Northwestern is acutely aware of the styles and fashions preferred by middle school-aged children, however, it is necessary to address any “extreme” in dress that would be disruptive to the educational process.  The following descriptions do not address every possible violation, but will give an idea as to the kind of things we will address.  Sagging (the wearing of over-sized pants which expose a student’s undergarments) can not be permitted during the school day.  For similar reasons we need to attend to students who have rips, frays or holes above the knees or in the backside of their pants.  We will also deal with exposed midriffs; short-short clothing (skirts and shorts need to be mid thigh or longer), low cut or see though tops and tank tops (straps need to be a minimum of 2 inches wide). 

What happens if my child has a dress code violation?

The offending student will be sent to the office for an administrator to determine if the student has violated dress code. Administrators are the only staff members that can make a determination about a dress code violation.

 If a student is found to have violated the NMS dress code as outlined in the students’ agenda then the following will occur:

NMS Dress Code Violation Process

1)       Using the phone in the main office, the student will call home for a parent to bring their child a change of clothes.  When a change of clothes will take time to secure (more than 10-15 minutes), your child will change into clothes that NMS purchased this summer and will return to class, thus minimizing the loss of instructional time.  Parents will then have two options:

Option 1

You may bring a change of clothes to the school for your child.  Your child will be called back up to the office, after the current class has ended, to change into the appropriate clothing. Students will then return the NMS purchased clothes and report back to class.

       Option 2

Students can change into the NMS purchased clothes and keep them on all day. With this option, the student will need to bring the NMS clothes back to school the following day.  At that time the clothing your child left with the school will be returned.

Dress code information has been provided to your child in the student agenda, and during an expectations assembly held the first week of school.  This information has also been posted in our first newsletter, addressed at a PTA meeting, sent out via constant contact, along with this posting on the website.   

We keep track of the students who have dress code violations.  Please refer to you child’s agenda for specific consequences for repeat offenses.