We ask a lot of our military kids. They have to adapt quickly, handle change well, and build a new community for themselves from one military move to the next. They navigate being kids while a parent or loved one serves our country, often away from home. April is designated as Month of the Military Child, a time to pause and recognize the service and sacrifices of military kids of all ages. Here are some thoughts on how to celebrate military kids each month of the year.

April

Month of the Military Child is an official month of observance in the United States that occurs each year in April. We wear purple. We decorate our schools with flags and posters. We highlight our military students and invite them to share their stories. We honor their contributions. Collectively, we do a pretty good job of making military-connected students in our schools and communities feel seen and appreciated. But as the month ends, let’s not let awareness fade of the unique challenges faced and contributions made by our youngest military family members.

May

As we remember our fallen heroes, it’s important that we be mindful of our young survivors too. Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) offers care to anyone grieving the loss of a military loved one. If you know a military child who has experienced this kind of loss, TAPS Good Grief Camps are safe spaces for military children along their healing journey. TAPS military mentors (serving military members and veterans) and legacy mentors (survivors who have graduated from Good Grief Camp) are buddies to these children and remind them they are still important to the military (and us all). Learn more about how you can help TAPS serve grieving military children.

June

Peak summer PCS season is well underway. According to Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Global Logistics Support Household Goods Program Analyst Deloma Miley, it is estimated that more than 65% of military moves occur each year from mid-May through August 31st.

It’s the Season of Leaving. This means that military children at home and abroad are once again packing up life as they know it and making plans to start again someplace new. Make end of school year celebrations a time to recognize the military-connected students in your classroom, especially those who may not be in your school district at the start of the next school year. Give them an opportunity to share with their classmates where they’re headed (if they’re permitted to divulge that information) and what they’re looking forward to in their new location. Equally important, give their peers the chance to say goodbye and let them know how much they’ll be missed!

July

Freedom isn’t free and military children know that better than most folks. As we celebrate our nation’s independence, let’s also remember the children who have missed out on birthdays, holidays, and other important milestones while their military family member has been away in service.

In many parts of the country, there’s no better way to start off the holiday weekend than with a walkathon or marathon. Grab your kids, family, friends, and neighbors and walk, skip, run, or dance in honor of the special military children in your life.

August

If you’re the parent or guardian of a military-connected student and you haven’t yet done so, now is a good time to put together an education binder to help with their transition to a new school. This binder should include information and documentation such as birth certificate, immunization records, unofficial transcripts, and teacher notes.

If you’re an educator, ask for an education binder to help integrate new students into your classroom. As the year progresses, your input will be invaluable for maintaining the binder for the duration of the school year and beyond as these students head off for new school placements at their next duty station.

September

Make time to welcome new military-connected students in your classroom. Have them point out on a map where their military life has taken them. Invite them to talk about their experiences as a military child. Set up a buddy system with other students in the class. Let these newest members of your school know you’re an adult who’s here to support them.

October

October 26 is Day of the Deployed. That makes this month a perfect time to have students in your classroom put together care packages for deployed service members. If one or more students at your school have a loved one deployed, consider having your class or school adopt their unit. If possible, personalize the packages with special items, such as artwork and handwritten notes from your students.

Read books about kids going through a deployment. Talk about what it feels like to miss someone and ways to keep in touch when you’re apart from someone you care about. All students can participate in this kind of discussion and share their experiences of missing loved ones.

November

November is Military Family Appreciation Month, a time to recognize all military family members. Special days this month include Veterans Day, honoring US military veterans, and Thanksgiving, a time for sharing our gratitude. In the classroom, consider recognizing the contributions of service members and their families by reading stories about their service, sacrifices, and lifestyle. Several good children’s books about military life can serve as a conversation starter.

If it’s your family’s tradition to share things you’re grateful for at Thanksgiving, include military members and their families who often spend holidays apart while their loved ones serve. Better yet, if you know of a family separated from their military loved one for the holiday, invite them to join your celebration!

December

Put together a special treat for a military child you know over the winter holidays. Bake some cookies. Make a gift bag with fun stickers, puzzles, games, and candy. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive; it just needs to come from the heart.

Want to do more? There are many organizations that coordinate Adopt a Family programs for military families. Find out what they need and how you can support their mission.

January

As you’re making your New Year resolutions, consider how you can improve your understanding of and support for military-connected students. Perhaps you’ll make this the year that your school district takes advantage of professional development opportunities through the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC). MCEC trains professionals to address the unique challenges facing military children. They also provide resources for parents and guardians. Resolve to support military kids year round.

February

This is a month to share the love. If you’re an educator, work with your class to make handmade cards to be delivered to a local veteran’s home or mailed to service members overseas. Remember to make Valentine’s Day cards for the special military kids in your life!

Bonus activity: The Operation Purple Camp application window opens mid-February. This well-loved and highly regarded program of the National Military Family Association provides free weeklong, in-person, overnight summer camps for military-connected kids across the US. Spots fill up quickly, so you’ll want to register sooner rather than later.

March

In March we celebrate National Reading Month as well as National Medal of Honor Day, a day to recognize the heroism and sacrifice of Medal of Honor recipients. This is a great opportunity to have your class read about military heroes and discuss what it means to be a hero and to sacrifice for your country. The military-connected students in your class can talk about their own loved one’s service and what it has meant for them and their lives. Students can create their own badges of honor and exchange them with fellow students who exhibit those heroic traits.

The Medal of Honor Character Development Program is a free resource that teaches students courage, commitment, integrity, sacrifice, citizenship, and patriotism through lessons developed by teachers for teachers.

There are many more ways to recognize and incorporate military-connected students into celebrations all year. The Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3) has created a list of ways to celebrate our youngest heroes to spark your creativity during the Month of the Military Child and beyond.

Randi Cairns is a mom of military teens, a leader in the military spouse community, coauthor of Stories Around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life, and associate publisher at Elva Resa Publishing.

More about celebrating military kids:

• Month of the Military Child: Teen Perspective
• Purple Up to Step Up in the Season of Thriving
• Purple Up for Military-Connected Students
• Month of the Military Child in 2021: In-Person, Hybrid, and Virtual Celebrations

The post Celebrating Military Kids Year Round appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

Month of the Military Child is widely celebrated in schools throughout the United States in April. As a military kid (MilKid) myself, I grew up seeing it first-hand and I appreciate the efforts adults everywhere put into celebrating us. But I find Purple Up celebrations often feel focused on supporting elementary students instead of teenagers (MilTeens). Schools and families should include MilTeen voices in planning events too to ensure celebrations are meaningful to all students. Here are a few ideas for ways schools can plan a successful Month of the Military Child for students in high school.

Why We Celebrate

The first thing to consider when planning Month of the Military Child is understanding why we celebrate. MilKids and MilTeens are celebrated because of the sacrifices they make so their parents can protect our country. During Purple Up, schools recognize the times military families moved and had to start over. They acknowledge all the nights military students went without a parent because the parent was deployed for a long time, or the parent was on Temporary Duty (TDY) for a short time. Schools thank MilKids and MilTeens for all their hidden sacrifices that allow us to sleep in peace at night knowing our country is safe.

Another important thing to remember is that during April’s Month of the Military Child, schools are celebrating the military child. Though important to celebrate their military parents too at other times of the year, such as Veteran’s Day, this month is not about the parents.

Military parents and children make different sacrifices and deserve separate recognition. Celebrate MilKids and MilTeens during Month of the Military Child.

Planning the Month

As schools plan out Month of the Military Child activities, there are many people who should be involved in planning.

A Mix of Students

Make sure that both MilTeens and their non-military-connected peers are included in the planning.

• Start by inviting student leadership clubs and student council to participate in the planning fun.
• If your school has JROTC, Student2Student, or Military Kid Clubs, ask them to join as well.

Mixing military students with students who are not connected to the military when planning activities will ensure the events are fun and meaningful to all students, no matter their military connection. Non-military classmates will be able use this planning time to get to know and understand their military-connected peers better. They can start to see MilTeens as real teens and not just stories of adventure or travel. Inviting a diverse group of student planners to share perspective allows MilTeens to spend time with their peers and help break barriers to friendship or social connection. MilKids and MilTeens may be different from their peers in some ways, but they make amazing friends. Having MilTeens and non-military teens mix encourages new ideas and new friendships.

Adult Leaders

It is also important to have a counselor, teacher, or other school official share perspective and look over the students’ plans before they are shared with the rest of the school.

The adult leadership will help keep plans focused and achievable. They may also offer ideas that the school would like to see too. Perhaps the school has extra money to spend in April or knows a community partner who might be willing to buy every MilTeen an ice-cream sandwich. Student planners won’t know unless the adult sponsors help.

Ideas to Celebrate MilTeens

Collect and Share Stories

One way to celebrate high school MilTeens is to ask them to share their story.

Reach out to MilTeens in a military-focused club, if the school has one, and MilTeens in the classroom to find stories that accurately describe the life of a military student. Students can submit their stories or be interviewed to create the stories.

Here are a few great questions to ask any MilTeen:

• Where was your favorite duty location?
• How is this school similar or different from your last school?
• What is a great way to keep in contact with your friends from past assignments?

It is important not to ask: “Where are you from?” This is a really difficult question for MilTeens to answer and it could mean a lot of things. Instead, ask more specific or individual questions, such as:

• “Where were you born?”
• “Where did you live last?”
• “Where have you lived the longest?”
• “Where was your favorite place to live?”
• “What is a special memory you have from one of these places?”

Once the stories are collected from around the school, share them! Consider putting stories in the school newspaper or on the school broadcasting system. Another great way for them to be shared is to put a few of them into the yearbook.

The stories will help MilTeens see they are not alone and help their classmates see what their military peers have lived through.

Maps

A second way to celebrate MilTeens is to set up maps around the campus, where they can put a tack showing the places they have lived.

Classes could take a walking field trip around campus to look at and compare each of the maps. This way, students are able to see all the amazing places their military peers have lived.

Wear Purple

Another idea to celebrate MilTeens is the classic way to show support during Purple Up: wear purple. Encourage students to all wear purple on April 15 or whichever pre-selected day works best for the school calendar.

In high school, the best way to get student involvement is to make Purple Up a competition between the grade levels to see who wears the most purple.

Make it Fun!

When celebrating Month of the Military Child, the most important thing to remember is to make it fun. This is an opportunity to connect the freshmen, seniors, adults, and anyone else in the school involved in supporting military teens. Enjoy your Month of the Military Child!

Emily Trimillos is a military-connected teen and a freshman in high school. She has experienced five military-connected moves, within the United States and overseas. In her six different school transitions, she has implemented military kid clubs and student ambassador programs. Emily finds unique opportunities to speak to school and district leaders on how to best hear and support her military-connected peers.

More about Month of the Military Child celebrations:

• Purple Up to Step Up in the Season of Thriving
• Purple Up for Military-Connected Students
• Month of the Military Child in 2021: In-Person, Hybrid, and Virtual Celebrations

The post Month of the Military Child: Teen Perspective appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

COVID remains a steady topic of discussion, but the stress associated with this pandemic is anything but steady for most families and school communities. Stress has continued to increase for all of us—children, parents, and educators—to a point of exhaustion. Many school policies continue to fluctuate regarding face masks, social distancing, and virtual learning. This relative uncertainty creates an environment ripe for anxiety in our youth.

Pandemic stress manifests in a variety of forms for students: limited in-person time with friends and extended family, cancelled travel plans, struggles with changing learning environments, loss of extracurricular activities, increased anxiety or depression—their own or within their support systems. Children and teens are particularly vulnerable to stress when faced with unpredictable and changing conditions, and they present a large spectrum of reactions. Our current environment, within and outside school, makes the challenge of balancing a student’s mental and physical wellness even more profound.

Watch for Signs of Stress

Caregivers, parents, and educators play a key role in helping students of all ages develop and exercise stress-regulating skills. The first step is to watch for specific behaviors in five key areas of development that indicate a student may be enduring severe stress:

• Physical: illness, lack of energy, increased or decreased weight, injury
• Psychological and emotional: depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, heightened emotional responses to normal situations
• Social and behavioral: isolation, lack of interest in past activities, increased risk taking
• Cognitive: lack of educational involvement, lack of curiosity, lack of critical thinking
• Relationships: increased conflict, increased arguments, disconnectedness, loneliness

Although this list is not all inclusive, it is a starting point. Have you observed some of these behaviors in your students? If yes, have you talked with them about the stress they may be feeling? Some students may be afraid to talk to parents or teachers about their feelings or may not want to worry others. They may not realize the impact of their stress or may think the stress is normal when so many stressors are present around them.

Share Strategies for Coping

Whether or not you believe your student is experiencing stress, starting a conversation now can help them cope with current or future elevated emotions. Sharing these strategies with your student will also help you optimize your own stress management. A few ways to get started:

• Validate: Try not to tell your student what they should be feeling. Instead ask them how they actually feel, allowing them to share their emotions. Listen. Adults often feel they want to fix everything and make it better. Try not to solve a situation immediately. Let your student express their feelings the best way they know how.
• Establish boundaries: It’s normal during challenging times to let boundaries slip, thinking it will help alleviate stress. However, the opposite is true. During uncertain or highly stressful situations, giving children and teens consistent boundaries, roles, and responsibilities can help them feel safe and less confused. Promote positive behaviors by setting clear expectations and examples.
• Rise to the challenge: Young people are hyperaware of changes to their home and school environment. They often experience daily, even hourly, reminders of ways their lives have been turned upside down. Remind them that we are all facing challenges in our own way, and we shouldn’t be afraid of the difficult things we encounter in life. Every difficult circumstance prepares us to face future challenges.
• Reframe: It is easy to wallow when the world feels heavy. We have a choice about how we navigate through the current environment. Instead of getting distracted by setbacks, focus on forward movement even if it is only one step at a time. Highlight the good you see, positive recent changes (in relationships, empathy, personal growth), and the strength they’ve built as they’ve persevered through challenging circumstances.
• Recover: When the time is right, express the importance of self-care. Try different positive recovery techniques such as exercise, journaling, peer support, quiet time, breathing (mindfulness, in particular), or counseling. You can develop new, creative ways to let them express their emotions. If they are angry, get a punching bag or let them pound clay or dough. Even better, create group activities around these positive coping ideas that you can enjoy together in the classroom or at home as a family.

It’s important for your student to know they are not alone in feeling stressed. Neither are you.

School counselors, school psychologists, professional counselors, doctors, support groups, religious affiliations, friends, and family are just a few resources available to help. COVID stress is real. By using these strategies to manage it, we assist our students and ourselves.

Jannell MacAulay, PhD, is a combat veteran who served 20 years in the US Air Force as a pilot. A mother of two, Jannell is a consultant, speaker, and executive leadership coach who leads mindset workshops.

Kendra Lowe, EdD, NCSP, LSSP, is a veteran, military spouse, mom of three, and school psychologist. Her first-hand experience with the stresses of military life informed her book Milspouse Strength: Changing the Way You See and Respond to Military Life Stress.

More about supporting students in pandemic circumstances and transitions:

• Building Sustaining Advocacy Teams in Challenging Times
• Bringing School Home: Focus on the Possibilities
• Start Early for a Strong Student-Advocacy Team

The post Helping Students Identify and Manage Pandemic Stress appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

Advocacy, communication, and partnership are all terms often used early in a military-connected student’s transition to a new campus. Shifts in learning platforms to e-learning, hybrid learning, and social distancing have challenged schools and families to become creative in how they build, operate, and strengthen student-advocacy teams.

For many military-connected families, the pandemic-induced school experience, now spanning three academic school years, has created a negative academic and social-emotional impact on students and their learning experience. Any military-connected student who has faced a move to a new school during this timeframe feels the impacts of their traditional Season of Leaving and Season of Arriving as well as the added challenges of transitioning amid a pandemic.

Strong student-advocacy teams recognize this unique challenge for our military-connected student population.

Build the Advocacy Team

The first step in building an advocacy team in or out of a pandemic situation is to recognize who should be part of the team. A traditional student-advocacy team is built by the classroom teacher and parent, together with the student when appropriate. A strong communication strategy is critical between the classroom teacher and parent. Conversations should center around classwork and homework expectations as well as deeper discussions of how the student is adjusting to the school, classmates, and the pandemic learning environment.

Take extra care to recognize that a student transitioning to a new school during the pandemic may experience increased gaps and overlaps of student learning. But, just as important as academics, the student-advocacy team needs to pay special attention to focus on student needs and open the conversation around the emotional and mental health status of the student.

Invite the School Counselor

These discussions bring opportunities to assess whether a military-connected student is struggling to adjust or beginning to thrive on campus. If a student is struggling, it is time to invite others to the advocacy team. The school counselor is a great campus resource for both academic and emotional support. A counselor can work alongside the teacher and parent to help develop a multi-step plan to support the student. Often, school counselors have access to added resources like tutoring and emotional support strategies.

Consider MFLC Support

Many schools and districts also have access to Military Family Life Counselors (MFLC). An MFLC can become part of the student-advocacy team. With parental permission, MFLC can support military-connected students as they deal with everyday stressors such as communication, family dynamics, grief or loss, deployment, reintegration, relocation, and relationships. Even when a MFLC is not assigned to a particular school or district, families have access to MFLC support by calling their installation military and family support center or MilitaryOneSource.

Military Family Liaison

Some military-connected school districts now have on staff family liaisons for military-connected youth. While these liaisons do not work directly with students, they are often available to partner with parents and families who are new to the school. The liaisons help families understand a school’s culture, policies, procedures, and practices. Often, they can help the family make connections to resources within the greater community to help a student acclimate to the area.

Tutor.com for Military Students

When making plans to support students with academic struggles, the first step is to work directly with the teacher and then look to tutoring and homework help offered through the school. Often students do not realize they need help on individual assignments until they are home. In these cases, a free membership to Tutor.com allows military-connected students access to tutor help around the clock. Tutor.com offers personalized help in more than 100 subjects for grades K-12 and college students.

Student-Focused Reminders 

• Keep the student at the center of conversations
• Focus conversations on specific supports for the military-connected student
• Ensure everyone agrees to the level and type of support offered by the school and obtain parental permissions as required
• Include the student in the decision-making process
• Be creative in communication techniques (e.g., a mix of in-person, phone, email, video conferencing)
• Set a plan to connect at regular times to check progress

Times are challenging for students, parents, and teachers alike. A strong student-advocacy team ensures all key roles work together to provide the best possible support for student success.

Amanda Trimillos, EdD, is a military spouse, mother, and National Board-Certified teacher with extensive experience teaching military students in the United States and overseas. She is coauthor of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers and wrote the essay “School Choices and Changes” in  Stories Around the Table: Laugher, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life.

More about advocacy teams and supporting students in pandemic circumstances and transitions:

• First Parent-Teacher Conference at a New School
• Bringing School Home: Focus on the Possibilities
• Start Early for a Strong Student-Advocacy Team

The post Building Sustaining Advocacy Teams in Challenging Times appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

Parent-teacher conferences are essential checkpoints for military students attending a new school. Parent-teacher conferences are the speed bump during the Seasons of Transition ™, an event in which parents and teachers can align their expectations. This usually takes place six weeks after the start of school. And in the cycle of school transition, a student should be progressing through the Season of Arriving and ready to get to work in the Season of Growing.

The first parent-teacher conference is a good time to intentionally assess the student’s initial class placement, academic work, and social adjustment.

Tips for Approaching the First Conference at a New School

• The first rule of thumb is to listen more and talk less. Or sometimes a parent should sit on their hands when the teacher is explaining a student’s progress. It’s important to let the teacher do their job and for parents to listen to someone who sees the child as their student, not just their child. Children may behave differently at home than in a classroom around other adults and children. It’s a different window, a different view of the student, and it can be an eye-opening experience.
• Bring the student’s Education Binder to the conference. Ideally, if the student is new to the school, the Education Binder should be given to the teacher before the conference. Allow the teacher some time to review it. The binder is one of the tools parents can use to better document their student’s education history. It allows informal continuity between schools and should tell a student’s education story. It’s not just about grades, but an overview of the child’s previous years in school. With most military-connected students, attending six to nine different schools is common. The Education Binder allows educators to have a better understanding of their new students and the unique, but sometimes challenging aspects of the highly mobile lifestyle.
• Bring the student to the conference, if age-appropriate, and come prepared to ask questions or address any concerns they might have. It’s a good idea for students to write their questions down on an index card in advance so nerves can’t derail the inquiries.
• Share the family PCS story with the teacher. During the Parent-Teacher Conference is the right time to explain the challenges or struggles the student faced during the recent move. If parents have concerns with the student’s adjustment, especially the social and emotional aspects of a new school, this is the perfect time to talk about that. Teachers want to help any student who may not be thriving yet. It’s also a good time to address a past or upcoming deployment, living in temporary housing, or additional challenges at home.

Bring your patience … It’s been hard on military-connected students, their parents, and the educators who teach them.

• Bring your patience. The profound effect the pandemic has had on education will be long-lasting. Every school, city, and state has handled the pandemic in education differently. And schools, teachers and families are still not operating at pre-pandemic standards. It’s been hard on military-connected students, their parents, and the educators who teach them. It’s still not a normal year, but teachers are doing their very best under incredibly stressful circumstances. So give grace when the opportunity presents itself.
• A parent-teacher conference is one of many check-ins a parent can have with a teacher to discuss academic or social and emotional progress. A typical conference is usually only 15-20 minutes long, certainly not enough time to dive into a military student’s rich history of multiple moves and challenges, so schedule a follow-up meeting 3-4 weeks after the first parent-teacher conference. This will give the teacher some time to address initial concerns.

Questions to Ask During the First Parent-Teacher Conference

Most military-connected children need to be socially and emotionally connected before their academics can be a priority. Use the first parent-teacher conference to discuss social-emotional concerns. It’s important not to chase curriculum this year, but to focus on the student’s needs first.

• What does lunch look like for the student? Is the student sitting alone or with others?
• What does recess or free time look like for the student?
• Is the student participating in groups?
• Is the student asking questions?
• Ask for assistance in friendship matching. If the student isn’t quite fitting in yet or has voiced concerns about a lack of connecting, ask the teacher for help establishing connections in the classroom.
• Is the student ahead or behind in the school’s curriculum?
• Is the student’s placement in leveled groups or class correct?
• What are the academic expectations? When does standard testing begin?
• What type of support does the teacher or school offer if the student is struggling academically?
• Address any mismatched curriculum, gaps and overlaps.

Parents and teachers who collaborate together and honor each other’s roles create a strong student-advocacy team. The first conference is one important step to ensuring a military-connected student has the support they need to grow and thrive for the rest of the school year.

Stacy Huisman is an Air Force spouse, mother of two, and freelance writer. An advocate with a passion for military-connected children and their families, Stacy is coauthor of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers. She’s dedicated the last decade to understanding the challenges military kids face when changing schools. 

You may also enjoy reading:

• Creating an Education Binder
• Start Early for a Strong Student-Advocacy Team
• Proactive Communication for Students in Every Season

The post First Parent-Teacher Conference at a New School appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

Even before the school year opened its doors to students this year, conversations have taken place on many levels on ways to best meet student needs. Teachers are discussing how to catch up students who missed material in pandemic learning environments; parents are talking about how to tackle struggles their children faced in schools; and students are wondering if they really are prepared for a new school year.

Consensus is that this is not the year to chase curriculum. To chase the missed curriculum is to ignore the idea that many students are not yet ready for the quick transition back to a fast-paced learning environment. When we meet students’ social and emotional needs first, curriculum mastery will follow.

Recognize and Understand Student Concerns

To meet a student’s needs, we must first recognize those needs and put them in context. The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) 2020 survey exposed the following student concerns, which have a direct impact on a student’s ability to focus on learning targets:

• Making friends
• Feeling accepted and fitting in
• Building self-confidence
• Dealing with parental deployments
• Managing stress

In 2021, these concerns still hold true.  But, military-connected students also find themselves facing these added pandemic-centered concerns that continue to impact their ability to focus on curriculum:

• Returning to campus for the first time (for many it is their first time on campus even though they moved to the area last year)
• Another cycle of pandemic PCS equals two years of new students on campus
• Learning gaps cause by differing learning environments
• Learning gaps caused multi-state PCS and new state standards

Looking at typical PCS concerns in combination with added pandemic-created concerns, it is more important than ever for parents and educators to communicate and partner together to meet the social and emotional needs of students, so that we can start to also meet their academic needs.

Support Students With a Variety of Strategies

Start with a Parent-Teacher Conference

Spend time this year building relationships between teachers and parents to build a student-advocacy team. Remember to invite any other adult on campus who can support the student (counselors and coaches are great advocates!). Talk about how the pandemic impacted the student both socially and emotionally as well as academically. Did the student thrive in the new learning environments? Or did the pandemic learning protocols create challenges to learning? What about friendship building? Does the student have a friend group on campus this year?

Focus on classroom teambuilding activities and get-to-know-you activities

This strategy is important for all students, but especially for military-connected students who PCS’s during the pandemic. These students need added supports to feel welcome and supported in their classroom. The best way to build this support system is to plan dedicated time for teambuilding activities. Once students feel supported, they will be ready to learn.

Purposefully assign group and partner assignments

Teachers can purposefully plan assignments early in the year that depend on low-threat group or partner assignments. As students are rebuilding friendships in the classroom it is important to do a mix between student choice groups and teacher directed groups.  Teachers can help build lasting friendships simply through grouping strategies.

Talk about opportunities to get involved in clubs or sports

Many schools shifted club and sports opportunities last year; many schools are still deciding how clubs and sports will look this year. Student advocates can discuss together which type of extracurricular activities would be a good fit for a student. Then different adults on the student-advocacy team should offer a personal invitation for the student to join. Maybe it is a new club; maybe it’s a longstanding club. The goal is to help ensure the student builds a connection on campus.

Invite students to volunteer for service opportunities

This idea is very close to the extra-curricular strategy, but some students are not ready to join a larger club or may not have interest. These students might find a better connection on campus with a mentor teacher who can open the doors to service opportunities. They can be simple yet meaningful tasks on campus that will help the student create a strong connection. Who on your campus raises and lowers the school flag? Who helps hang school posters? Who helps re-shelve library books? Perhaps these are ways to encourage students to become more involved on campus.

When the student-advocacy team collaborates about meeting the concerns of the student, they can add the conversation about academic needs. The student’s willingness to learn and take academic risks in the classroom will blossom.  The key is to continue to be flexible to meet the student’s needs. Academic supports may include on-campus tutoring, library tutoring, peer tutoring, or online tutoring. Tutor.com/military is still free for military-connected families, and they are available 24 hours a day.

The goal in taking this approach is to ensure that student advocates, parents, educators, counselors, and coaches focus on supporting the whole student. When we work together to recognize each student’s social and emotional needs, in addition to their academic needs, we support all students on campus.

Amanda Trimillos, EdD, is a military spouse, mother, and National Board-Certified teacher with extensive experience teaching military students in the United States and overseas. She is coauthor of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers and wrote the essay “School Choices and Changes” in  Stories Around the Table: Laugher, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life.

More about supporting students in pandemic circumstances and transitions:

• New School Welcoming: Student Sponsorship Programs
• Bringing School Home: Focus on the Possibilities
• Five Ways Military Kids Clubs Help Students and Schools

The post Don’t Chase Curriculum: Focus on Student Needs appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

There are many online resources available to military families, from blogs to official government sites. When it comes to school transition and military-connected students, an outstanding resource to turn to for up-to-date information is Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3).

MIC3 is a commission with representation from every US state and the District of Columbia, all of which have agreed to the Interstate Compact for the Educational Opportunity for Military Children (Compact). According to the Council of State Governments, “A compact enables the states—in their sovereign capacity—to act jointly and collectively, generally outside the confines of the federal legislative or regulatory process.”

MIC3 oversees the Compact, which helps provide a smoother transition for military-connected students in public schools as they transfer between school districts in different states.

How each state approaches education requirements and curriculum is different, and  navigating how and when the Compact is applied can be tricky. That’s why MIC3 recently launched several new online tools for military families and educators. MIC3’s website features resources ranging from videos and webinars to interactive maps and downloadable brochures. The commission wants to be the one-stop shop for parents and schools when it comes to understanding the Compact.

Cherise Imai, executive director of MIC3, is hopeful the organization’s online tools will help military families navigate the challenge of changing schools and other issues resulting from a military Permanent Change of Station (PCS). “We want to give parents the tools for what they need to know when changing schools,” she says. “We think these online videos and resources can give parents a good running baseline about the Compact.”

There are many assumptions surrounding the use of the Compact. Parents may believe the Compact covers more than it does. Cherise stresses the importance of knowing what the Compact covers. “We want to make it easy for parents to find the information they need before they need it. These videos are a great way to familiarize yourself with provisions,” she says.

MIC3 Video Resources

One online resource Cherise recommends is MIC3’s YouTube channel. She emphasizes the two short videos that sum up the Compact for parents and educators: MIC3 Summary and MIC3 Summary with Provisions. They are easy to understand and shareable.

School Liaison Directories

Another of MIC3’s recently added resources is a set of directories to help families find School Liaisons across the country. Liaisons are key to helping military families transition to new schools. They serve as the primary point of contact for school-related matters and help build partnerships between the military and schools. Every US military installation has at least one liaison assigned to help minimize issues relating to school transition for military-connected students. Parents can now find liaisons in their area with just a few clicks.

The map also offers a fully interactive list of MIC3 Commissioners in every state and how to contact them.

The Compact is a great guideline for parents but not every school is aware of what it covers and when it can be applied. Parents can print a copy of the Compact before moving day, and review and highlight the provisions that apply to their student. Hand-carry the printed version of the Compact with the student’s Education Binder through the PCS move. During school registration, if issues arise, the Compact can be easily referenced.

As for the MIC3 website, Cherise says there is more to come. “We are expanding our podcast and webinars this next year and hopefully a few more videos for parents and school access. We’ve grown so much since we started, I’m excited to see where our growth takes us.”

Stacy Huisman is an Air Force spouse, mother of two, and freelance writer. An advocate with a passion for military-connected children and their families, Stacy is coauthor of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers. She’s dedicated the last decade to understanding the challenges military kids face when changing schools. 

More about supporting students during transitions:

• • Early Planning Helps School Transition
  • Five Ways Military Kids Clubs Help Students and Schools
  • How to join the Seasons of My Military Student Cultivation Team

The post MIC3 Offers New Resources for Military Families and Schools appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

Military-connected students adjusting to a new school commonly experience feelings of isolation, confusion, and searching for support. Students switching schools during the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to experience these feelings even more intensely.

In an online round table discussion, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona hosted a Zoom call with a dozen military-connected students from across the globe to chat about how their lives have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. What was learned from students and their experiences can be applied not only to schools that are still in hybrid or virtual environments, but also as a basis for programming to help military-connected students feel more welcome when entering a new school anytime in the future.

During the round table discussion, which included students ranging from elementary school kids to seniors in high school, every child, without exception, talked about their struggle to finding their footing after a move and the need for a universal student sponsorship program.

Erik,* a high school freshman in Northern Virginia, moved during the summer of 2020 during the height of the pandemic. He describes his experience as confusing and isolating.

“Moving from a state that stayed in person for five days a week to a state that went 100 percent virtual for seven months—it was confusing. The entire community seemed locked down. I understood why, but it felt like no one could see me. For a new student, how are kids supposed to process and embrace a new school when they don’t even know I’m here?”

Other students echoed Erik’s experience and concerns. Students and parents attending the call said there was a need for connecting new students with their school, peers, and community—especially during school closures. PCSing during the pandemic exaggerated feelings of isolation for new students. There was a resounding consensus that a student sponsor program would help new students—military-connected or not—feel more supported in school.

Many schools already have a student sponsor or student ambassador programs in place. And military kids remembered fondly their past experiences with sponsor programs and how they connected them with peers when they most needed it.

“One way our school helps military students is by having a military student ambassador welcome the new student. This helps ease some of the socialization stress we face from going from one school to another in such a short period of time,” says Elizabeth, a twelfth-grade student at Knob Noster High School in Missouri.

Abby,* a seventh-grade student in Virginia, says her experience with student sponsor programs made her feel more accepted into the school community more quickly. Her last school in Florida had a family match program set up by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), which matched similar families—fourth grade with fourth grade, military families with military families, and so on. Existing families in the district “sponsored” new families.

“It was fun. We had ice cream socials with our new friends, and they were someone we could call if we had questions, too. It really made a difference how new kids felt about being new,” Abby says.

Ways to Create a Student Sponsor Program

A student sponsor program can work at any age and any grade and through a range of platforms and executions. While PTAs are great for organizing sponsor programs because they are often more flexible in planning events and providing funding, a school can easily adopt a sponsor program in the form of a student ambassador program through their Student Government Association (SGA) or through after-school clubs. As a tool for SGA or a club, a sponsorship program can offer leadership roles for middle and high school students and allow new students, once settled, to pay it forward to the next family.

However, the most overlooked place for a student sponsor program is likely in the classroom. Teachers have an opportunity to let students take the lead in helping a new classmate feel a little more settled. Small gestures like sitting together at lunch, showing new students around the school, and handing out a helpful guide of the area can bolster confidence in students that are new to the school. The class can develop a living document, like a community fact sheet, where students can jot helpful tips and tricks, favorite places to eat, or best places to have a birthday party. That information can be given to new students upon arrival as a welcome packet.

Support Students Upon Arrival, During the Year, and When They Leave

A good start to any student sponsor or ambassador program is to support the student as soon as they arrive at a new school. Then students need support throughout the school year too—and many military students leave before the end of the official school year. A student sponsor program should help those students when they exit a school as well. In the military, it’s called “Hails and Farewells.” And it’s an easy way to emotionally support students who live a highly mobile lifestyle like military kids.

Hails: A student sponsor program’s priority is to welcome all new students—military connected or civilian—to their school with a welcome. It could be as small as assigning one peer to help the new student find their way around the building or have a buddy to sit next to at lunch. Or it could be a larger, broader program that allows student sponsors to have socials, school spirit wear, and more. The goal is to make new students feel welcome, connected, and included on their first day so they can focus more on school and less on being new.

Farewells: It’s hard to leave a school mid-year or before school has officially ended. A student sponsor program focuses on ensuring all moving students feel like they were valued at the school and will not be forgotten by giving them a send-off gift from the school. From ensuring they get a yearbook at the end of year to coordinating letters of farewell from their teachers or gifting a simple school t-shirt, any supportive gesture will help a student who is feeling anxious or emotional about leaving their school.

Benefits for Students Who Stay in the School

A school student sponsor or ambassador program is an essential program for supporting highly mobile students like military kids. But it’s also a great way to teach empathy and build leadership for students who will stay in the district for a long time—perhaps the entirety of their school career. Students who volunteer as sponsors will better understand the challenges of their military-connected friends, which will broaden their perspectives in their own lives while also helping them welcome the next new student even better.

Benefits for Military-Connected Students (and Other Mobile Students!)

It’s vital for the emotional well-being of tweens and teens changing schools to land at a school that understands the challenges of being in a military-connected family. Sponsor programs need to be more than a plan on paper. Programs need resources and commitment from school organizations like the PTA or from the school and parents themselves. Student sponsor programs help all new students thrive in school faster so students can focus on academics rather than the social and emotional part of settling into a new community. For military families that’s important, because orders to move often come when they least expect it.

In whatever way a school plans and executes its student sponsorship program, the most important aspect is to truly commit to helping new students and providing resources they need at the time they really need them. When the Secretary of Education asked for final comments, Abby said it best: “My school said they wanted to start a school wide student sponsor program, but they didn’t do anything that related to helping new kids settle. My mom did all the work for them, and they didn’t really try. Nice teachers, but they didn’t get us military kids.”

*Erik and Abby are the children of the author.

Stacy Huisman is a mother of two, Air Force spouse, and freelance writer. An advocate with a passion for military-connected children and their families, Stacy is coauthor of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers. She’s dedicated the last decade to understanding the challenges military kids face when changing schools. 

More about supporting students during transitions:

• • Early Planning Helps School Transition
  • Five Ways Military Kids Clubs Help Students and Schools
  • How to join the Seasons of My Military Student Cultivation Team

The post New School Welcoming: Student Sponsorship Programs appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

Traditionally, the end of the academic year signals the beginning of summer camps and long hours at the pool for students. While the fun in the sun activities take place, parents express concern behind the scenes that academic skills begin to decline with each passing summer day. This decline in reading and math skills is often termed summer slide.

For military-connected students, this time of year often adds a different experience. Summer means packing the house and moving across country or an ocean to settle in at a new duty location. These students follow their active-duty parent to wherever the military determines is their next home and may miss opportunities for summer camps and extended hours at the pool.

Unfortunately, what they do not miss in a PCS summer is the summer slide conundrum. Military-connected students may not see a decline of academic skills because they were playing by the pool, but rather because they were in a car or plane relocating to a new home. For them, the summer slide becomes the PCS slide.

Thankfully there are several ways to beat both the traditional summer slide and military-connected student PCS slide!

Teacher Recommendation

Start planning ways to prevent a summer PCS slide by first talking to the student’s teachers. They know your student’s abilities and upcoming learning expectations, and they often have ready-made resources to support students. The partnership of the student advocacy team in creating a PCS slide prevention plan is pivotal to ensuring student growth.

1. Skill Recommendation: Ask if they have any recommendations on specific skills the student is either lacking or that will need strengthening prior to starting at a new school.
2. Teacher Resources: Ask if the teacher has any workbooks or skill packets she can build for the student prior to travel.
3. Online resources: Ask if there are school sponsored online resources the student can continue to access through the move that directly meet the student’s need. If the current school does not offer online resources for summer access, reach out to the new school and request early student access.

Read, Read, Read

The best way to beat a decline in reading skills is to ensure students have access to books and other reading material. Reach out to the new school to see if they have an already designed summer reading program, suggested reading list, or set of summer reading assignments.

1. E-reading: Help students download audio books as well as e-books. Since these books are downloaded on a device, they can go anywhere with the student without worry about returning to a physical library. A mix of audio and e-books allows students to alter between reading on their device and listening to a good book through headphones. Or enjoy a family audio book together to break up the trip. The Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) site offers a free digital library system. To access the resources, select from the featured items or use the search app. Certain libraries may require you to register and create your own account, but the resources are still free.
2. Magazines: Prior to the move, help the student stock up on reading material. Consider holding magazines back from moving boxes or purging exercises. Magazines are often small and light enough to travel in a student pack. The beauty of magazines is that as the student finishes reading, the magazines can be donated or recycled throughout the journey.
3. Incentive Reading: Use the base library at the PCS destination. Many base libraries participate in summer reading challenges through DoD-MWR Libraries Summer Reading Program. These reading challenges track how many minutes a day students read, and offer prizes for meeting weekly goals. It is possible to sign up with the program at the future base, keep track online of reading minutes, then collect prizes upon arrival at the new location. The reading theme for 2021 is Reading Colors Your World.
4. Car Games: Before heading out on the long PCS drive or flight, brainstorm travel reading games that help pass the time and support reading skills. Games like Car Bingo, I Spy, and the ever-favorite ABC sign games are all simple games that encourage reading as well as family conversations. To play Car Bingo, create or buy bingo cards with items you may see on your trip. Mark out those items as you drive. The first person with Bingo or a blackout wins that round. For Car ABC, search for road signs with the different letters of the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z. Each family member calls out the word that has the next letter in the alphabet, and the first person to Z wins!

Everyday Math:

Just like supporting reading skills during a summer PCS, the best way to beat a decline in math skills is to ensure students continue practicing their daily math.

1. Flashcards: Bring or create a set of flashcards that support the student at their math level. These can be plus and minus math facts for younger students or multiplication and division for older students. High school students can create math flash cards that relate to the formulas and measurement conversions that best align to their higher level math classes like algebra, geometry, and calculus.
2. Gas Math: Before traveling, have the student calculate the number of miles to the end location. For multiple-day travel, the student can figure out how many miles will be traveled each day and estimate how much gas will be used throughout the trip. This exercise will lend itself well to determining price per gallon and estimating how much money should be budgeted for gas during the trip. Follow up with each gas stop to update actual calculations. By the end of the trip compare budget predictions with actual gas usage and cost.
3. Food Math: Use a similar budgeting practice for food vs actual cost of meal and snack purchases to help students learn real-life math and budgeting. Encourage students to practice quick calculations of taking family member meal orders, adding the menu price plus tax, and calculating the meal cost before the cashier or waitress delivers the bill. How close to the final bill was the student able to estimate, round, or calculate? Add in the next quick-check challenge of determining returned change when paying for snacks with cash.
4. Car Games: Math games in the car are often just as easy as reading car games. For younger students, Car 1,2,3 games (the ABC sign game above but searching for numbers one through 10 or 100), Shape Searches, and What’s My Number guessing game (one person thinks of a number, the others try to guess the number in as few tries as possible; after each guess the person says whether the number is greater or less than the guess).

Social Studies and Science

These two academically core subjects are not typically discussed in supporting students during a summer or PCS slide. The skills needed for these classes are often but not always supported through strong reading and math skills. But military-connected students have unique opportunities to support these skills during a PCS and can bring an atmosphere of extra fun during the trip.

1. Map Planning: Give the student several different maps and help them map out their route. If traveling across several states, a map that includes the entire trip helps the student visualize the move. When looking at the map, the student can point out geographical points of interest to include national parks and important cities or landmarks.
2. Research It: Prior to pulling out, help the student find books at the library about the end destination and any stopping points along the way. Grab a book for each state, historical event, or famous (or not so famous) location. The student can make notes from the books and prepare to be the tour guide throughout different stages of the trip. If you borrow physical books, remember to return the library books before the actual move!
3. Map It Bingo: Print off a map of the United States. Have players watch for license plates from different states and color in the map accordingly. By the end of the trip talk about if there were any states missing or states they did not expect to see on their trip.
4. Data Collection: Choose a category and a designated amount of travel time to collect data. Perhaps track car colors, building types, or animal sightings. Keep track through tally marks and compare data results at the end of the collection time. This game easily transitions into a classification game.
5. Classification Games: Pick a category (perhaps a category already determined by the data collection above). Categorize objects into classifications such as living/nonliving; species/classifications; food-chain placement.

While many military-connected students and parents worry about the effects of a summer slide and the even stronger impacts of a PCS slide, the good news is these times of transition can be used to open new opportunities for real-world learning. With a little planning and some creativity, military-connected students can use their PCS transition to strengthen skills. Summer does not have to mean a regression of academic skills. Rather than a slide backward, summer can offer opportunities to experiment with and practice real-world math, reading, social studies, and science skills even if a student is on the move.

Amanda Trimillos, EdD, is a military spouse, mother, and National Board-Certified Teacher with extensive experience teaching military students in the United States and overseas. Amanda has experienced multiple PCS transitions as both a teacher and parent, always looking for ways to make a PCS academically meaningful for her students and her own children. She is coauthor of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers.

More about supporting students during transitions:

• Early Planning Helps School Transition
• Exit Plan Cultivates a Healthy Season of Leaving
• How to join the Seasons of My Military Student Cultivation Team

The post Tips to Avoid Summer PCS Slide appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.

Spring usually signals the Season of Leaving has officially begun. The Season of Leaving can happen any time of year when a move is on the horizon, but many families have military orders in hand as the school year closes and they are anxiously reviewing their to-do list. Aside from the long list of tasks associated with moving an entire household across country or overseas, there are details families should tackle earlier rather than later when withdrawing from a school.

Supporting a young student or teenager through school transition can be complicated and emotional. Between securing credit transfers and proper school documentation, parents will have many tangible tasks to run down before moving from their school community. But some of the critical items on the Season of Leaving checklist shouldn’t be left until the final days. Below are a few steps parents should tackle as early as possible when planning to exit a school.

Teacher to Teacher Letters

These letters are a written communication or letter from a current teacher to a future teacher. It’s a way for a teacher or coach to introduce a student’s ability and personality. Busy teachers need extra time to be able to write thoughtful communication. We recommend giving a busy educator at least six weeks to complete the letter.

For elementary age students, Teacher to Teacher Letters should include academic strengths and weaknesses, areas of growth, learning style, and insights into character. It’s a way to shorten the “get to know you” period between teachers and new students. For older students, having a favorite teacher or coach write a simple letter of recommendation on the student’s behalf will help with applying for new academic clubs or associations, possible summer jobs, or joining new competitive teams. It can be helpful for college applications, too.

To make it easier for the current teacher, parents or older students should give the teacher a few ideas or a sample letter. Giving teachers guidance for comments and a healthy lead time enables a timely return.

Build an Education Binder

An essential step in school transition is getting organized. Building a binder with important documentation for each school-age child in the home will ease the registration process at a new school. A binder can be as simple or complex as needed. Start by accumulating school documents before they are needed.

Items to gather when orders are imminent include shot records, past report cards, work samples, copies of textbook covers or current online curriculum programs. It’s also a smart idea to begin working on school physicals before moving so students can transition quickly into summer camps, sports, and more at their new location.

Organize important school documents separately from other moving documents. Hand-carry essential education documents in an easy to grab-and-go binder during the moving process until the student is registered in their new school.

Understand any change in curriculum between locations. Many states are heavy in virtual learning while others are offering traditional in-person learning. There may need to be a deeper discovery of the gaps and overlaps. Document what students are currently working with, how they managed, issues that have developed, if any, and add it to the binder. This will help when registering at a new school.

Plan the Goodbyes and Stay Connected

It’s a good idea to begin thinking about how the student will say goodbye to fellow classmates, teammates, teachers, and friends. Saying a proper goodbye allows everyone to have some closure. From goodbye drive-bys to quick air hugs, it’s important to provide emotional closure. It’s an intentional act and a way to connect and stay connected through the moving process for kids.

Over the past year, school transition has been tough on military-connected students in new communities. Between social distancing, mask wearing, school closures, and reduction of extracurriculars offered, it’s been a rough road for many families. It’s critical that parents help students connect and stay connected during the Season of Leaving. Make a plan to stay in touch with the student’s friends and teachers through the moving process so children can continue to grow socially and emotionally.

After a move, it could be months before a child will be able to make friends that they are comfortable enough to text, FaceTime, or play with. By considering the child’s current strong, healthy friendships, parents can encourage their child to keep in touch with those friends throughout the transition process.

The Season of Leaving is one of four Seasons of Transition^TM, and for parents, it can be the most daunting one. Start early to help with a smooth transition: Prep teachers with letters of communications from previous teachers, gather and organize important school documentation, and mentally check in to plan for the emotional side of saying goodbye.

Stacy Huisman is a mother of two, Air Force spouse, and freelance writer. An advocate with a passion for military-connected children and their families, Stacy is coauthor of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers. She’s dedicated the last decade to understanding the challenges military kids face when changing schools. 

More about supporting students during the Season of Leaving:

• Good Goodbyes Build Resilience and Strong Relationships
• Exit Plan Cultivates a Healthy Season of Leaving
• How to join the Seasons of My Military Student Cultivation Team

The post Early Planning Helps School Transition appeared first on Seasons of My Military Student.