DRESS CODE POLICIES
DRESS CODE
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 (see
“Discipline” section of the handbook). 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
K-12 Uniform Bottoms: 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) and female students may
wear khaki or navy skirts that fall 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. Belts must be worn at all times
with looped pants or shorts and must be solid brown, black, or navy.
K–8 polos: navy, white, or light blue. They must be plain or with the MACA logo and may be short- or
long-sleeved.
9–12 polos: navy, white, light blue, or black. High school polo shirts must have the MACA logo on them and
be short-sleeved.
K-12 outerwear: Students may wear a long-sleeved white shirt underneath their polo, a solid navy sweater
over their polo, or MACA-issued outerwear over their polo as part of the school uniform.
K-12 shoes and socks: 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 closed 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 approved school uniform. Socks must be solid
white, khaki, navy, gray, or black. Solid white or navy tights may be worn under a skirt.
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 should not be worn. For
example, 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 school website.
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. As determined by administration, extreme haircuts (such as a
mohawk or full/partial head shaving), or unnatural 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 1⁄4 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 socks. Socks must
be solid white, khaki, navy, gray, or black. 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.