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March 2016 | Volume 58 | Number 3
Click below for best practices, research, lesson plans, and activities to support the military kids in your classroom. To learn more about meeting the unique needs of military kids, read "Military Minded: How to Support Students from Military Families" in the March 2016 issue of Education Update.
Created by the University of Southern California, the Building Capacity project provides ongoing research and practices that public schools can implement to ease transitions for military children and their families. Additional resources can be found on the project's archived website.
Through the nonprofit Military Child Education Coalition, educators can enroll in continuing education courses and access a series of guidebooks (available for purchase online) for supporting military children.
Based at Purdue University, the Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) aims to assist military families through research and partnerships with civilian communities. In its "How to Help" series, MFRI offers guidance targeted to early childhood educators about how to help young children of military families before, during, and after deployment. It also offers guidance for K–12 classroom teachers and support staff.
As of January 2015, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have joined The Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission (MIC3), which advocates equal treatment of military children transferring between districts and states. Read the "Guide for Parents, School Officials, and Public Administrators" to learn how the compact affects policies regarding credit transfers, absences, exit exams, and more.
A project of the U.S. Department of Defense, Military Kids Connect offers lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school teachers on how to integrate military culture into the classroom.
Military students respond well to seeing their unique experiences represented in the curriculum. To find ideas for contemporary YA military books, check out the Barnes and Noble blog post "Five Great Military-Themed YAs." The American Library Association's list of W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction winners offers ideas appropriate for older students.
The Military Child Initiative at Johns Hopkins University offers a report on school connectedness, as well as tip sheets for teachers and administrators about how to help military children feel more connected to their school.
Staying Strong, an initiative of the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, offers a documentary video, downloadable educator toolkit, and classroom activities to raise awareness of the issues military kids face and to encourage the creation of "a resilience-building classroom community."
For tips and insight into the unique needs of military-connected teens, read "10 Things Military Teens Want You to Know" from the National Military Family Association.
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