Attention superintendents: your school can take steps to benefit military-connected children

Submitted by Kristen Ludeker-Seibert

The average military-connected child will attend six to nine schools in grades K-12 and are three times more likely to change schools than their civilian peers. This means they are continuously adapting to new academic and social environments.

The Purple Star School Program is designed to help schools respond to the educational, social, and emotional challenges military-connected children face when transitioning to a new school. Schools, in turn, then help mitigate the unique academic and socioemotional challenges faced by military-connected students and their families.

Hamilton County is fortunate to have 15 Purple Star Schools within two school systems. All 12 of Carmel Clay School District’s locations are Purple Star Schools as are Hamilton Heights Middle School and Hamilton Heights High School.

Purple Star Schools provide the following for their military families and community:

A Point of Contact within the district for the student and family.
Military Culture and other professional development trainings for staff related to the needs of military families.
A transition team to help welcome and familiarize incoming military-connected students with their new environments.
A dedicated school and/or district webpage that provides resources related to the military-connected experience.
Events that recognize and celebrate military students in the school community.
The school has a public military display recognizing service members, veterans, and/or students and families.

Moving and changing schools is tough enough on kids. Military kids face multiple moves and often in the middle of the school year. Moving is not their choice, they don’t know anyone in their new school, and they again have a new home. Purple Star Schools benefit military-connected families and students by providing a welcome space and understanding staff that can ease the transition into a new community.

If your school is not a Purple Star School and you would like them to be, please reach out to your Superintendent and send them to in.gov/doe/educators/purple-star-school-applications. Application information for the 2025 Indiana Purple Star designation will be available in April 2025 at in.gov/doe.