Blog

As the school year comes to a close, educators are often focused on finishing end-of-year responsibilities, celebrating student growth, and preparing for the year ahead. Summer can be a welcome season of rest, family time, and new experiences. For some students and families, it can also bring changes in routines, reduced access to school-based supports, and new responsibilities at home.

For military-connected students, summer may also overlap with Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves, training schedules, parental deployment, reintegration, or other military-related transitions. These experiences look different for every family. Many military-connected students bring important strengths, including adaptability, responsibility, flexibility, and experience navigating change. At the same time, frequent transitions and separations can create stressors that affect students across home, school, and community settings (Palmer, 2008).

Resilience is often described as a student’s ability to adapt during challenge. Developmental research suggests that resilience grows through the supports, relationships, routines, and resources surrounding the student (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Masten, 2014). In other words, students are strengthened by the people and systems around them, including families, educators, peers, schools, and communities.

For school personnel, this is encouraging. Summer support does not always require a new program or a large initiative. One meaningful way to support military-connected students is to strengthen family-school partnerships before, during, and after summer transitions.

Family-School Communication as a Bridge

Strong family-school partnerships help students feel known, supported, and connected. When educators and families communicate consistently, schools are better able to understand student strengths, anticipate needs, and provide timely support. This can be especially valuable for military-connected families who may be preparing for a move, adjusting to a parent’s absence, welcoming a parent home, or navigating changes in family routines.

Research on military-connected youth highlights the importance of developmental supports such as competence, confidence, character, connection, contribution, coping, and control (Easterbrooks et al., 2013). Schools can help strengthen these supports by creating communication routines that are predictable, respectful, and easy for families to access. Even small gestures can make a difference. A timely update, a positive message, a clear point of contact, or a welcome note before the school year begins can help families feel connected to the school community.

Family-school communication can also serve as a continuity-of-support strategy. Summer may pause many school-based routines, but it does not have to pause connection. When schools maintain simple communication practices, families know where to find information, who to contact, and how the school will welcome their child back in the fall. When families share important context, educators gain a fuller picture of what a student may be experiencing outside the classroom.

Building on Family Strengths

Military families often bring strong internal resources, including problem-solving skills, flexibility, commitment to service, and connection to military and community networks. Research has shown that military-connected youth and families can demonstrate resilience even when facing elevated levels of stress or risk (Sullivan et al., 2021). Schools can support this resilience by engaging families as partners and recognizing the strengths they already bring.

This strengths-based approach matters. Family-school communication is most helpful when it is balanced, welcoming, and relationship-centered. Families benefit from hearing about student progress, effort, strengths, and positive moments, as well as concerns. When communication happens regularly and respectfully, families are more likely to experience the school as a supportive partner.

For military-connected families, this kind of partnership can offer reassurance during times of change. It communicates an important message: your child is known here, your family is welcome here, and we are ready to support you.

Practical Ways Schools Can Support Summer Continuity

Building strong family partnerships can begin with small, intentional actions. These efforts help families feel welcomed, informed, and supported during times when school routines may feel farther away.

Schools and educators might consider:

• Sending positive updates to families before the school year ends
• Sharing summer resources, community programs, or school-based points of contact
• Keeping classroom or school websites updated with key information when possible
• Sending welcome messages before the new school year begins
• Encouraging families to share upcoming transitions, concerns, or questions
• Creating consistent routines for email, phone, text, or website communication
• Documenting important conversations so student context can follow the student across staff members, grade levels, or schools

These actions can help maintain a sense of connection during a season that may feel less structured for some students and families. They can also help schools begin the next academic year with stronger relationships, better information, and clearer pathways for support.

Helpful Trainings

The School Resources to Support Military-Connected Students website includes trainings designed to help school professionals strengthen family-school communication. These resources may be especially useful for educators, counselors, administrators, and support staff working with military-connected students and families.

School professionals who want to build a strong foundation may begin with:

• Contacting Parents
• Frequent Parent Communication

Educators who want to choose the right communication method may find these trainings helpful:

• Face-to-Face Parent Communication
• Phone Calls to Parents
• Communicating with Parents via Email
• Texting Parents
• Connecting with Parents via Social Media

School personnel supporting families through sensitive or complex situations may also benefit from:

• Contacting Parents in Difficult Situations
• Documenting Conversations with Parents

Educators who want to provide families with consistent access to classroom information may find Using a Classroom Website especially useful.

Together, these trainings can help school professionals communicate in ways that are consistent, respectful, practical, and responsive to family needs.

Conclusion

Meaningful support for military-connected students grows from the strength of the relationships and systems surrounding them. During summer transitions, family-school partnerships can serve as an important bridge between the school year that ended and the one about to begin.

Summer support does not always require a new program. Sometimes, the most helpful step is making sure families know who to contact, where to find reliable information, and how the school will welcome their child back in the fall. By strengthening communication routines and engaging families as partners, schools can become a steady source of connection and support for military-connected students throughout the year.

If your school or team has questions about strengthening family partnerships, supporting military-connected students, or locating appropriate resources, we encourage you to reach out to us at schoolresources@psu.edu. We’d love to help.