Military Parents: Here’s Why You Should Study Up on States’ School Improvement Efforts.
We all know how stressful a new move can be. There are many unknowns: you may not know what the community will be like and or how you tackle the many changes that come with new PCS orders. With many things top of mind, you may be wondering how this move will impact your child’s education and or how your child’s new school district fares against others.
As a continuation of our ongoing blog series, I am pleased to share the most recent piece from Military Families for High Standards, “Military Parents: Here’s Why You Should Study Up on States’ School Improvement Efforts.” In this piece, military spouse and MFHS team member, Melissa Helmick outlines the third main point of Promise to Practice, the importance of staying current and in the know on how states are supporting their lowest-performing schools.
I encourage you to scroll down to read Melissa’s blog and think about ways you can use this school improvement resource to help ease concerns you may have when looking for your child’s next school.
Happy re-locating,
Christi
Military Parents: Here’s Why You Should Study Up on States’ School Improvement Efforts.
By Melissa Helmick
You’ve just received PCS orders You’ve begun your pre-packing, cleaning, and organizing. Of course, with a million things on your mind, you’ve probably been thinking about one of your top priorities: getting the children settled at your next ‘home’ or wondering where the children will go to school. Well, grab a cup of tea or coffee.
Visit http://promisetopractice.org. Is the state you are moving to listed? If so, great! If not, chances are you will probably end up in one of these states so getting this information puts you ahead of the curve.
School quality issues during a PCS move can be daunting sometimes and your brain seems overcrowded with questions. The Promise to Practice website has a plethora of information! It includes a “report” section where you can read about the project, trends, promising practices states are doing for school improvement, leadership approaches and more. The “recommendation” section lists best practices states should be using to improve their lowest-performing schools. There is also a “state review” section that highlights what experts have to say about school improvement efforts of the states reviewed.
Choose your state and grab a pencil or your phone to take notes. I suggest beginning to sort ‘it’ out by listing your top 3 concerns or priorities in looking for a school for your children. Read over all the information; think about your gut reaction and then leave it for a few days to ponder your thoughts more. On another day, coffee cup in hand, reread about your state and list your questions for the school personnel. Keep in mind, no school is perfect, but we have come a long way in helping families during a PCS decide about schooling.
The Promise to Practice resource hits me on a personal level. Once time when we moved to a new location, we heard through the grapevine from more than a few other families that the local high school was terrible. It was very diverse (we are a diverse military so that is a super plus for military kids) bit it had lower than desired test scores and graduation rates. My spouse went to talk with the leadership of the high school, and it was enlightening to hear all that was being instituted to improve the school and to hear, as the principal talked, how dedicated he was to the students and their achievement. Although hearing what others have to say about local schools may be a starting point, reading Promise to Practice information and going to talk to the school and district leaders will give you the complete and most accurate picture to help make your decision.
Education is a priority for every child, every generation, and given how often our military children move, using resources such as those on militaryfamiliesforhighstandards.org and others provided by the military, will help you feel more at ease as you make your choice.
I hope your move goes well and that you and your family feel at home soon after you settle!
Melissa Helmick is the spouse of a retired Army Lt. General. She is passionate about education and curriculum issues concerning military-connected students.
This piece was originally published on April 14, 2019 on Medium. The original post is accessible here.