National University Strategies That Work: Supporting Military -Connected Students and Families

1. National UniversityStrategiesThat Work: Supporting Military-Connected Students and Families Please do the following: 1. Be sure your speakers are on 2. Say hello in the chat window below and tell us a little about yourself. Ideas: Location, student age group, military-connected background, reason for interest in this topic. We will start shortly

2. Participating in Today’s Session Type your questions in the chat window below Download the documents in the file share window below

3. National University NU-NBC Leadership Center The NU-NBC Leadership Center serves educators in all 50 states and internationally. The center is proud to have been selected by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards(NBPTS) to serve in this capacity and to inspire teachers through a range of options, resources, and events

4. April is MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD! April 14-18 Purple-Up – Dress in PURPLE! APRIL 15!

5. Celebrating Atmosphere • Display cases and bulletin boards • Decorate the lunch room display case for the month or part of the month for April • Create a Little Hero’s Wall with pictures of mil kids • Display maps pinpointing duty stations kids have resided.

6. Celebrating Atmosphere • Decorate with American flags, military aircraft or other military/AF related items. • Have military members as guest speakers in each classroom.  • PTA sponsored essay/picture contest for military students and non-military students. • Promote the concept of peer-to-peer support by urging the funding and installation of the Buddy Bench on the school’s playground. http://buddybench.org/

7. Classroom Support and Celebration • Hero Walls • Time Zone Wall- my favorite! • Story time (reading military child books) – • Elva Resa Publishing - www.militaryfamilybooks.com • Schedule Skype during school hours for a deployed parent. • Writing letters to deployed active duty members. • Show n Tell – mil students and non-mil students bring in something military related. • History of the Air Force, or any uniformed services.

8. Why Celebrate Military-Connected Students? Why advocate for this unique group of students?

9. White House Initiative “Operation Educate the Educators” Dr. Jill Biden urges teacher-preparation universities to prepare educators to serve military-connected students. The emphasis of the program is to inform and train military-connected teachers on how to best support over 1.3 million military-students who are found across America in every school district. The vast majority of students are public school students, not in DoDEA schools

10. Fast Facts • There are currently 2,000,000 military-connected children in America; of those : • 1,381,584 of the military-connected children are 4-18 years old

11. Fast Facts • There are currently 2,000,000 military-connected children in America; of those : • Over 80% of these children – 1,105,267 students – attend PK-12 public schools

12. Fast Facts • There are currently 2,000,000 military-connected children in America; of those : • Every school district in the country has military-connected students. **

13. Fast Facts • There are currently 2,000,000 military-connected children in America; of those : • Approximately 10-12% of military-connected students are served in special education programs.

14. Fast Facts • There are currently more than 2,000,000 children in America affected by the military; of those • It's estimated that as many as five million kids have had a parent or sibling serve in Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11.

15. Fast Facts • There are currently more than 2,000,000 children in America affected by the military; of those • Since 2001, over 205,000 students who never before considered themselves to be military-connected had a parent suddenly deploy in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

16. Fast Facts Not enough data to capture the full-picture of the military-connected student: Suddenly NOT-Military • Wounded warrior/PTSD • Gold Star Families • Budget Cut ‘Short List’ & forced retirement

17. Military Life is often a positive experience: allowing for personal growth for children and military families.

18. With multiple moves, • More able to deal with transitions. • More able to blend in with new social context. • More adaptable to new cultures. • More accepting of diversity. Resilience in Military-Connected Children

19. Children often take on more responsibility in family when parent deployed. • Positive, if child developmentally ready. (Bradshaw et al., 2010). Resilience in Military-Connected Children

20. Military Life is often a challenging experience: Transition Challenges &Social/Emotional Challenges.

21. Successful formal and informal networks. • Military • Community – family, school, mental health professionals, organizations, etc. (Aronson et al., 2011) Resilience in military families dependon

22. Transitional concerns I see daily • Calendars: Start/end dates and Holidays • Schedules: Traditional vs Block schedules or Semester vs. Trimester • Interpretation of Grades (weighted grades) • Transfer of Records • Repeated or Missed Content & Redundant/Missed Testing

23. Transitional concerns I see daily • Transfer of Services for Special Education/gifted • Incompatible Graduation Requirements • Extra-Curricular Activities • Inconsistency in programs and services • Delays in transferring records.

24. Social/Emotional concerns I see daily • New friends & community culture • Deployments vary from 45 days to 1+ years • Impacts of deployments – • Deployments can be sudden / no notice • Depression, alcohol/drug and Suicidal idealization • http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-military-children-20131118,0,3318240.story#axzz2lCTgktX4 Issues can also begin during reintegration when the military member returns

25. 1 military family+1 change of duty station Changeof address, Changeof school & teachers Changeof friends, Changeof place of worship, Changeof weather, Changeof scenery Changeof schedules, Changeof neighborhood, Changeof sports, and Changeof routine.

26. Move To Homeschooling: • A desire to provide religious or moral instruction 32% • A concern about the school environment 20% • A dissatisfaction with academic instruction in the public school 32% • Provide a non-traditional approach to education 8% • Other reasons (travel, family time, distance to school, financial) 20% • Child has special needs the parents feel the school cannot meet 24% • Child has physical or mental health need 4% • Continuity in education during transition 28%

27. Education of the Military Child in the 21st Century • Deployments • Homeschooling • Secondary Education Transition Study • Education of National Guard and Reserve Children

28. Deployments DO Impact “business” of running a school. • Parents who shared a high support from the school reported back a positive or neutral deployment impact on education; • Parents who shared that a school was not helpful or ambivalent during a deployment created a negative educational impact due to deployments. Teachers

29. Individual level - YOU • Think military-connected student • Think non-traditional military-connected students • (friends & family members) *Maybe your school is not a “traditional” military-connected school. We need YOUR SUPPORT too!

30. How can YOUR school environment beMILITARY SUPPORTIVEnot just military friendly? GOAL: Improve the quality of the educational experience for all students. Military-connected students do not need an advantage over other students, only be offered a level playing field to success.

31. Parents What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a parent of a military-connected student? Please write in the chat window

32. How do I prepare my kid for a move?www.schoolquest.com 1. Explain WHY you are moving and what YOU will miss. 2. Younger children may draw pictures, write, or act out their feelings. 3. Memories are important and can be saved through an address book or scrapbook you can complete together.

33. How do I prepare my kid for a move?www.schoolquest.com 4. Say goodbye to people, places, and things. 5. High school students should take advantage of the MCEC Interactive Counseling Center to visit with a counselor from the new school. 6. Parents of special needs students should make sure their child’s IEP is up to date.

34. Continue family traditions. Help your child obtain “portable achievements” – help them find a niche in the community. Remind them that it’s OK to be alone Summer camps and programs can provide consistency over moves. There will be change with every move, so develop family goals for each one. (O’Beirne, 1981) From a Military Spouse and Former Military Child

35. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL – How do I help my child adjust to a new school with new teachers, new friends, and new expectations? • Talk and listen to your child. Let your child know that you are there for this difficult but exciting time – I call it adventure. • Tour the school. Ask questions about lunch procedures (codes?), lockers, & catching the bus. • Learn the rules: dress code, before & afterschool procedures, school and teacher behavior codes. • Get a list of required school supplies.

36. www.tutor.com/MILITARY • FREE for students in Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard and Reserve families. • Expert tutors are online 24/7 and available to help including test prep, proofreading, Math, Science, English and Social Studies. - Service available to ALL students; free for military-connected families

38. Remember – Parents can do a LOT to advocate for their kids!! • Communicate with your teacher OFTEN. • e-mail, phone, letters, daily updates • Request parent/teacher conference; • parent/school counselor conference; • parent/principal conference • Get involved! • Encourage your child to make new friends. • BUT HOW?? Portable Achievements!! • Get to know your child’s teachers. (ask for their e-mail!!) • Visit your school’s web site

39. Talk to your PTA –Did you know the National PTS offers 15 ways that the National Standards can be used by PTAs to support military families?http://www.pta.org/programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3616 • Standard 1: Welcome All Families to the School Community • Standard 2: Communicating Effectively • Standard 3: Supporting Student Success • Standard 4: Speaking Up for Every Child • Standard 5: Sharing Power • Standard 6: Collaborating with Community • Ask for or start a Parent Buddy System

40. On Base Resources – Advocate for YOU • Attend PASS (Parent Advocate for Students and Schools) workshops at local base • Talk to your Key Spouses/FRG's/Ombudsmen or military member’s 1stShirt • Work with your School Liaison Officer - http://militaryk12partners.dodea.edu • Contact and use your base family support services.

41. How do you know if you have military-connected students? How do you know WHO those students are and if they need support?

42. School Counselors What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a parent of a military-connected student? Please write in the chat window

43. Help set a plan • Work with family, School Liaison Officer, sending school, and local teacher to have a plan BEFORE family arrives! • Consider: • Current/past classes, grades, State Standards • Time of year of transfer & individual need of students • Compare activities in sending school • IEP, Gifted programs • Military Interstate Compact

44. School Counselors • Partner with local Command & School Liaison Officers • Include military-minded info. on school WEBSITE • Create a welcome to school/community pack • Be open-minded and creative in scheduling • on-line learning/local college options

45. School Counselors • Register students in class with neighborhood friends • Suggest after school tutoring • Encourage extra-curricular activities • Start a parent/family buddy system

46. School Counselors • Create a military club for military &non-military students • Adopt military unit - Invite for military members on campus • Celebrate April’s Month of the Military Child – PurpleUP!

47. School Counselor projects • Deployment Time capsules • Class or school assembly & give students a BLUE STAR FAMLIES Certificate of Recognition • http://bluestarfam.org/Programs/Operation_Appreciation/MilKidz_Certificate • Celebrate military/veteran events • Weekly/daily announcements specific to support options • Create a friendship garden

48. SecondarySchool Counselors • MCEC Student 2 Student program – • Trains civilian and military-connected high school students to establish and sustain peer-based programs in their schools to support mobile children as they transition to and from the school. • http://www.militarychild.org/parents-and-students/programs/student-2-student

49. Develop and utilize School Climate Surveys**How is your school prepared for the transient population of military families joining your campus by military orders during a military deployment?**

50. Does your school have a plan in the event of the death or injury of a military member on deployment or in the local area? How is your school prepared for their return?