents put more value in the "bling-bling" than the "brain-brain". "

" Indy, Sounds like you've realized that the Bush tax cuts help stimulate the economy. Welcome to Econ 101. BTW, It worked for JFK too. "