When my two youngest children, now nineteen and twenty, were in the third grade, Roosevelt Elmentary School was designated as a "traditional school" in Hutchinson, KS, with uniforms being one requirement for attending. Students whose parents did not like the idea of uniforms were allowed to transfer their children outside of the area. The theory was that students would learn better and be more productive from an educational standpoint if they wore uniforms.
Children from homes with single parents, low income wage earners, and those families on public assistance were no longer made to feel inadequate by students whose parents could afford clothes and shoes with designer labels. When I volunteered in my children's classrooms, other classrooms, or we attended school related functions midway through that first year, I saw a change in the behaviors, grades, and overall performance of the students. There was no questioning the fact that the changes only began occurring after the switch to uniforms for all students.
Teachers I talked to had also seen a marked improvement in the self esteem of some children because the uniforms ensured that all students were treated equal no matter how low their parent(s) income was. (We had a next door neighbor in the area where we rented a home before buying a home in the Roosevelt school district, who taught middle school English. She told me during a conversation one evening that she herself, and some other public school teachers throughout K-12 often judged students at the beginning of each school year, assessing them visually according to their posture, clothing, hair styles, etc. and deciding at that point where to seat those students and whether to focus as much time on trying to teach them).
The school principal saw a decrease in the number of students being sent to the office for not paying attention in class and for being disruptive. And, in a surprising admission, the school administrative staff and teachers reported that most of the 'poor kids' grades showed marked improvement since they were no longer taunted and made fun of as much because of out of style, worn, and ill fitting clothing and shoes. A couple of those students who attended school with my daughter went on to become honor students and star athletes in middle school and high school, as wearing the uniforms while at Roosevelt Elementary School helped them overcome their feelings of inadequacies among their peers while feeling more accepted.
The competition between and among peers also lessened over time. The educational bent became more goal oriented with specific outcomes, and teachers could better keep kids focused on learning. As a traditional school more stress was placed on literacy, Math, English, developing problem solving skills, and Science. Teachers felt, and as a parent and classroom volunteer I agreed, that students could better understand the importance of a well rounded elementary school curriculum now that they no longer worried so much about "keeping up with the Jones", or how they measured up to their peers in materialistic things like clothes.
Although me and my husband made a pretty good living, I did appreciate the fact that we didn't have to spend a small fortune on clothing for my daughter and son. JC Penny's, Walmart, Target, Sears, and the Dollar and Dollar General stores carried the uniforms. The Dollar Stores sold the uniforms for a much lower price which helped families with lower incomes and that were on public assistance get and keep uniforms for their children.
The school also set up an exchange during school registration each year for lower income families to get uniforms for their children that the wealthier parents donated when their children outgrew them. This was true school and community spirit. Few parents withdrew their children from Roosevelt, and most agreed that requiring students to wear uniforms was one of the smartest decisions the school district could have made.