Dress that got teen sent home from school looks fine on mom at daughter’s graduation

On her last day of high school, Violet Burkhart was reduced to tears when teachers sent her home because her dress was too short. On Saturday, Burkhart was all smiles as she showed up at her graduation ceremony with her mother -- who was wearing the dress that got the teen into trouble.

“A lot of people were surprised, but a lot of people were proud what she did,” Burkhart told FoxNews.com Sunday, referring to her mother. “I was very proud. She stood up for what she believed was right, also.”

Burkhart graduated from Central Davidson High School in Lexington, N.C., where she was a straight-A student.

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On the last day of classes, June 5, Burkhart wore a sundress that she had worn to school before. But two hours before dismissal, she says teachers pulled her aside and measured her dress in the middle of the hallway while other students watched.

The teachers told Burkhart her dress violated the school’s dress code because the hemline was a half-inch too short. They told her she had to go home and change.

“They pretty much humiliated me,” the 17-year-old said.

Her mother was just as upset.

“I literally looked back at the clock and I’m thinking, it’s 1 o'clock in the afternoon on her last day of her senior year. My daughter — it’s supposed to be one of her best days and she’s there crying,” Amy Redwine told MyFox8 in Greensboro.

“If I thought this dress was inappropriate, I would have never allowed her to wear the dress,” she told the station Thursday.

She also vowed to wear the offending dress to her daughter’s graduation.

“If her dress is too short, then my dress is too short and I’m going to wear it in front of everybody and be proud just like she should have been able to on her last day,” Redwine said.

Burkhart had on a blue and black dress for the graduation ceremony. "It was the same length," she told Fox News. She also said she is looking forward to college. She is planning to attend Davidson County Community College in the fall to study culinary arts.