LORAIN — Ana Garcia said she probably was going to come to school wearing what was mandated in the new dress code anyway. But it certainly helped that she was allowed to deface her principal with pie as an incentive to dress properly.

From more than 1,100 students, Ana — a sophomore at Southview High School — got the winning ticket, allowing her to toss a cream pie at Principal Jay Ferguson’s face at an end-of-the-day assembly Wed-nesday.

JASON MILLER/CHRONICLE

The dress code allows for personal style, as can be seen by the outfits worn by Southview students Luis Castro and Marissa Pabon, both 16.

Tickets were given to students who arrived on time and were dressed properly  Wednesday morning — the first day both of the district’s high schools began enforcing the uniform dress code.

“We tried to make it fun for them, so it’s not so much of a chore,” Ferguson said.

Out of about 1,200 students at Southview, only about 90 were not in compliance, according to Ferguson. Almost half of those were because they did not have belts to go along with their polo shirts and slacks.

“It was a success overall,” he said. “We knew a few kids were going to test it, but we just had their parents come in and bring their uniforms.”

The belt issue was taken care of after administrators went out and purchased some with their own money for the students, Ferguson said. Parents who could bring uniforms in for the remainder of the violators did so, but the two dozen or so students who still did not have uniforms were kept out of class.

“We wanted to teach them that they can’t go to class when they’re not in compliance with the rules,” he said.

Only about 100 of the 1,484 students at Admiral King High School were not in compliance, according to Principal Steven Sturgill.

Students were sent to the auditorium until their parents could bring the appropriate clothing to them, and about 80 students were still there at the end of the day, Sturgill said.

“Some parents are upset and some understand,” he said. “My thing is parents and students have known about this for a year now, so everyone knew.”

Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson has said the goal is not to keep students out of school as punishment for violating the dress code, but that could be the result for repeat violators. Principals plan to  work with parents and keep students out of class until they feel increased action is necessary.

For students who cannot afford uniforms, school social workers were helping students purchase them from the local Kmart, Sturgill said.

The uniforms aren’t what most think of as a traditional school uniform. The students are permitted to select several different colors specific to each school, and are allowed to wear skirts, capri pants, turtlenecks and crewneck sweaters.

“It’s very flexible,” Sturgill said.

Lowell Elementary, which had been using uniforms since the fall, also officially enforced them Wednesday and were at 97 percent compliance, Principal Kathy Lantz said. Students there will not be punished for uniform violations, but parents of violators will be contacted and reminded of the new rule, Lantz said.

Five Lorain schools have already adopted uniforms for at least half a year, including Whittier, Longfellow and Gen. Johnnie Wilson middle schools, and Washington and Garfield elementary schools. The remaining eight schools are expected to adopt the policy in the near future.

Atkinson said that disturbances have gone down in the schools where students already wear uniforms, and she hopes for the same result throughout the district.

Contact Adam Wright at 329-7151 or awright@chroniclet.com.

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