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April is the Month of the Military Child!
- Apr 1, 2016
- 4 min read
This month, we can all pause and remember the littlest patriots who give so selflessly of themselves, and of their families, for our great nation.
This is also a great time to think about how our MilKids are doing in school, and how we can improve their journeys.
Mismatches in Requirements
Military children may live in just one state, and attend one school. However, they are more likely to attend several different schools in several different state, or even in different countries, while their parents serve our country.
This can cause serious issues for our kids as they move towards high school graduation. Let’s take a peek at a very common scenario.
If you notice, the courses required for graduation are the same in both schools, but are not in the same order. Depending on how the two schools operate and schedule courses, this could result in military children taking the same course twice, or needing to take US History at the same time as World History, or not being able to meet graduation requirements at all!
This is an all too common scenario logistically, but educationally it is also quite serious. Even in the younger grades, courses are too often offered at different ages in different states. If a child moves before something is covered in her old school, but after something is covered in the new school, she might not ever learn about that topic until the next school year!
A lot of these gaps and overlaps are addressed with Common Core State Standards (CCSS), but not all states adhere to these guidelines and some states used modified versions of the CCSS.
Sports and Activity Issues
High school sports are governed by sets of rules determined by states, and often conferences within states or regions. There are a variety of eligibility rules that rival even the NCAA in terms of who can and cannot play sports, as well as why a student may be barred from sports. Military kids who are forced to transition mid-year might end up missing out on all or a portion of an athletic season. For our many children who are gifted athletes, this can affect eligibility for an athletic scholarship to college, or the ability of college scouts to watch them.
For other after school activities at all levels, mid-year moves might mean missing sign-up deadlines. Or having to withdraw from a club or special class early.
In either case, these kids have committed, or would like to commit, to an activity with all their hearts. The inflexibility of deadlines and sports eligibility rules impacts their ability to follow their passions and talents.
Deployments, Friendships, and Mental Health
Our MilKids deal with a lot! Between the high tempo and duration of deployments for the last fifteen years, frequent moves away from friends and family, and the stress of not knowing when, or if, your family will be affected by military related tragedy, these children shoulder so much.
Many schools are ill-equipped to understand and respond to these complications and concerns. While they do have psychologists and counselors on staff, not everyone has the experience of working with military connected children.
Especially for students connected to the National Guard or Reserve units, their families are not active duty all the time. Some of our full time active duty connected kids may live far from their assigned base or could live with a guardian when mom or dad is deployed. These students might be the only military child, or part of a very small group of military children. These kids can easily fall through the cracks or fly under the radar.
Beyond the more serious mental health issues military children might experience, they must make new friends and connect with new social groups after every move. This is daunting for anyone!
When a parent deploys, military children are faced with a whole new set of stressors beyond making friends and doing well in school.
Suddenly, they are dealing with a long term separation from a parent, as well as the (unlikely, but) possible injury or death of that parent. Reintegration after deployment is also challenging! Many parents come home physically whole, but struggle with their own mental health issues.
The bottom line: MilKids deal with so much outside of school simply as a result of being a military child. Not all schools are able to provide the level of counseling or mental health help that these children need.
How to Help
One important way that you can help military connected children right now is to support the adoption of military child identifiers at all schools nationwide. Simply identifying a child as being connected to the military allows schools to adjust services and problem solve to help overcome obstacles.
Another way to help is to advocate for the complete adoption of the Military Child Interstate Compact, which aims to help MilKids through a smoother academic transition process. By educating yourself and your school on this important agreement, you can help to guide your military child, or your military students, through their K-12 education.
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