Will hemlines be history?
By Rob Treynor
Staff Writer
The times, they have a-changed, particularly regarding “inappropriate dress” for the upcoming year at Madison-Plains Local Schools.
Certain clothing items, usually associated with the feminine gender, such as skirts or dresses, will most likely be considered inappropriate dress for all Madison-Plains students next school year.
This was one of the changes written into the recently revised student handbook. A second reading to accept the revisions was taken Monday evening at the Madison-Plains Board of Education (BOE) monthly meeting.
Not wishing to skirt the issue, a lively discussion on the “no dress or skirt” rule ensued.
Dave Hunter asked, “What if, say, the basketball coach asked the players to dress up the day before a game? Those girls would show up wearing dresses. Will this be allowed?”
High school principal Chris Clark responded, “The basketball coach would be informed of the new rule before asking the players to dress up.”
Board member Linda Blankenship asked, “If someone came to school with a dress that comes down to the ankles, we’ll turn them away? Why can’t we have a rule that states two inches above the knee or two inches below the knee?”
Superintendent Bernie Hall responded, “Then some teacher will have to take a measuring stick to a girl’s knee and this could get us into trouble.”
Under the rules stated in the new handbook, dresses can only be allowed to be worn for religious reasons. The girls’ FFA uniform will also be allowed to be worn to school.
“I understand this rule, but it makes me sad to see it,” Blankenship said.
In other business, Junior High principal Jeffrey Beane and high school principal Chris Clark spoke to the board about some shifts in teachers and classes at the junior high and high school for the following school year.
Changes included: a dedicated eighth-grade math teacher; high school P.E. offered to middle-schoolers; a high school teaching model that includes an emphasis on co-teaching; and “team time” meetings scheduled daily, which allows teachers to converse and work together more effectively.
Don Swonger asked for clarification, “How does a junior high student get high school credit for gym class?”
“Mrs. Boyle knows the high school P.E. curriculum and will just teach it to our younger students,” said Beane.
Clark explained that by getting a high school gym credit, mandated by the state, completed before hitting the high school, it no longer becomes an obstacle for Tolles students or other curriculums.
Speaking about the concept of younger students taking high school gym, Clark said, “This is not something new. We’re just trying to tackle a potential problem.”
Hunter asked how the changes at the Junior High and High School would affect school lunch times.
Beane said that the time allotted for lunch for seventh-graders was 11:20. For eighth-graders, the time was 10:40 in the morning.
Also at the meeting, board members accepted the resignations of:
• Don Eberhard, bus driver, 16 years with Madison-Plains
• Greg Wolfe, math teacher, two years with Madison-Plains
• Jenny Sanders, after school care director, 10 years with Madison-Plains
• Madeline Holt, elementary principal, 35 years with Madison-Plains.
A special meeting, pertaining to a proposed 2.5-mill replacement levy, will be held on Tuesday, July 3. The next regular BOE meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 24.
