"Successful outcomes for children - that should be our primary concern," said Dr. Jean Silvernail, chief for Military Child in Transition and Deployment at the U.S. Department of Defense. And thus began the second series of meetings facilitated by CSG's National Center for Interstate Compacts to craft interstate policy on the educational transition challenges faced by today's military children.
With 690,000 children of active duty military personnel currently enrolled in public schools around the country, each is virtually guaranteed to move three to four times during their school-aged years – some even more often. Further, this number is expected to explode as the children of National Guard and Reserve personnel are increasingly counted in this group and as children move home from overseas with a rapidly changing international deployment strategy.
The challenges facing these children are not new - every child that moves between schools or districts face them - but for military children, both they and their parents have little choice as to military assignments and postings.
"When the military says go, you go - and you usually take your family with you," says Dr. Charles Patterson, former superintendent for Killeen, Texas, public schools (adjoining Fort Hood) and now a representative of the Military Impacted Schools Association. "We need to do a much better job of making it easy for these families who are already undergoing stressful times and changes. We don’t need to lower the bar - far from it. We need to ensure that military kids aren't being penalized by school systems simply because Mom or Dad serves our country and that they get a fair shot for educational success."
CSG’s National Center for Interstate Compacts is currently facilitating the development of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. Supported through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, CSG has convened two Advisory Group meetings and is in the process of drafting an interstate agreement that will address such issues as entrance ages, immunization standards, course eligibility and extra-curricular activities. The new compact is expected to complete in 2007 and available for legislative consideration in 2008.
For more information, please contact John Mountjoy at jmountjoy@csg.org or (859) 244-8256.
--John Mountjoy
CALVET has a good program for further education for retired military dependents. Other States should take note on this program. ALSO - it was actually voted on again this past November and PASSED again, hands down!! So education and helping calvets (California veterans) Is at least important to californians, no matter how liberal you think we are :) --
Wayne
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Posted by: Wayne Merritt | December 26, 2008 at 08:03 PM