School
Support Services
Connecting Families, Schools & Communities
World Class Support:
Linking Military-Connected Students with Schools
Prince William County Schools
received a DoDEA grant in 2013 to
help military-connected students
feel engaged in the community and
assist them to have a smooth
transition into the school division.
“Schools play a critical role in disarming the negative effects of mobility on students.”
“Therefore, school staff should be doing more to support these high-risk students”(Gruman et al., 2008).
Goals of our 2013
Grant
Ease transition of military-connected students &
families in target schools as measured by the percentage
of transitioning military-connected families who
participate in transition action plan activities.
Increase the percentage of military-connected students
who demonstrate mastery of transition-enhancing social
& emotional skills included in the transition counseling
program.
“The way in which school members interact with military students can either buffer or exacerbate
the stress that students experience” (Bradshaw et al., 2010).
Our Target Schools
323
115
Henderson
Elementary
Ashland
Elementary
95
Pattie
Elementary
Number of Military-Connected Students
in each school in 2013.
Accomplishments
Registration Support to ensure parents obtained everything required
For their child to become a part of our school division.
Friendship Groups to allow students the opportunity to bond with other
military-connected students & to learn how to identify their emotions while working
through them.
Equipment & School Supplies such as Ipads, Macbooks &
Reading materials geared towards the topic of the military child.
Activities & Events throughout the school year to acknowledge
& celebrate military families, their sacrifices & their contributions
to our country.
Elementary Military-Connected Students Experience
Accomplishments
Continued…
 Enhanced our student management
system (SMS) so military connected
parents’ information would be put into
our electronic registration system
 Registrars received training on how to
use this additional feature of the SMS.
 Updated our emergency and
registration cards to allow parents to
identify as military-connected.
Accomplishments
Continued…
 Development of a video that features
military-dependent students sharing
their story in their own words, and used
as a professional development tool for
teachers and counselors.
 Contracted with ODU to allow a small
cohort of counselors and teachers to
complete the graduate Certificate
Program in Military Children &
Families.
 The development of the School
Division’s on-line parent assessment,
used to identify the social/emotional
needs according to our own militarydependent population.
World Class Military-Dependent Students:
Marching Forward on Two Fronts in PWCS
Prince William County Schools
received an additional DoDEA
grant in 2015 that will address
the needs of military-dependent
students on two “fronts,”
social/emotional as well as
academic.
“Social/emotional needs often are conjoined with academic issues.”
“When social/emotional needs are not met, academic achievement is sometimes negatively impacted.”
Upcoming Goals
2015 Grant
 Increase the proportion of militarydependent students in each school who
participate in social/emotional support
activities and school connectedness
events
 Increase the percentage of eligible
military-dependent students with
academically enriched activities related
to STEM
Our Target
Elementary Schools
389
177
Henderson
Elementary
Ashland
Elementary
122
Old Bridge
Elementary
Number of Military-Connected Students
in each school in 2015.
To Accomplish Goals
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Provide after-school, military-dependent support
groups at secondary and elementary schools.
Identify appropriate students and provide individual &
small group counseling by military-dependent school
counselors and/or support coaches.
Provide special events geared toward the needs of
military-dependent students.
Virtual learning resources and extra curricular activities
such as Math Gizmos.
Tutoring and homework help after school.
Parent/community engagement- specific academic nights
for military-dependent students & their families
“Students who change schools three or more times from 1st grade to sixth… are almost one academic year
behind their stable counterparts”(Kerbow et al. 2003).
Continued…
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Implement First LEGO League – Which introduces
younger students to real-world engineering challenges
by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a
thematic playing surface.
First LEGO League teams, guided by their imaginations
and adult coaches & mentors, discover exciting career
possibilities and through the process, learn to make
positive contributions to society.
Implement Gizmos – A library of interactive online
simulations for math & science for education grades 3 – 12.
Using Gizmos as an integrated piece of the curricula allows
for more meaningful mathematics, technology & science
integration, critical skills all our students will need prior to
graduation.
“Students who change schools three or more times from 1st grade to sixth… are almost one academic year
behind their stable counterparts”(Kerbow et al. 2003).
The support provided to military-dependent
students will help with adjustments to academic
differences and address the impact of mental
health stressors they may experience.
Thank You!
Military-dependent students in PWCS will also
be afforded the opportunity to develop skills
that will prepare them to be extremely
competitive students & productive citizens
regardless of where their families are stationed.
Questions or Comments?
Call 703.791.7463 or Email BrownTE@pwcs.edu