References and Guides

Department of Education Military Family Resources

• Letters from the Education Secretary or Deputy Secretary
• Military Families and Veterans website
• Department of Education Press Release on the Secretary's Commitments to Military Families
• Office of Innovation and Improvement, the home of the Department of Education's efforts to support military families and address their unique educational challenges
• Touching Base, the Department's quarterly newsletter for the military community
• Secretary of Education's Dear Colleague Letter on military-connected children and public school attendance policy
• Secretary of Education's Dear Colleague Letter to financial aid administrators
• White House Blog, Strengthening Our Commitment to Military Families
• Strengthening Our Military Families, a White House Report

Research & Reports

• Tufts University Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development
• Youth-Nex: The University of VA Center to Promote Effective Youth Development
• UMass response to HIDOE Addendum to the DODEA Study
• Addendum Response from the Hawaii Department of Education (2012)
• Critique of "The Performance of Hawaii's Military Impacted Public Schools: A Comparative Perspective" (2012)
• Performance of Hawaii's Public Schools: A Comparative Perspective Report: (2011)
  DoDEA contracted with the University of Massachusetts (UMASS) in 2010 to conduct a study of whether Hawaii provided an appropriate education to school-age children of military families residing on military installations in Hawaii. As part of the requirements of the study, UMASS provided a comparative analysis of the quality of education provided by the Hawaii public schools with that of four other similarly situated public school districts: Anchorage School District, Anchorage Alaska (serving Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson); Clover Park School District, Lakewood, Washington (serving Joint Base Lewis-McChord); Travis Unified School District, Fairfield, California (serving Travis Air Force Base) and San Diego Unified School District, San Diego, California (serving Naval Station San Diego and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar).
• The UMASS Report concluded:
  • Hawaii is generally comparable to the other school districts studied as measured by student performance, educational programs, and services.
  • The study found that Hawaii, and the comparable districts are home to some excellent as well as challenged public schools.
  • There is no basis to determine that Hawaii is not providing an appropriate education for school age dependents who reside on military installations in Hawaii.
• Reports to Congress:
  • Report to Congress: Assistance to LEAs (2014)
  • Report to Congress: Assistance to LEAs (2013)
  • Charter Schools on Military Installations Report to Congress
  • Report to Congress: February 2012 Update to the Report on Assistance to Local Educational Agencies for Defense Dependents' Education
  • Report to Congress: Educational Options and Performance of Military-Connected School Districts (2011)
  • Report to Congress: Assistance to LEAs (2011)
  • Report to Congress - Assistance to LEAs (2010)
  • Report to Congress - Assistance to LEAs (2008)

Information for Educators

• Responding to the Newtown Tragedy: New Guide Available from NSPRA
• The Safe Start Center released a new toolkit for teachers and others in the educational community on children's exposure to violence.
• Traumatic Grief in Military Children

Education & Communication with Parents

• Leveling the Playing Field for Military Connected Students

Military Life & Culture

• Exploring Military Culture
• Other Online References:

  • Supporting Military Kids During Deployment

  • An article by the Minnesota Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction

  • The Voice of a Military Child

    A Minnesota Student media presentation on her life as a military child and the deployment/return of her Dad

  • The Emotional Cycle of deployment- from a military perspective
    An Article by: LTC Simon H. Pincus, USA, MC, COL Robert House, USAR, MC, LTC Joseph Christenson, USA, MC, and CAPT Lawrence E. Adler, MC, USNR-R
  • Operation Military Kids-Study Circles
    Minnesota video on military families and deployment.

Legislation

• Department of Defense & Department of Education MOU
• July/August 2008 Progress Report
• Other Online References:
  • John Warner National Defense Authorization Act

Grants & Funding

• 2014 Grantees
• Grant Application Process
• DoD Impact Aid
• Other Online References:
  • Department of Education Impact Aid website
  • Military Impacted School Association (MISA)