(FORTUNE Magazine) – Traditional parochial school attire is catching on in Bay Area public schools . . . Parents and administrators claim uniforms help students concentrate on learning rather than their clothes ((and)) reduce schoolyard bickering over clothing . . . < Willow Glen teachers initiated the idea ((and)) the response was overwhelmingly favorable. Students initially resented . . . uniforms but acquiesced once they were assured they could select them . . . But Jared Shields, an eighth-grader, resents wearing uniforms . . . The American Civil Liberties Union feels the same way. ''We feel uniforms significantly interfere with the student's right to exercise free expression -- especially their right to wear message T-shirts,'' said Francisco Lobaco, legislative director for the ACLU. -- From an article in the San Francisco Chronicle.