Zenon-Richardson said uniforms also can be an added safety measure for students. “You want her to be engaged and proud of her school and her kids.” “She’s all about Panther Pride, so I think that’s why she’s stuck with making the uniforms have emblems,” Ricky Jessop said. He said Zenon-Richardson believes uniforms will help to unite the school community. Ricky Jessop said his daughter has heard some students want to just wear the school colors rather than have a shirt with the logo. Until students receive them, the school has asked students to wear solid red, black or gray shirts to match the school’s colors. Some families had trouble getting their tops shipped to their homes in time for the first day of school Aug. Zenon-Richardson tries to wear a shirt with the school logo on it every day as well to show her students they are in it together. Having that culture of success and culture of excellence will be brought out even more with everyone being in their uniform.” “All students should feel like they belong, they are a part of our family and that we are all Panthers. “It’s going to build a great culture here,” she said. Zenon-Richardson said uniforms will help emphasize a positive school culture. On Fridays, students can wear the approved school shirts associated with the clubs or activities they’re involved in, such as Technology Student Association, physical education, fine arts programs and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. Last school year, after using various forms of communication to ensure parents could have their say, Zenon-Richardson said a majority of parents approved the change.īraden River Middle is the only school in East County to require students to wear uniforms.Īlthough the uniform shirts are required, students can continue to wear whatever bottoms they wish as long as they abide by the school’s dress code.Įighth graders Camryn Kolbe and Esmeralda Pena say having uniforms makes it easier to pick an outfit for school every morning. Without a majority, Zenon-Richardson didn’t want to approve the change to uniforms. After trying to get a vote from all families at the school, Zenon-Richardson said only about 400 of the about 900 families at the school responded. Zenon-Richardson said when she became principal of Braden River Middle in 2019, the School Advisory Council brought up the idea of switching to uniforms. This isn’t the first time the School Advisory Council has discussed a switch to uniforms. The school sent out a survey to parents, and Zenon-Richardson said a majority of parents voted in favor of uniforms. The decision to change to uniforms came after the School Advisory Council approached Principal Kimberlain Zenon-Richardson on the topic last school year. There’s less chance they will be singled out for not having the latest new trends.” “This year she doesn’t have a choice,” Ricky Jessop said. With a new policy, Braden River Middle is requiring students to wear its school colors in uniforms. Now as a seventh grader, Polly Jessop’s school clothing options have been limited to a red, gray or black uniform. Then they began having a regular discussion about what was appropriate to wear to school. However, Ricky Jessop said it only took months before Polly, who was in sixth grade, no longer wanted to wear the clothes they had purchased. East County’s Ricky Jessop no longer has to argue with his daughter, Polly, about what she is wearing to school.Ī year ago, the Jessops went back-to-school shopping before the start of the new school year at Braden River Middle.