Teachers Make Style Statement By Dressing Up

By Ann Bradley

In the past few years, Joe Catalano, a 27-year teaching veteran, has gotten back in the habit of wearing a tie. Each morning, he makes his selection from a closet bulging with traditional prints, Mickey Mouse and Looney Tunes characters, and golf and basketball themes.

Mr. Catalano, a 6th-grade teacher at Niagara Middle School in Niagara Falls, N.Y., has plenty of company. Nearly all the men at his school wear dress shirts and ties, while the women teach in skirts, dresses, suits, or tailored pants.

The businesslike attire isn't the result of a school board edict or principal's command. Instead, teachers at the school decided when it opened last year to show their high expectations for students--and...