“Jeans Day” is a new kind of school fundraiser across the country, even though it subverts the purpose of a uniform
School leaders praise jeans day as being a consistent moneymaker with no overhead or inventory. It’s often used to pay for extras not covered in tight budgets.“We gave some money to the band department, helped with our playground. We do a lot,” said Katharine Irvine, the second vice president of Imagine’s parent-teacher organization. To wear jeans at the school on Fridays, students must be members of the Jeans Day Club, which costs $25 per student or $35 per family to join... Some educators say the fundraiser contradicts the premise of requiring uniforms—to eliminate bullying, improve discipline, enhance school pride and keep students focused on education instead of clothing.
“If the whole reason you adopted a uniform policy is that you believe in clothing not being distracting, then why are you undermining your own ideas you set forth for having uniforms anyway?” said Ashlyn Aiko Nelson, associate professor at Indiana University, who has researched fundraisers.