{"id":45780,"date":"2020-06-19T20:17:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T20:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/19\/heres-some-advice-for-military-parents-with-extra-worries-about-kids-fall-education\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:34:29","slug":"heres-some-advice-for-military-parents-with-extra-worries-about-kids-fall-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/2020\/06\/19\/heres-some-advice-for-military-parents-with-extra-worries-about-kids-fall-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s some advice for military parents with extra worries about kids\u2019 fall education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many military parents are dealing with concerns about their children\u2019s education in the era of coronavirus, and moving to a new duty station <\/a>may only compound those worries and the uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, parents and educators are dealing with not only the \u201csummer slide\u201d \u2014 the usual slippage of skills for some students over the summer \u2014 but the \u201cCOVID slide,\u201d as schools across the country either closed or drastically changed their instruction. The level of instruction has varied from place to place, too. Overnight, many parents became their children\u2019s stay-at-home teacher, as most people were sheltering in place. Parents are exhausted, having taken on the role of educator in addition to maintaining their own jobs and homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a lot of uncertainty about what will be happening with schools<\/a> in the fall. For example, in his end-of-year message June 8 for families, Tom Brady, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity<\/a>, said officials are monitoring each of their localities around the world \u201cto determine how and when we can safely bring students back to school, and what that will look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo final decisions have yet been made, but rest assured that the health of our students, families, teachers, and staff is our highest priority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoDEA school re-openings may or may not mirror public school districts\u2019 policies outside the installation, but will be based on the health and protection conditions and protocols established jointly by the commands and DoDEA. More than 68,000 students are enrolled in 161 DoDEA schools around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the vast majority of military school-age children attend schools outside the gate, and many of these school districts around the country are grappling with these decisions about when and how to reopen. Check your school district\u2019s website for information. Another resource is the installation\u2019s school liaison officer, your link between the military installation and local school districts, and they can provide information before you move. Find a directory of SLOs here<\/a>. Also, GreatSchools.org<\/a> has a variety of information about schools, and contact information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be individual situations and conditions in various locations, depending on military requirements and local conditions and requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

School districts are addressing different issues that are expected in the fall. For example, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, some students are subject to a 14-day quarantine because they\u2019re traveling from certain areas that may be hot spots for the coronavirus. Those students \u201cwill have 14 days minimum of virtual instruction, because they won\u2019t be allowed in those buildings,\u201d said Marcus Lingenfelter, senior vice president of Edmentum, which provides digital curriculum, assessments, and educational services to more than 8,000 school districts across the country. The superintendent of the public school district serving Fort Leavenworth has implemented plans to address issues surrounding quarantine, Lingenfelter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lingenfelter was one of six experts who spoke on a panel providing tips and advice for military parents of K-12 students, during a COVID-19 Military Support Initiative, a program of the Association of Defense Communities and Blue Star Families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some military families have already notified their school districts that their school children won\u2019t be back in school buildings in the fall, Lingenfelter said. Whether it\u2019s families or school systems making these decisions, the school systems are taking steps to address the continuity of learning \u201cwhether you\u2019re in or out of the buildings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military parents are often concerned about whether there will be learning gaps for their child when they make a PCS move, and the child enters a new school. Those worries are compounded by all the \u201cunfinished learning\u201d caused by COVID-19. But parents need to step back a bit from the stress and understand that educators realize what the situation has been. Parents have probably been doing a better job than they realize in helping their children, the experts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t