…for the sake of the child

David Splitek, Ph.D., Program Manager Higher Education Initiatives www.MilitaryChild.org

…for the sake of the child

Princeton UniversityOctober 8, 2014

Military Children and Schools

About the Military Child Education Coalition

www.MilitaryChild.org

Vision: To serve as a model of positive leadership and advocacy for ensuring quality educational opportunities for all military children affected by mobility, family separation, and transition.

Mission:To ensure quality educational experiences for all military children

Military Child Education Coalition909 Mountain Lion Circle

Harker Heights, Texas 76548(254) 953-1923


Combined Federal Campaign approved organization, #10261

Presentation Roadmap


Overview of Military and Military-Connected Children Demographics

MCEC Origins

MCEC National Policy Priorities

Summary

Military Facts and Figures


All volunteer force since 1973 (40+ years)

• About 1.4 million on active duty

• About 1.4 million National Guard/Reserve Forces

• Across all branches:• 50% are below age 25• 85% male• High school degree or equivalent• 70% have at least some college credit• About half are married• 10% are dual-military marriages

Who Are the Military Children?


• Almost 2M children (Mom, Dad or Both Active Duty, Guard or Reserve)

• 1.1 Million school-aged (5-18)

• 630,000 children of Active Duty

• 480,000 children of Guard & Reserves

• 75% of Active Duty children under age 12

Military Children and Transitions


• Over 2 million children have a mother or father who served in Iraq or Afghanistan

• Active Duty Military families move 3 times more frequently than civilian counterparts

Distribution of Military-Connected Children by Type of School Environment


On average, 90% of public education funding comes from state and local sources.

Public Schools:76%

Private/Parochial: 10%

DoDEA: 8%

Home Schooled: 6%*

MCEC Origins


1950-1975 Vietnam 1973 All-Volunteer -> Longer Service All-Volunteer -> More Married, More

Children 1983 Grenada 1991 Desert Storm 1995 Bosnia

MCEC Origins


Military Parent Issues coalesced in 1990’s School Policies and Admin Rules did not

recognize mobile students Grade level placement Course Placement Graduation Requirements Extra-curricular participation Student to student connections School-Age Eligibility Dates Immunization Requirements

MCEC Origins


1997 Ft. Hood and Killeen ISD leadership met informally

1997 MCEC created as a nonprofit organization supported financially by KISD for several years

Now serving military-connected children worldwide

11 www.MilitaryChild.org

State Rank by Populations of Military Connected Children

1/1

State TX CA VA NC FL GA WA CO NY MD HI SC TN AL KY

Age 0-18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 18

Age 6-18 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 12 11 13 18Milita

ry Ch

ildren

2/3 3/2

4/4

5/5

6/6

7/7

8/8

9/9

MD10/10

HI11/14

SC12/12

13/11

14/13

18/18

12

The 25 Largest Districts for Military Student Populations


State School District Total Military Students % of MilitaryTX Killeen ISD 16878 45%VA Virginia Beach City Public Schools 14353 22%NC Cumberland County Schools 10859 23%HI Central Admin SD 9554 31%VA Fairfax County Public Schools 9225 6%CA San Diego USD 9023 8%UT Davis School District 7656 12%TN Clarksville-Montgomery County 7489 26%NC Onslow County Schools 7415 33%VA Chesapeake Public Schools 6282 17%TX El Paso ISD 5905 10%WA Clover Park School District 4815 41%FL Okaloosa County SD 4694 17%CO Fountain-Fort Carson SD 8 4300 65%OK Lawton Public Schools 4278 28%VA Norfolk Public Schools 4167 15%VA Prince William County Public Schools 4123 5%KS Geary County USD 475 4051 56%MD Anne Arundel County PS 3749 5%TX Northside ISD 3673 4%FL Hillsborough County PS 3662 2%MO Waynesville R-VI SD 3488 62%VA Newport News Public Schools 3462 13%VA York County School Division 3115 26%TX Copperas Cove ISD 3063 39%

Military Child Education CoalitionPolicy Priorities


Data Quality: We support the inclusion of a military-connected student identifier in state public school data systems to help us better understand and track the academic progress of these students and they move through their K-12 school years.

College and Career Ready:We support programs designed to ensure that all students are college and career-ready when they graduate from high school.

Implementation of the Interstate Compact:We support the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children. The Compact provides the best opportunity for continuity for mobile military children throughout their K-12 school years.

How We Serve – Research and Scholarly Publications

Over a Decade of In-Depth Inquiry and Analysis -- Research --

• The Secondary Education Transition Study (SETS), 2001: Made recommendations to improve the transition of military-connected students

• The Special Needs Studies, 2005 and 2009: Explored what transitioning military families face when moving with children who have special needs

• Education of the Military Child in the 21st Century (EMC-21), 2011: Updates SETS; explores the education challenges of military-connected students with deployed parents; surveys home schooled students; studies challenges faced by children of Reserves and National Guard during deployments

Scholarly Publications --

• The Future of Children (FOC), 2013: Jointly developed with Princeton University, The Brookings Institution, and MCEC -- to promote effective policies and programs for military-connected children and their families by providing timely, objective information based on the best available research.

Spring 2014 www.MilitaryChild.org18

MCEC National Training Seminar:July 30-31, 2015 Washington, DC

www.MilitaryChild.org20


…for the sake of the child

Documents

…for the sake of the child