![Crestview High School [FILE PHOTO]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-7267758a-6152-7944-e053-0100007f0134-cab17be0.jpeg)
School starts in less than two weeks for students in the Crestview and Laurel Hill area, and school faculty and staff members are preparing for the new school year.
According to Principal Lee Martello, there are no reported changes for Laurel Hill School, but there are a some policy changes at Crestview High School students. Earlier in May of this year, the School Advisory Council for Crestview, a council made up of parents, teachers, and members of the community, met to discuss changes that would be made for the upcoming year.
The biggest change for the Bulldogs is the updated dress code policy.
Students will not be permitted to wear paisley bandanas because school officials said they are gang related.
"In recent years they aren’t as strong a reference as there are other symbols taking their place, but we just want to look to avoid as much possibility of allowing it in our schools as possible," Thomas Harvell, Crestview's assistant principal, said in an email.
Along with the paisley head-wear, students will not be allowed to wear hoods inside the school or anytime from 7 a.m. to 1:55 p.m.
The School Advisory Council also implemented the following changes: pants with holes cannot show skin at or above mid-thigh, underwear and undergarments have to be covered at all times, and sleeveless shirts and dresses like tanks and strapless clothing are not allowed without a jacket or sweater.
The dress code was not the only change made at Crestview. The school added 10 new faculty members and three new staff members. Here they are with the subject they'll teach or the department in which they'll work.
- Katelynn Lewis, English
- Keith White, Math
- Nick Brown and Marguerite Skinner, Science
- Jon Jacobs, Summer Purcell, and Charisse Stokes, Social Studies
- Crystal Sheffield, Valarie Norman, and Danny Meinecke, Career and Technical Education
- Sharon Dockstader and Tanya Rivers, Cheer squad
- Elizabeth Richert, Front Office
Teachers return to school on August 8, and students start school on August 13.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New school year, new policy changes