This post was created on 01/10/2024.

Good Afternoon Pasco Team,

I hope you all had a great break and are excited to return to work. Additionally, I trust you were able to spend time with family and friends and took a chance to get some much-needed rest as we prepare to face the challenges that second semester will bring.

With that said, I want to take a moment to remind all staff that as education professionals, we have a responsibility to represent ourselves in a manner that conveys confidence and competence. Our professional appearance plays an important role in how we create and maintain this image. During the COVID pandemic many of our professional dress policies and procedures were loosened. As we continue to move past the COVID pandemic it is time to return to more traditional professional appearance expectations.

For example, I know that over the past several years, jeans have been permitted for staff on most workdays. While jeans are certainly acceptable in some settings, they are generally not considered professional dress in traditional school settings. Moving forward, jeans will generally be allowable on non-student contact days, and in other circumstances or situations where school/department administration believes that an employee’s job expectations or the day’s activities warrant the wearing of jeans. Collared, polo-type, shirts that display a school or the District’s name, logo, etc. will continue to be considered acceptable dress on any day.

I want to make sure that as we interact with parents and our community stakeholders, that we present ourselves as education professionals. High standards for professional appearance will not only engender confidence from the communities we serve, it will also allow us to set positive examples and high expectations for our students and each other.

Thank you for helping make the Pasco District a great place to work and learn.

 

 

Kurt S. Browning

Pasco County Superintendent of Schools