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No matches found.Teaching military families to make a smooth move
Military kids are resilient, said Camp Lejeune School Liaison Officer Julie Fulton. With the mobile life of the military, they learn to be.
Department of Defense Education Activity officials are helping parents get ready for one of their biggest challenges — a permanent change of station (PCS).
Fulton and area education experts held the Positive Change of Schools PCS workshop Monday night. The workshops are held before major move times — spring, end of summer and December — for families changing duty stations.
The idea is to “to teach (families) how to make the smoothest school move possible,” Fulton said.
“Military kids get a raw deal. They never signed up to be in the military,” she said.
Among the 15 parents in attendance was Jessica Drake, who has a third-grade student, a kindergarten student, a 3-year-old who will attend kindergarten in the fall, and a 13-month-old.
When Drake and her family PCS to Hawaii this summer, she has one primary goal: to pick a school for her children.
"They closed all the DoD schools in Hawaii, that would have been easy,” Drake said, explaining that her children have attended DoD schools in Virginia and aboard Camp Lejeune.
Now, she is looking into what school, whether public or private, her children will attend this fall.
“I’ve got to pick out the best place for my kids,” Drake said.
She’s narrowed her list to 10 and plans to “walk the schools,” as well as interview school personnel, she said.
Each Marine Corps base, as well as Marine Corps Headquarters, has a school liaison to help parents during their child’s school years, Fulton said.
The program helps advocate for military children, informs the command about school issues and partners with districts to improve education.
“A good education for a military child is a good education for every child,” Fulton said.
High school students and students with individual education plans are the students most affected by a move, she said.
“It can be very challenging to get (high school students) their credits when moving state to state,” Fulton said.
However, through the Interstate Compact, military children have a chance to keep up with their new classmates. Currently 15 states — Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Mississippi, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Connecticut, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida — are members of the compact. Seven more are working on membership.
Onslow County already met most of the compact requirements, Fulton said.
According to information provided to parents, the compact allows military children to be enrolled in school using unofficial papers as long as they:
- get their immunizations within 30 days
- are placed in the same grade they were in previously, regardless of age
- attend their current school while living with a non-custodial parent, regardless of district
- participate in extracurricular activities, regardless of enrollment dates
- and the schools forward records within 10 days.
When students nearing graduation are enrolled in a new high school due to a PCS, the receiving school will accept similar courses or provide alternatives in order for the student to graduate on time. If the senior cannot meet the new state’s graduation requirements, the school the student left will accept coursework from the new school and provide a diploma, according to the information.
Students with individual education plans may not always receive the exact same plan, Fulton said, such as tutoring. However, their new school must provide similar services initially.
Parents should work with the schools, Fulton said.
“Your relationship with your child is the biggest constant — new school, new town, new friends, same mom and dad,” Fulton said.
Parents should talk positively, encourage routines, visit the new school before they go to class, and encourage the students to get involved in activities.
“Have faith in your child. They can handle it,” Fulton said.
Contact Jacksonville/Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at 910-219-8461 or ahickey@freedomenc.com.
| As glad as I am for this change, like many improvements in military life it's coming too late and/or it's too little in our particular case. We're moving from overseas to Montana this month. The MT state legislature just adjourned its biennial 90-day session, so MT won't even consider this simple plan for at least two more years. Over the years I've given up a career and my kids have lost much in order that my wife could serve. We are all very patriotic, but in reality the lack of professional options for me has been just as serious a problem as the incredible problems we've had with the DoDEA schools. Congress needs to take a long, hard look at military spouse professional development the next time they are toying with pay qnd benefits. A certain degree of federal hiring exclusivity or preference for military spouses stationed overseas would be a good first step. Instead the local national hire program locks up all the entry level positions and spouses are encouraged to volunteer while their servicemembers careers progress. Thus, when divorces occur, spouses are inexperienced and highly dependent rather than professionally seasoned and ready to become indepenedent. |
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| Rick - May 02, 2009 06:29:48 PM | Remove Comment |
