When Schools are Welcoming, the Whole Family Benefits

Kathy Roth-Douquet — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 09:27:27 -0400

Schools are one of the most positive places for children to develop their social, academic, and emotional skills. Military children who must regularly move with their families may not have the same opportunities to build these skills, or they must restart the process repeatedly. Blue Star Families is excited to share that Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) and Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA) are official partners for this year’s Blue Star Welcome Week. As Blue Star Families started planning for Blue Star Welcome Week, they worked closely with MCEC to help guide and create welcoming resources for schools and with CCAoA to create welcoming resources for child care centers.

According to the 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey (MFLS), the majority of active-duty family respondents (80%) have a child enrolled in K-12 education. A quarter of those respondents have a child enrolled in special education (28%). While any child may struggle when moving to a new school, children with special education needs often have additional challenges. It can be a challenge for a military family to ensure those special education needs are met at the new school. Moving from home to home comes with enough stressors; integrating children into their new school environment should not be one of those.

For any child, especially military children, to thrive in school - they must feel welcomed and that they belong. The same feelings of inclusion and support are important at child care centers as well! That sense of belonging during a child's formative years is crucial to their overall growth. The social bonds that come with a sense of belonging are a stress-relieving influence. A significant focus of the 2021 Blue Star Welcome Week is to prepare schools and teachers, child care centers and care providers, with resources to help active-duty children have a smooth transition into a new school or care center. When a school, teacher, or care provider understands the military family lifestyle, they are able to more easily identify when there may be an issue, or find unique ways to help a student feel more connected in the classroom.

We are thrilled to work with MCEC and CCAoA for this year's Blue Star Welcome Week, and we look forward to forming vital partnerships like these all year long. Together, we will help welcome military families into their new homes and strengthen our communities. To learn more about Blue Star Welcome Week, visit bluestarwelcomeweek.org

Response by PO3 Phyllis Maynard made Sep 13 at 2021 10:41 AM

PO3 Phyllis Maynard — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 10:41:23 -0400

Kathy Roth-Douquet schools are certainly the foundation of the development of our human resources.

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Sep 13 at 2021 6:09 PM

SPC Margaret Higgins — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 18:09:10 -0400

Kathy Roth-Douquet Ms. Douquet, I believe that our children are the future of our world.
May GOD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF both eternally and infinitely Bless our children with: Peace; Hope; Love; and, Joy.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 28 at 2021 11:55 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 11:55:41 -0400

Excellent piece!

Response by PFC David Foster made Sep 28 at 2021 12:11 PM

PFC David Foster — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 12:11:15 -0400

That's just lovely.... Thank you!