Conference Time: Choose Student Timeline Over Tradition
By Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman When it comes to getting a student established in a new school, the student’s timeline is more important than tradition. When military students move and enter a new school, parents should ask for a parent-teacher conference within two weeks of the student’s first day. This first face-to-face…
Academic Gaps and Overlaps
By Amanda Trimillos In conversations between teachers of military-connected students, two issues come up repeatedly: gaps and overlaps. At one table in the teachers’ lounge, it might go like this: “I have a new student who has already completed the unit we’re working on now. What do I do?” Across…
Education Binder: A Portable Teachers’ Lounge
By Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman Think of the Education Binder as a portable teachers’ lounge. One way teachers gain insights about incoming students is through informal conversations with other teachers. With frequent school changes, a military-connected student won’t always have the benefit of this kind of communication. Their past teachers are not…
New School: 5 Tips to Prepare Your Student
By Amanda Trimillos When a military family gets PCS orders, it’s time for military-connected students to say goodbye to one school and prepare to enter a new one. When farewell parties have come and gone, tears have been shed, and the car is packed, preparations for entering a new school…
Switching Schools May Cause Poor Placement
Sarah Harris for NPR affiliate WUNC – More than 1 million school-age kids have parents on active duty in the US military, and the vast majority of those military kids go to public schools. Tamara Boyett is a senior at Indian River Central School in northern New York. Her dad…
About the Seasons of Transition ™
Because of frequent moves, students in military families change schools six to nine times from pre-K to high school graduation, according to the Department of Defense Education Activity. Each move and school change initiates a cycle of the Seasons of TransitionTM. These seasons don’t always follow the school calendar, but…
Books
Books about military life can enhance classroom discussions and build empathetic relationships among students. These books are not only for military students to read. Classmates from civilian families can read to learn more about the lives of military kids. Stories and activities can also provide a springboard for discussions at…
Creating an Education Binder
Continuity is one of the challenges for a military-connected student, whose education is punctuated by moves, sometimes requiring as many as nine school changes from pre-K to high school graduation. Creating an Education Binder, a personal academic record for a student, is one way parents and teachers can safeguard the flow…
Parent-Teacher Team Begins With Communication
Partnership and solid communication are the best shelter parents and educators can offer a military-connected student in any season or storm. A strong student-advocacy team begins with parents and classroom teachers, with close support from counselors and school administrators. The partnership also brings the student alongside, ultimately giving the maturing student…
Research
Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers is based on research, studies that explore the educational experiences and outcomes of students in military families. These citations represent some of the background for the guidance in Seasons of My Military Student, as well as related research and academic…
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