Power of Education Binder Goes Beyond Graduation
An Education Binder holding key information about a military-connected student is a powerful tool for continuity—and the power of the binder goes beyond high school graduation. A complete Education Binder documents progress and can help students communicate their abilities and accomplishments to future employers, prospective colleges, and scholarship committees. Documenting…
Remote Learning: Scaling Virtual Walls
Virtual learning can create some very real obstacles, especially for military-connected students in the Season of Arriving. Navigating a new school and new home while trying to make friends in virtual classes may feel like facing a brick wall. Amanda Trimillos and Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman, coauthors of Seasons of My Military…
Game Plan: Adapting Strategies for Every Season
Even in a shifting pandemic environment, the Seasons of TransitionTM cycle continues for military-connected students. When a new situation means a new game plan, the strategies in Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers are still effective for healthy transitions. Here are some ways to adapt key…
Back to School: Supporting Teachers Strengthens the Team
By Terri Barnes Building a strong student-advocacy team is essential for military-connected students. As the school year begins in a pandemic environment, now more than ever, the team-building strategy should include supporting teachers, as well as students. Military-connected students at new schools won’t be the only ones navigating a new…
Superintendent Emphasizes Support for Teachers, Students, Parents
By Terri Barnes Jesse Najera is the superintendent of Silver Valley Unified School District in California. He is also a member of the California State Council of the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission. Military-connected students make up seventy-five percent of Silver Valley’s 2,200 students. The district’s seven schools, Pre-K to…
Moving During a Pandemic: How Schools Can Help
Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman for Military Times — When military families first come to a new school, whether in-person or on Zoom or via email, we are carrying an invisible backpack on our shoulders weighted heavily with the emotional stress of the last several months of moving. It will be all that…
Mom’s View: Challenges of Pandemic Transitions
Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman for The 74 Million — For military families, moving during a pandemic is like navigating the K-12 landscape through a kaleidoscope. When a military-connected child arrives at a new school this fall, teachers and administrators should understand that it has been a hard journey to get there — much…
Start Early for a Strong Student-Advocacy Team
The Season of Arriving is a crucial time for military-connected students. As school transitions are happening alongside pandemic conditions, students and parents are facing the possibility of an academic year that is either partially or completely online–at a new and unfamiliar school. No matter what kind of classes are planned…
The Other Side of Goodbye: When Friends Move Away
By Terri Barnes In military communities, students who are not moving feel the effects of the Season of Leaving when friends move away. Whether they are leaving or not, students may have to say goodbye to good friends and even best friends. Children whose friends move away experience the same…
Stormy Season of Leaving: PCSing during the Pandemic
By Terri Barnes Military families moving in the midst of pandemic conditions are experiencing a stormy Season of Leaving. For these families, a solid exit plan and good communication are more important than ever, say Amanda Trimillos, EdD, and Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman, authors of Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas…
