Type 2
Issue No. 19
Fall 2005

New Grant Will Assist Districts and Schools Serving Children of Military Families

NNPS has a grant from the Department of Defense Military Child in Transition and Deployment State Liaison Office, in collaboration with the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University (JHSPH). The Military Child Initiative (MCI), headed by Dr. Robert Blum at JHSPH, includes components to improve educational programs and school climate, with a special focus on children from military families.

Many children of military families are separated from a parent due to deployment and face frequent changes in schools due to parents' reassignments, and base closings. Other students who move frequently and who have one parent at home face similar challenges. MCI aims to reduce the risks of these vulnerable students and increase knowledge, develop tools, and provide services to enhance students' school connectedness and increase family and community involvement.

Technical Assistance

NNPS will lead the Technical Assistance component of MCI to help districts and schools that serve children of military families improve their partnership programs. NNPS will train district leaders and assist schools to implement partnerships that ensure a welcoming school climate and improve achievement and other student outcomes. NNPS Director Dr. Joyce Epstein will oversee this component, and Senior Program Facilitator Cecelia Martin will provide direct assistance to districts and schools that elect to join NNPS through MCI.

An Education Liaison and other partners from the collaborating military base will join the district leadership team and the school Action Team for Partnerships. In addition to NNPS's regular benefits and services, MCI districts will receive one NNPS on-site training workshop supported by the grant. NNPS expects at least 24 districts, their schools, and collaborating bases to request Technical Assistance on family and community involvement by the end of 2007.

MCI districts and schools will give special attention to issues facing children from military families, such as welcoming new students and families who enroll mid-year, working with families with one parent at home, partnering with families when a parent is injured, and collaborating with military bases to identify resources to strengthen school programs. Examples of activities that meet these challenges will be shared with all members of NNPS in Type 2 and in collections of Promising Partnership Practices.

Other MCI Components

MCI districts and schools will benefit from other components of MCI. Key project leaders at JHSPH include Dr. Robert Blum, an expert in students' school connectedness, and Dr. Clea McNeely, who will conduct needs assessments to determine the concerns of military families, children, and their teachers, and identify promising interventions that may benefit students, families, and schools. Dr. Phil Leaf at JHSPH will focus on improving student behavior and school climate. Dr. Lynne Michael Blum, a consultant to the project, will develop an online database of best practices and resources to help schools. She also will offer a web-based course to help teachers and administrators understand military families and their children's learning and development at different grade levels. The course will include a module on school, family, and community partnerships.

Districts and schools that serve large numbers of students from military families who seek assistance in strengthening school, family, and community partnerships should contact Cecelia Martin at cmartin@csos.jhu.edu for more information.