Every day, students all over the country prepare for presentations over various subjects and these students generally dress in their casual “every-day” attire, such as t-shirts, pants, shorts, and tennis shoes. However, things are beginning to change at LCM High School.

Since the designation of LCM as a STEM Academy, a new presentation rubric has been created. Various teachers from different departments met earlier in the year and decided on what would be best to help the students prepare for “the real world.”

Based on this rubric, students are asked to dress professionally for presentations, as if it were a job interview or any other adult situation. The attire of students is vital because not only is it helping students prepare for the future, but also professional dress accounts for ten percent of that student’s grade.

“The idea is we will teach students the skills they need to succeed,” Assistant Principal Kristy Brown said.

A STEM Academy’s ideal outfit for boys is dress pants, dress shoes, a button-down shirt and a tie. The ideal outfit for girls is a dress skirt, slacks, blouse, dress shirt, or a nice dress. To help students who may forget to wear their professional clothes on the day of a presentation or may have some other conflict, the school is opening a store called “Soft Skills.”

This store will be operated and run similarly to a library and students may come in and check out dress clothes as they so need. After their presentation, all students have to do is return the clothes. The name “Soft Skills” is derived from the definition of a business atmosphere. Overall, the new presentation standards are designed to help students make the transition into the adult world, where they will be expected to behave and perform on a much more professional level.