OXNARD : Students Must Wear Graduation Gowns

Students graduating from Oxnard’s two public intermediate schools in June must wear graduation gowns for the first time in the history of the district, school trustees have decided.

The Oxnard Elementary School District voted Thursday to spend more than $4,000 to purchase the gowns, which graduates of Fremont and Frank intermediate schools will borrow from the district for the ceremonies.

Trustees said the requirement will save parents the money spent on expensive graduation outfits and prevent students from wearing inappropriate attire--such as baggy pants or revealing dresses--to the ceremony.

“It’s not a fashion show,” Supt. Bernard Korenstein said. “It’s a culmination of their years in the eighth grade and a celebration of their promotion to high school.”

Fremont Principal Paul Kirk said most of the school’s recent graduates have adhered to the graduation dress code, which requires boys to wear ties and dress pants and prohibits off-the-shoulder dresses.

“Out of our 1,000 eighth-grade graduates last year, there may have been 10 that I needed to remind of the code,” he said.

Some parents and students protested the gown requirement, saying they wanted the freedom to choose what to wear to graduation.

The code does not specify what students must wear under their gowns, which will be in shades of the schools’ colors.

The district rejected graduation caps, saying they were too costly and more appropriate for high school commencement ceremonies.

Trustees also are considering honoring top students with an additional gold braid or sash.