Dream Lake Elementary School is exploring the possibility of implementing an optional school uniform policy for its student body.
The decision to explore school uniforms began after an April meeting of Dream Lake’s School Advisory Council (SAC). Following the meeting, a parent survey went out to the community on May 2 and received more than 300 responses.
The SAC was set to vote on June 5 – if a quorum is present – on the survey feedback, which will then be used to decide on school uniforms, Dream Lake Principal Dr. Carol-Ann Clenton-Martin said. The vote was to take place past press time.
Dream Lake Elementary School is not the only Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) location to consider a school uniform policy or enact it.
“It’s not like we will be the first,” Clenton-Martin said. “That’s not the case. But now I will say this: There are Title One schools and there are affluent schools and there are other schools. But this school, if it were to even move forward, would not be the very first Orange County Public Schools that has uniforms.”
SAC is comprised of families, teachers and administrators, including Clenton-Martin, who discuss guidance at a school and make recommendations to the school administration. A SAC is different from a Parent Teacher Association or a Parent Teacher Organization because the latter conducts fundraisers for the school and provides volunteer services, district spokesman Michael Ollendorff said.
The issue became a hot topic of discussion after an individual posted in a local Facebook group about a possible vote on Dream Lake school uniforms. The May 22 post had received 127 comments as of June 3.
“Dream Lake Elementary parents…a meeting is scheduled for June 5 at 4 pm to vote for or against school uniforms next year,” the post said. “It seems unfair to schedule a meeting during the summer with only 2 weeks notice & during hours when many people are at work or will be away due to previously scheduled vacations. How do you feel about school uniforms?”
Clenton-Martin called the Facebook post “misinformation” and noted that it wasn’t authorized by the school.
“It’s just been a little interesting point of contention,” Martin said. “Our parents and their voice are being captured in the survey, and what happened with [the Facebook post] is not even really reflective of how our internal school community is dialoguing about the topic.”
Ollendorff said the post was filled with incorrect information because it conflicts with OCPS’s summer schedule.
“Schools are closed, effective end of business today,” he said in a May 30 interview. “All instructional staff is done for the year, and the only people who would be on campuses would be the administration and 12-month employees who, for instance, like the registrar when people are coming in to register students. Then starting next week is when we go to four-day work weeks, and the schools will only be open Monday through Thursday.”
Dream Lake Elementary School is a K-5 school located on North Park Avenue. As of May 15, it had a student enrollment of 684, according to the OCPS website.
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