{"id":43645,"date":"2019-04-05T21:09:03","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T21:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/05\/how-one-school-district-does-right-by-military-children\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T14:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:27:10","slug":"how-one-school-district-does-right-by-military-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2019\/04\/05\/how-one-school-district-does-right-by-military-children\/","title":{"rendered":"How one school district does right by military children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Susan Ryan remembers consoling her daughter when she was 5 years old, during one of her Navy father\u2019s deployments. She awoke crying, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t want daddy to die. And if daddy dies and you die, I\u2019ll be all alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, Ryan said, \u201cI knew it was on her mind. All I had to do was call the school and talk to the [Military Family Life Counselor].” She also messaged the teacher, just to let them know that the day might be difficult for her daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew when I let go of her that morning and left her [at school], that she had every support she needed \u2026 It\u2019s the individual [child]. It\u2019s the recognition of that, and knowing they have that support when they\u2019re away from you that helps you do your job as a parent and helps your spouse do their job when they\u2019re deployed,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryan was among military spouses<\/a> who are parents of Shelton Park Elementary School students, in the audience during a panel discussion. About 70 percent of the students in the school are military-connected, making it the school with the largest percentage of military children in Virginia Beach City Public Schools. The nonprofit Military Families for High Standards brought the panel together to highlight the work Virginia Beach does to support its military students<\/a> \u2014 and all its students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virginia Beach was featured in a Lexington Institute<\/a> report last year that highlighted their effective and innovative practices for supporting military children in the school system. After a school tour, the panel discussion centered around what the school \u2014 and others in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools \u2014 do to help military students not just in transition, but in dealing with other aspects of military life, like deployments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Shelton Park Elementary School, there\u2019s a full-time Military Family Life Counselor, funded by the Department of Defense, as well as a full-time school counselor. They work hand-in-hand at the school, said Tara Brewer, the school\u2019s principal, whether meeting with a group of children whose parents are deployed, or helping them deal with the death of a pet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school is also one of 13 elementary schools in the Virginia Beach area that have adopted the Anchored4Life program, which trains students to help new children adjust when they move to the school. Among other things, there are special kits to help them deal with their emotions as they make the transition from another school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brewer said 40% of the student population transitions in or out of Shelton Park every year. \u201cI know the students at Shelton Park feel safe. They know they\u2019re loved. Because of these two important things, we\u2019re continuing to move our students to a high level of learning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Virginia Beach, there are 28 Military Family Life Counselors serving 47 schools, said Karen Phillips, school liaison officer for Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. This DoD-funded program provides these licensed clinical counselors specializing in child and youth behavioral issues, commonly known as MFLCs, in schools with significant numbers of children of active duty military.<\/p>\n\n\n\t