Editor’s Note: This article has been edited to fix an issue related to a quote. We regret the error, and it has been corrected.
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WDTN) — Some parents have become outraged across Dayton, as they claim their students are not able to attend a certain school. The reason is reportedly all over a uniform policy.
Parents of Horizon Science Academy’s High School Campus, a school for grades 6 thru 12, say a policy requires all students to wear a school-approved shirt. If the student does not obey, they are prohibited from entering the school building.
The principal of Horizon Science Academy High School in Dayton says they let parents know well in advance of the policy. Parents do not agree. They say they were not notified until June. The principal says notices were sent to all parents in May.
2 NEWS reached out to Schoolbelles, the company that the school is receiving the shirts from. The company released a statement to 2 NEWS. You can read the full statement below.
Schoolbelles is excited to welcome Horizon Dayton High School on board through our partnership with the Concept Charter Schools network. We were contacted in mid-April 2023 regarding the high school updating their uniform program, the updates were finalized on May 9, 2023. We provided the school a Visual Aide of the new uniforms, along with a Welcome Flyer that included “How to Shop” instructions, and as of May 15, 2023 we were notified by the school that they had given the information to their enrolled families. At that time our standard embroidery production times were 1-2 weeks.
The first order we received for a new uniform item was June 13, 2023. That order was fulfilled in 8 business days, which was the avg for that time of year.
Our standard embroidery production times during the month of August is 2-5 weeks. Schoolbelles is working closely with Horizon Dayton High School and their administration team, to rush production for not only the newly enrolled students (students who enrolled with in the past two weeks), but also the students who would have received the ordering information in May. We remain in consistent communication with Mr. O’Neal and other school representatives, providing open order reports and etas.
In an effort to go above an beyond, once we became aware of the mandatory uniform mandate in late July, Schoolbelles upgraded all orders to Ground Shipping, free of charge. This is one-two day in transit time from Cleveland to Dayton, vs the Economy Shipping parents paid for, which is 3-5 day in transit time.
Schoolbelles looks forward to a continued partnership with Horizon Dayton High School, and we wish the student body much success this school year!
Schoolbelles
Parents say even though the school is aware of the situation, they have placed signs on the doors of the school barring students from entering without the necessary shirts.
One parent told 2 NEWS that they borrowed a shirt for their son to attend school. When their student arrived at the school, only four other students were reportedly in his class allegedly because of the dress code policy.
“It’s nothing that we can do about a situation we have no control over,” the parent said. “So, don’t penalize our kids because of something like that. I mean, I think it would be harder on the teachers to build a relationship and, you know, harder for the kids to even have a trust issue with the administrators, because you let me down.”
The school principal says that since they notified parents about the change, they will not be changing their policy.
“We’re holding firm to that, that students need to be, dressed appropriately in the new uniform to attend school,” Renaldo O’Neal, Horizon Science Academy principal said. “So that’s an issue, especially with parents who chose to disregard that message and order late. We have a lot of parents that, were did what they were supposed to do; got the uniforms in as they were supposed to, they received it and their students are having a joyous time at the building.”
O’Neal says he hopes to see more students attend school on Friday, when students are allowed to wear their old uniforms.
