April the Month of the Military Childby Shelley Joan Weiss, Wisconsin Commissioner for the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children State Superintendent Tony Evers has proclaimed April as the Month of the Military Child (proclamation attached.) In April Wisconsin recognizes the important role military children play in their families, schools, local and military communities. Military-connected children face unique challenges as their parents may be put in dangerous and potentially life-threatening situations because of their military positions. Military children face frequent and lengthy separations from their parents due to deployments. Some military children move up to six times during their K-12 educational experience. Frequent moves, within and between states, require children to be flexible and adaptable. Research demonstrates that military children are resilient and strong contributors to their schools despite family separations and frequent moves. According to 2017 data from the Defense Manpower Data Center, there are 1,608,858 school-aged military children. Every Wisconsin district includes children whose parents/guardians serve in the active, Guard, or Reserve components of the military. Some folks do not realize that Wisconsin has two large military bases at Fort McCoy and Volk Field. Wisconsin also has a large Coast Guard presence with the responsibility for the two largest Great Lakes in the US. In the fall of 2018, the Department of Public Instruction will begin collecting data to identify children of military families. This will allow schools, the DPI, and the Wisconsin Commissioner for the Interstate Compact to provide stronger support to military-connected children. Shelley Joan Weiss, former AWSA Board Member, is the Commissioner for the Interstate Compact for the Equal Educational Opportunities for Military Children. She chairs the Wisconsin State Council for the Interstate Compact and together they serve to support the needs of military children. Shelley is a member of the Executive Committee for the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3). She serves as the Chair of the Outreach and Communications Committee. Shelley asks that school districts share information and photos about your local celebrations with her at [email protected]. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction hosts a website for the Educational Opportunities for Military Children. There are several resources on this site and the national MIC3 site. Please also follow the Wisconsin Interstate Compact for the Education of Military Children Facebook Page. Links to additional resources are included below.
Resources: https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/pupil-services/school-counseling/connections/military-children - DPI-Educational Opportunities for Military Children https://www.mic3.net - Military Interstate Children’s Compact Coalition https://www.mic3.net/assets/purple-up-poster-2018.pdf - Purple Up Poster https://www.mic3.net/publications.html - Publications http://www.militarychild.org - Military Child Education Coalition http://www.militaryfamily.org - National Military Family Association https://www.dodea.edu - Department of Defense Education Activity https://youtu.be/BK_-52BzvBc - Musical Performance, “You Are The Star” created by Rhonda Gessow in recognition of her granddaughter Harper. Provided by Deanne Gessow. The Musician is an anonymous Studio Musician.
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