What is Project SOAR?
Student Online Achievement Resources (SOAR) is an innovative project dedicated for United States
military families and the military support personnel that serve them. SOAR aims to address the unique
challenges facing military children in our nation’s public schools, while benefiting the overall student
population. SOAR offers the following free resources to military families:
Learning and Assessment Resources
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Personalized instructional lessons to reinforce skill development
132 online family videos for literacy, math, and early learning
Supplemental resources for at-home learning
Individualized assessments aligned with state standards
ACT/SAT preparation program for college bound students
Relocation Resources
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Links to all military installations, transition resources, and schools near military bases
Links to State Departments of Education and other educational resource websites
Message board for parents to access
State-specific resources, such as state learning standards
These research-based resources empower families with:
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Strategies to optimize time with their children outside the classroom
Confidence to have conversations about day-to-day education needs of children
Ideas for connect learning to real-life situations
Ability to positively impact their student’s achievement
SOAR Mission
The mission of SOAR is to provide access to, and encourage involvement with, a variety of free,
research-based educational resources that support military families and the military community support
personnel that serve them.
SOAR Goals
The primary goal of SOAR is to increase involvement of families and military community support
personnel with their children as they work to support learning. Objectives include:
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Raise awareness of SOAR resources among family and military support personnel
Increase involvement of family and military community support personnel with their
children by providing high-quality on-line educational resources
Increase involvement of family and military community support personnel with their
children by ensuring that the on-line SOAR resources are accessible and provide a
productive user experience
To learn more about SOAR: http://www.soarathome.com/
Why Are SOAR Resources Vital?
SOAR recognizes the desire for military families to provide high-quality education for their children.
The evidence is consistent and convincing: Families have a major influence on their children’s
achievement in school and through life (Henderson & Mapp, 2002). When families, schools, and
community groups work together to support learning, children are likely to:
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Earn higher grades and test scores, and enroll in higher-level programs
Attend school regularly, are promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits
Have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school
Graduate and go on to postsecondary education
Unfortunately, frequent relocations, multiple deployments, and longer tours of duty often interrupt the
continuity of the military child’s education. Military children are living a lifestyle where relocation,
loss, and change are ever-present (Military K-12 Partners, 2011). SOAR aims to support military
families and their child’s education through these transitional times.
Who Comprises SOAR?
SOAR is a Department of Defense grant awarded to the Military Impacted Schools Association
(MISA), with two sub-awards to US Skills and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI).
MISA
MISA is a consortium of 66 public school districts serving a high population of military
dependents. MISA works on funding, legislation, partnerships, and programs for military
families on the move, and works to ensure that all military children are afforded a quality
education. MISA conducts workshops for educators and provides resources on connectedness,
building resilience, military life, transition, and deployment.
To learn more about MISA: http://www.militaryimpactedschoolsassociation.org/
US Skills
US Skills creates online supplementary instructional and assessment resources for parents and
students to use. US Skills offers three key academic resources: Online assessments, Skills
Tutor online lessons, and ACT/SAT test preparation.
To learn more about US Skills: http://skillstutor.com/hmh/site/skillstutor/
University of Northern Iowa
UNI is responsible for the development of the Making Sense Online resources. These online
videos and supplementary learning resources in mathematics, literacy, and early learning,
provide research-based strategies to engage parents in their children’s learning.
To learn more about UNI: http://www.makingsenseonline.org/
Together, MISA, US Skills, and UNI are proudly committed to supporting military families in their
quest for quality educational resources for their children.