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Proactive Communication for Students in Every Season
By Amanda Trimillos In meet-the-teacher sessions at new schools with my children, time and time again I heard teachers use the term “proactive communication.” Teachers offer parents several ways to communicate – email addresses, phone numbers, and notation areas in student agendas. They emphasize the importance of proactive communication with…
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Five Ways Military Kids Clubs Help Students and Schools
A military kids club is a school organization especially for military-connected students. A military kids club helps military kids plug in quickly at a new school and community during the Season of Arriving, providing a venue for meeting other students with similar military-life experiences. “Although they come from different branches…
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Kindergarten: Ready or Not?
Stacy Allsbook-Huisman for Military Spouse magazine — Kindergarten is a magical year, when eager little ones head to school for the first time. Ready to learn, ready to be independent, ready to grow. But not all children are ready to take the leap of freedom or pace of learning. Not all…
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New high school: Preparation is key
Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman for Military Spouse magazine — For military-connected students, the transition from middle school to high school can be compounded by a PCS move. Moving to a new community, loss of social support networks and unfamiliar academic expectations will be a heavy burden for budding teens. Planning for the…
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Buddy Programs Connect Students in the Season of Arriving
When students enter a new school, they have many questions. One of the most pressing is often: Who will sit with me at lunch? Making friends and feeling welcome is an important part of a student’s healthy integration into a new community and home. Buddy and sponsor programs are often…
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Purple Up for Military-Connected Students
by Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman In military life, the color purple represents all branches of service. In April, Month of the Military Child, the Purple Up campaign shines a spotlight on the unique lifestyle of military-connected students. Wearing or displaying purple during Month of the Military Child is a way to show…
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Bringing a Student’s Military Life into Classroom Learning
By Amanda Trimillos As teachers welcome military students into a classroom, they may also welcome the students’ military life into classroom learning with planned and purposeful lessons. A mobile lifestyle gives military-connected students unique knowledge of the world. They may have lived in and visited many locations, experiencing a variety…
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Teachers: Supporting Students Before, During, and After Deployment
By Amanda Trimillos When is the right time to inform teachers about a deployment? Before, during, after? The answer is all of the above. Teachers want to know about events in a student’s life that impact classroom behavior or learning. For military-connected students, this includes a parent’s deployment–before, during, and…
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Don’t Get Burned by the Summer Slide
Lizann Lightfoot for Military Families magazine – Every summer, students lose some of the skills and information gained over the school year. In some cases, this can mean up to two months of lost learning. Teachers refer to this regression as the summer slide. This can be particularly problematic for…
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Parent, Educator Join Forces for Military Kids
Rebecca Alwine for Military Families magazine – Every good military spouse friendship has a story. The story of Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman and Amanda Trimillos began with their passion for helping other military families. They consulted on education stories, interviewed each other for various projects, and both contributed to Stories Around the Table:…
