The decade was the 1980s, a time when superficiality and consumption were woven deeply into
our culture, and when A Nation at Risk warned that “the educational foundations of our society
are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity...” It was in this climate that Washing- ton, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry, citing the example of the city’s successful Catholic schools, first discussed the possibility of a standardized dress code for the city’s public schools. Nothing came of the idea, but in 1987 Baltimore’s predominantly black Cherry Hill Elementary School implemented the first publicized uni- form policy as a means of reducing clothing costs and social pressures on children. School officials also hoped that uniforms would lead to better grades, better behavior, increased self-esteem, and school pride—-assumptions that persist today.