The following is ASFM’s MSHS Dress Code:

We expect our students to dress in professional attire - in keeping with the occasion - the weather, and community standards. Below are guidelines for students to exemplify the dress code, and they are not limited to the following:

• Clothing that is considered suitable attire for a professional and educational environment should be worn. (Examples not appropriate for the school setting include: Spaghetti strap tops, tube tops, tank or halter-tops, bare midriff tops, see-through clothing, sunglasses, slippers or beachwear are considered inappropriate attire for any workplace, and clothing with vulgar, violent, profane, or suggestive messages or pictures (symbols/depictions) of illegal substances and alcoholic beverages.)

• ASFM P.H.E. uniforms for summer and winter are obligatory for all students who are enrolled in physical education classes in grade 9. 

If there is a doubt concerning appropriate dress, building administrators will determine the outcome, and disciplinary consequences will be assigned accordingly.

The disparity among seniors

Female high school students have experienced different treatments when violating the dress code. Seniors Paloma Elizondo and Sofia Canales have had vastly different experiences concerning the school’s dress code. 

Elizondo has stated that since middle school she has been called out for her wardrobe decisions, to the point were the combination of a tank top and a sweater with holes got her a warning on her record for breaking the school’s dress code. She has been forced to wear the iconic eighth grade Washington shirts over crop tops, PE shorts under dresses and sweaters to conceal “revealing” outfits.  When asked about the dress code, Paloma said she believes students are old enough to choose what they want to wear in high school and shares that most of her friends feel the same way.

In comparison, Canales has stated that she dresses the way she wants and no one has ever said anything. In fact, she has worn shorts various times to school and has not been forced to change by any teacher. Furthermore, she shared that she wears a crop top most days with no consequences, and added that she wasn’t even aware that there was a dress code. The student dress code brings concerns regarding the matter of how it is enforced on some students. 

The disparity among high schools

Students from Prepa TEC and Prepa UDEM were interviewed to find the similarities and differences between their dress codes and ASFMs’. A current senior at Prepa TEC pointed out that her school did not have a dress code at all. She also stated that the school has never cared about people’s dressing, noting that girls show up in mini shorts all the time. Although female students at ASFM have gotten away with wearing shorts, most girls stick to jeans and pants to avoid getting in trouble. Even if the dress code doesn’t explicitly say that shorts aren’t allowed, the school’s dress code is open to interpretation. A former Prepa UDEM student now in university stated that you could attend school in pajamas or mini shorts and not get in trouble. Although he did mention that some teachers can be strict on certain things, like wearing baseball caps in class or wearing crocs, students can wear whatever they want for the most part.