By Yen Chau. Support for Military Students. Types of Education-Military Partnerships

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1 By Yen Chau In today s global society, all students need an education that will help them lead purposeful, productive lives. This is a big job that, especially when working with those young people who need the most help, goes beyond what schools can provide. Indeed, teachers, principals, school administrators, and other school personnel can no longer take sole responsibility for educating and preparing young people for life after high school. Engagement by family members and the community are vital to strengthening the social network, resources, and capital available to children and youth. Strategic partnerships between schools and the community have multiple benefits, including: o Increasing the capacity of our districts and schools; o Providing greater exposure to best practice strategies that may be used in schools; o Helping to support and engage students who may otherwise drop out; o Helping students attain 21st century skills and a more positive future; and o Ensuring that the communities have a productive, civically active, well-educated workforce. The additional resources knowledge, human, social, and financial made available through community involvement can make a significant impact on students, families, schools, and community. Types of Education-Military Partnerships The military has had decades of experience in developing successful partnerships with schools and communities to help students, from both military and civilian families, be prepared for any postsecondary pathway and become better citizens. The partnerships are created at the state and national levels, as well as locally. There are three main areas in which the military has developed partnerships with education: o Support for military students; o Youth programs; and o Educator placement in schools. This article addresses the first two of these. Support for Military Students The Department of Defense (DoD), through numerous partnerships, is dedicated to ensuring every military child s right to a quality education regardless of location or how often the family moves. There are currently about 1.8 million children living in military families, a number that is expected to grow. One estimate is for an increase of 340,000 military personnel and their families at the 20 largest bases. Military families face challenges that civilian families do not necessarily experience. For example, it is estimated that military families move three times more often than non-military families, which leads to children attending six to nine different school systems during their K-12 education. Other challenges include extended family separations, financial difficulties, and children s concern over the welfare of their parents. One initiative to help military children is the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The Compact, developed by the Council of State Government s National Center for Interstate Compacts, the Department of Defense, and military family experts helps achieve uniformity in transfer-related procedures across states and districts. States that sign on to the compact agree to work collectively with other compact states to create uniform standards in the following areas: o Transfer of records; o Course placement; 34 The State Education Standard March 2010

2 o Graduation requirements; o Redundant or missed testing; o Entrance-age variations; and o Other transition issues. Each state must develop a state council that is responsible for coordinating among the different government agencies, as well as local education agencies and military installations. The typical makeup of a state council would include the state superintendent of education, the superintendent of a school district with high concentration of military students, a representative from a military installation, representatives from the legislative and executive branches, and other stakeholders. Twenty-eight states have signed on to the compact. Impact of Strategic School-Community Partnerships Student School Higher literacy and mathematics New resources and programs to grades and test scores improve teaching and curriculum Better attendance Improved school leadership and staffing Improved social skills, resulting in Higher quality learning programs for improved behavior at school and at home students Increased graduation rates Greater involvement in civic and community activities Increased college-going aspirations Upgrade school facilities New funding for after-school programs and family supports In addition to the Compact, the Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Education (DOE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that established a framework for collaboration between the two agencies to address the needs of military students. This opened the opportunity for the agencies to coordinate programs and share resources and data. The MOU outlined five areas in which DoD and DOE will collaborate quality education, student transition and deployment, data, communication and outreach, and resources. Family Greater ownership of the school Greater involvement in school and community activities Community Greater civic engagement Increased knowledge of and investment in education issues Since signing the MOU, the agencies have created a joint Working Group, which consists of representatives from each branch of the armed services and all of the offices in the Department of Education. The Working Group has surveyed the resources available from the two departments and identified gaps and duplicative efforts, consolidated resources available to stakeholders, enhanced awareness of what is available, and collaborated on the development of new resources. There were also sessions specific to addressing the needs of military students, such as exploring military culture and the online resources available. March 2010 National Association of State Boards of Education 35

3 Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children States, as of March 11, 2010 Source: In addition to these state and national initiatives, districts have partnered with the military to create programs to support military students. Since 2004, the Military Child Education Coalition has been recognizing Student 2 Student and Junior Student 2 Student Student 2 Student is a high school and middle school peer mentor program that offers positive peer relationships and valuable school information so that military students can make a smooth and quick transition into their new school climate. The program focuses on: o Academics: assessments, progress reporting, programs and opportunities, enrichment support o Relationships: faculty/staff, groups, organizations, peers, local, on/off campus o Finding the way: the community, the campus, the culture, rules/policies, school districts that have exemplary partnerships with military installations with the annual Pete Taylor Partnership for Excellence Award. One of the 2009 award winners was the strong partnership between Travis Air Force Base (CA) and the Travis Unified School District. The partnership is called the 360-Degree Communication Wheel because the military installation and district are in constant motion. The district serves more than 1,720 military students. With such a large military population, the district developed tools and protocol to help school personnel understand the military culture, while at the same time helping military parents understand school protocol. The district also has programs that focus on providing students with a seamless transition into their new school and ensuring that students are quickly integrated into the new environment. These programs include Parent-to-Parent, Student 2 Student Mentoring Program, and Military Student Transition Team. In 2008, the Pete Taylor Partnership for Excellence award was presented to Fort Bragg (NC) and the Cumberland County school system. The district hired a military child support liaison to ensure that military students 36 The State Education Standard March 2010

4 and their families needs were addressed. In addition, the partnership resulted in several initiatives, including: o A Military Child Task Force that identifies the needs of military children. o The Public School Systems with Military Support Position Alliance, which provides a venue for schools to share ideas about programs, interventions, and services for military students and communities. o A military focus in public relations that raises public awareness of the lives of military students and families through various media outlets. o The Crisis Response program, which offers support services when a military family suffers a trauma or loss. o Embedded professional development to school personnel on how to work with and relate to military families. o Military family resource binder that covers a variety of military-related topics, such as military lifestyle, transition issues, deployment issues, working with military families, and a local action plan. o Other activities and programs that impact military students, such as a letter writing campaign to troops, Adopt-A-Soldier, welcome packets, and community readiness fairs. Youth Programs Education-military partnerships extend beyond directly supporting military students and providing specific services. Strategic collaborations can entail sharing ideas and best practice strategies. The military has an interest in ensuring that all students who graduate are qualified to serve in the military especially given the new data, as reported elsewhere in this magazine, indicating that only three out of every 10 youths between the ages of 17 and 24 are eligible to join the military. Educators and military personnel have worked together for decades to develop programs using some of the best strategies for training soldiers to become leaders and applying them to an education setting. Although specific activities of each program vary, educators have adopted strategies that focus on: o Academic preparation, o Leadership, o Life skills, o Serving the community, o Character education, and o Health and well-being. These are all areas in which the armed forces have a great deal of training expertise. For example, the Brooks Technology & Arts Magnet Middle School leadership program was developed by the Marine Corps. Students participate in drills as well as compete in the National Leadership Academic Tournament. They are also active in community service and have dedicated more than 4,300 hours to such organizations such as Toys for Tots, American Cancer Society, and Bread of Life. Eighty percent of those students who participated in the program in 2004 graduated, compared to 64 percent of their comparable peers who did not participate. The Chicago Military Academy, the first such academy in the city, serves high school students. They are provided with a rigorous curriculum focusing on research and engineering and skills to prepare them for any postsecondary pathway. For example, students are required to take consumer education and health. Forty hours of community service are also required for graduation. Students are held accountable for their behavior, as well as academics, through a merit point system. Students who do not comply with the policies at the school could be transferred to another school. None of the programs are aimed at recruiting students into the armed forces. Very few students who actually 20% 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% March 2010 National Association of State Boards of Education 37

5 Examples of Education-Military Partnerships Youth Programs High School Programs JROTC: Army: Air Force: Marine Corps: Navy: Youth ChalleNGe: Thunderbird Youth Academy & Regimented Training Program: Secondary School Programs Civil Air Patrol: U.S. Army Cadet Corps: goarmycadets.com/index.php Young Marines: Naval Sea Cadet: Middle School Cadet Programs Chicago Middle School Cadet Programs: Brooks Technology & Arts Magnet Middle School: High School Military Academies Chicago Military Academy: Philadelphia Military Academy: Sarasota Military Academy: Elementary School Program DoD STARBASE Program: ArmyEdSpace participate in some sort of education-military program end up enlisting. A survey conducted in 2009 of 4,500 new recruits found that only 16 percent participated in JROTC. Most of the instructors are either retired veterans or reserves. Only two of the programs target students who have already dropped out of school: Youth ChalleNGe and Thunderbird Regimented Training Program. (For a discussion on these programs please see the article on page 9.) The others are open to at-risk students (e.g., the DoD STARBASE program) or to all students, although specific schools and districts may impose selection criteria. There are a variety of programs representing all branches that are available at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The DoD STARBASE Program raises the interest of at-risk 5th graders in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The U.S. Army Cadet Corps gives 12- to 18-year-olds a realistic Army experience. Similarly, the Naval Sea Cadets are introduced to maritime topics and are taught nautical skills, such as knot tying, water safety and swimming, and first aid. As stated earlier, while the specific activities vary by program and branch, the core principals are the same: academics, leadership, civic engagement, and health. It is difficult for teachers, principals, and other school personnel to address all student needs on their own. So as educators look for new ideas and partnerships to help their students succeed and be prepared for any postsecondary pathway, it is important to think and look outside the box and examine the strategies that have been successful and used by other organizations. While the military is an enormous system, which in itself can present challenges to outsiders, educators and the military have already shown they can work together and there is much more to come as they share ideas and strategies to develop young people who will become globally competitive, productive, civically active, and take their place in a well-educated workforce. Yen Chau is the Project Director of NASBE s High School Redesign Initiative. Resources Partners in Prevention: The Role of School-Community Partnerships in Dropout Prevention (NASBE): Council of State Governments: Military Child Education Initiative: Military Impacted Schools Association: Military K-12 Partners: A DoDEA Partnership program: National Military Family Association: 38 The State Education Standard March 2010