DRESS CODE POLICIES
Mount Airy Christian Academy believes that what students wear strongly influences their behavior. Therefore, having an appropriate dress code is vital to school culture. The dress code at MACA serves a three-fold purpose: to encourage modesty, to promote unity, and to cultivate a scholarly environment. The dress code is to be upheld by students at all times. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action. We do not believe in having standards for the sake of merely having standards. The following dress code has been discussed in multiple faculty forums, with input and final decision-making coming from a team of faculty/staff. Likewise, the faculty/staff will consistently hold the students accountable for following the dress code. Students must dress in conformity with the biological sex that God gave them at birth.
Standard Uniform
All students may wear khaki or navy uniform pants. Students may also wear khaki or navy uniform shorts that are at least midthigh in length (until October 31 and after March 31). Belts must be worn at all times with looped pants or shorts and must be solid brown, black, or navy.
For clarification, please know that MACA does not seek to make uniform pants difficult to find or uncomfortable for the student. Modesty is the guiding principle. Pants that are too tight or too low-cut, one’s that would not be acceptable in a professional job interview, should not be worn. Jeggings-style or leggings -style pants, even though they are khaki or navy in color, are not considered traditional uniform pants and are not acceptable for school uniforms. Links to suggested uniform pants will be posted on the website.
Girls may also wear khaki or navy skirts, falling to the top of the knee. A slit may not go higher than 2” above the knee. Girls in K–5 may also wear khaki or navy jumpers or skorts falling to the top of the knee.
All students must wear and tuck in a solid-colored polo shirt as follows:
K–8: navy, white, or light blue. They must be plain or with the MACA logo and may be short or long sleeved.
9–12: navy, white, light blue, or black. High school polo shirts must have the MACA logo on them and be short sleeved.
Each year, there seems to be a question about acceptable pants. Below are links to acceptable uniform pants options:
- Lands End Girls Chino Pant
- School Uniform Perfect Fit
- Childrens’ Place Chino Pants
- FrenchToast.com Straight Leg Pants
- FrenchToast.com Juniors Pants
- Dickies Uniform Pants at Amazon
- Lee Pants from Amazon
All students may wear only a long-sleeved white shirt underneath their polo. All students may wear solid navy sweaters only. All students may wear the MACA ¼ zip, MACA fleece, MACA team, and MACA club jackets in class.
Students must wear brown, black, tan, white, gray, or navy shoes (including soles and laces). As long as all visible parts of the shoe are one of or a mix of these set colors, the shoe is approved. Shoes must have a closed toe and heel, and heels must be no higher than one and one-half inches. Moccasins, slippers, Ugg-style boots, Crocs, and shoes with wheels are not school uniform.
Socks must be solid white, khaki, navy, gray, or black. Solid white or navy tights may be worn under a skirt.
Accessories such as jewelry (boys and girls) and makeup (girls only) are permitted; however, they may not be a distraction. A student may not have any visible tattoos. The only visible piercings allowed are in the ear and are only approved for girls. The administration reserves the right to ask the student to remove accessories and makeup should it be extreme and a distraction.
Students should have natural hair colors and styles. Extreme haircuts (such as a mohawk or full/partial head shaving), styles, or colors are not acceptable, Boys’ hair must be trimmed above the ear and shirt collar and may not hang down over the eyebrows; facial hair is not permitted for students. All students’ hair must be to school code for the first day of school; athletes’ hair must be to code for the first day of practice for fall sports
Special Event Uniform
The special event uniform is for all students K-12 and will be requested of students at special school events throughout the year such as awards assemblies, class pictures, field trips, etc.
For special events, students must wear khaki pants or shorts (depending upon the time of year) with a navy polo shirt. They may wear a solid navy sweater, MACA ¼ zip, or MACA team or club jacket. Standard uniform rules are to be followed for socks, belts, and accessories.
Physical Education Uniform
Any student taking Physical Education (PE) classes will be required to dress in the MACA PE uniform. Elementary students will wear their PE uniform to school on the day they have class; secondary students will change into their PE uniform prior to PE class.
The elementary PE uniform must be purchased from our uniform supplier and consists of a MACA gray PE T-shirt, MACA navy blue PE shorts, and a MACA sweatshirt. Students must also wear tennis shoes and uniform socks. The secondary PE uniform consists of any MACA T-shirt and dark mid-thigh length gym shorts.
Elementary students may wear the PE shorts through October 31 and after March 31. During the middle months, elementary students must wear solid navy sweatpants (purchased anywhere) or MACA solid navy sweatpants. Secondary students may choose to wear solid navy sweatpants or athletic pants.
Dress Down Days
The first Friday of every month is a dress down day for all students. High-school students will also receive a dress down day on the third Friday of each month. These days are a privilege and should be treated as such. Acceptable clothing for dress down days includes:
jeans, athletic pants, sweatpants, capris and khakis in good condition (no rips or holes) ● appropriate shirts (no inappropriate, political, or divisive slogans or pictures; no tank tops) ● shorts that are mid-thigh in length (acceptable through October 31 and after March 31) ● closed-toe, casual shoes (Please remember normal school activities will take place, such as recess, PE, etc.) ● sweatshirts (no inappropriate, political, or divisive slogans or pictures) and sweaters
Students may not wear leggings (or jeggings) or hats. If a student is out of dress code, parents will be called to bring a change of clothes, and a dress code violation will be issued. Students who repeatedly violate this code may lose their dress down privilege.