DRESS CODE VIOLATORS SENTENCED TO NERDINESS : MESA INTERMEDIATE WANTS PUPILS ATTIRED FOR SUCCESS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Mesa Intermediate School students who violate the dress code know what awaits them: pastel-colored plaid shorts worthy of the golf course, a bright green windbreaker, gray sweat pants, brown sandals circa the mid-1960s.

Most teen-agers don't want to be seen as nerdy, and Mesa Principal David Millen is taking full advantage of that.

If seventh- and eighth-graders arrive in clothes that break the dress code, they have three choices: Call their parents to bring something else from home, switch into their gym clothes or dig around in a bag of abandoned clothing kept in the school office.

``Some (of the clothes) are nerdy. On purpose, it's nerdy,'' Millen said. ``We don't want them to wear gang clothing and then get some cool clothes to wear at school. We don't want to encourage gang dress.''

Palmdale School District has a general dress policy but allows schools to develop more specific standards at each site, officials said.

Mesa's dress policy prohibits head wear of any sort, bandannas, or clothing or dress styles ``that indicates affiliation with an unauthorized group.''

Banned clothing includes baggy pants; hanging belts; belt buckles with initials; sports team wear of the Oakland Raiders, the Los Angeles Kings and the University of Georgetown Hoyas; black or white clothing in gang style; clothes associated with ``heavy metal'' bands; and clothes bearing Old English-style lettering.

``We want to create a nurturing, learning environment that isn't distracted by identifiable gang wear or offensive clothing,'' Millen said. ``When students wear gang wear, they become identifiable to other students. That could create clashes.''

The idea of offering students less than fashionable wear arose about a year ago after somebody noticed the pile of clothing that had accumulated over the years, left behind by students who never claimed them.

``It just evolved. It wasn't a plan or a program,'' Millen said. ``Somebody walked through here, saw the pounds of clothing and said, here's an idea.''

Students are referred to the bags of clothes and told to find something that fits. A school aide then takes them to a restroom, where they change clothes.

About a half-dozen students a month must select school wear from the school's supply.

``They don't like it. They think it's nerdy. They are not real pleased to take off gangster clothing and put these on,'' Millen said.

The ``nerdy'' clothing option is just one aspect of the school's clamping down on dress code violations. The school has tried to make sure students, staff and parents are aware of what constitutes appropriate dress. Every student views a short video on proper dress with students modeling the right and wrong attire.

``I think the kids dress a whole lot better. Parents are much more aware,'' Millen said. ``With 1,600 kids, every single one knows exactly what is appropriate and what isn't.''

The types of students who violate the dress code vary, Millen said.

``Sometimes they leave home in proper dress but change on the way to school, there are those whose parents are not aware, and those who are simply defiant,'' Millen said.