School Uniforms Next Year at Linden School

School uniforms will be required for Linden School students beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, a letter sent home to parents read Tuesday.

The Linden S.T.E.A.M. Academy governing board approved the initiative in a 10-3 vote, Principal Richard Bransfield wrote. A sub-committee has been formed that will develop particulars about the policy.

“I applaud the board on not so much its decision, but the hard work and courage it took to bring this initiative to a vote,” he wrote.

“This is the first step forward in using the autonomies that have been granted to the governing board as a result of us becoming Malden's first innovation school.”

The letter adds that “there has been much research to show that school uniforms are not an added burden to families and in many ways are a cost effective alternative to school clothes purchases in general.”

Principal weighs in

In a phone conversation with Malden Patch, Bransfield said he couldn't speak for the board's decision, but that his views on uniforms were more about fostering a distinctive team spirit at the school than improving certain metrics at the school.

“My idea behind school uniforms has nothing to do with...student achievement, bullying, all the things you think people would talk about specifically,” he said. “To me, it's about us being an innovation school, setting a culture, a school climate...School uniforms set us apart.”

Bransfield said the decision had been researched by the board for about 13 months, and that some parents, “without a doubt” had raised conerns about the policy in that time. 

“A couple of parents have been very vocal about that; we've had some good conversations back and forth about it,” he said.

“I certainly listen to everybody's point of view on it...(but) what I hear is, 'while we may not agree with the fact you want to go to school uniforms, we'd never pull our kids out of the school because of it.'”

Bransfield pledged that parents would be provided “real-time” information about updates to the policy as the next school year approaches.

Uniforms in other schools? 

Of course, the rest of Malden Public Schools are also considering requiring uniforms, with a public meeting about the proposal scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday night at Ferryway School. 

Readers, what do you think? Do you or someone you know attend Linden School? Do you welcome uniforms to “set Linden apart”, or think they stifle free expression?