This academic year marks the expansion of Hillsdale College’s Barney Charter School Initiative to 16 schools, spreading a classical curriculum to more and more communities.
But in some poorer neighborhoods in Texas, some families have found it difficult to afford the uniforms required for students to attend the classical academies. Matthew Stone ’10, the headmaster at Founders Classical Academy at Dallas, brought the issue to the attention of Hillsdale College and President Larry Arnn on a visit to the college this summer, and Hillsdale earmarked money to help defray the cost of uniforms.
“Not all the Barney Charter schools are similar,” Stone said. “We’re a bit different, because of the population we’re serving. That brings some unique challenges to us.”
Founders Dallas and the Founders Classical Academy at Mesquite are both located in economically disadvantaged communities and have families that have challenges with affording the uniforms.
At the Mesquite location, 83 percent of the 470 students qualify for free or reduced lunches. The same is true of about 90 percent of the approximately 300 students at Founders Dallas in the Pleasant Grove neighborhood.
“The public schools here have really done an overall poor job at educating the kids,” Stone said. “Our kids come in two, three grades below in reading and math, and they lack a lot of things we take for granted. They come from impoverished homes, single-parent homes. We bring the high-standard education that is taught at Hillsdale to kids where they have a lot going on.”
As a result, Hillsdale College and the communities themselves are pitching in to help those struggling to afford the uniform costs.
After Stone spoke with Arnn, two college donors heard of the issue and decided to help. As a result, the college gave $5,000 to each of the academies to help offset the cost of uniforms, said Shannon Nason, headmaster at Founders Mesquite.
“We appreciate the support of Dr. Arnn and Hillsdale with these schools, recognizing that these schools are unique and much needed,” Nason said.
Founders Mesquite, which opened in 2015 along with Founders Dallas, altered its uniform policy this year, when its dress code was found to be too lenient to enforce. Students now only wear polos with the school’s logo and khakis on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students are required to wear “formal uniforms” that cost around $50. Purchasing a sweater that meets dress code requirements may add an additional $25 charge.
At Founders Dallas, shirts with the school’s logo cost between $10 and $14. Navy blue slacks run about $20. Two uniforms will cost families around $60 or $70 per student.
“Two pairs of pants, two pairs of shirts isn’t necessarily going to last all year,” Stone said. “Those clothes will start wearing down, and kids grow out of them. We ask parents to take on that, but it is another cost.”
Nason said Founders Mesquite is still deciding how it will use the money. The school’s PTO already collects clothing donations. It also allows families to trade in uniforms students have outgrown for a new used set without any extra charge. At its student-parent orientation, the school also sold uniform items for $3 each.
Likewise, Founders Dallas has initiatives in place to help with the cost of uniforms. A clothing bank collects uniform donations. The school has also given families hesitant to enroll because of uniform costs a shirt for free.
Phillip Kilgore, director of the Barney Charter School Initiative, said most of the schools require uniforms and most do have some families with financial challenges but not quite to the extent as at Founders Dallas and Mesquite. Some have clothing closets to fulfill that need, he said.
Nason said uniforms provide a decorum for the school and encourage the educational process.
“We stress, obviously, the importance of education, and we want students to understand that when they come to school, they ought to honor what they’re doing,” Nason said. “They can do that by dressing nicely…When students get to wear what they want, that can be distracting to other students and the learning process.”
He added that the free classical education the school provides is well worth the amount parents invest in purchasing uniforms.
“It teaches the human being,” Nason said. “The idea is that a lot of people would write us off, saying this group can’t do classical education. That’s false, because this kind of education is proper to the kind of beings we are — human beings. It emphasizes the importance of knowledge and virtues, which is what every human is able to achieve regardless of economic status and the color of their skin.”
That is what Stone said parents believe make the extra sacrifice for uniforms worth the cost.
“When you really want something, you make it happen,” Stone said. “That applies for almost all our parents…They work really, really hard to make things work and do what we’ve asked them to do.”