21st Century Strands & Strategies
Chapter: Strands & Strategies: Deep Dive
78
Military
Connected
Child Strand
The Child
The Family
The Community
A positive school
environment, built upon
caring relationships
among all participants—
students, teachers, staff,
administrators, parents
and community
members—has been
shown to impact not
only academic
performance but also
positively influence
emotions and behaviors
of students (Blum, 2005).
Military Connected Child Strand
The Military Children are those whose parents serve the
nation. In turn, the military connected children face
many challenges and special circumstances that are
different from those experienced by civilian children and
their families. These challenges and circumstances
include gaps in school attendance and learning due to
frequent moves, families being separated due to
parental deployment, and a sense of isolation when they
transfer to schools in the midst of a civilian community.
Big Ideas
It is important that military children, no matter where they
live or what military branch their family serves receive a
quality education and academic continuity from PK-12th
grades. Supporting military connected children
takes a broad, unified approach where the
teachers, leadership, parents, and community
work collaboratively to positively impact the
child’s growth and development. Therefore
educators must be familiar with and responsive
to the strengths, needs, and individuality the
military child and their families in order to:
•
Raise awareness about the unique
challenges facing our military children.
•
Ensure inclusive, quality educational experiences for all military connected
children affected by mobility, family separation, and transition.
•
Provide responsive and relevant support systems, resources, and products that
lead to academic continuity.
