Explore What’s New on the School Resources Website

Military-connected students bring strengths and experiences that enrich their school communities. School personnel also benefit from accurate, practical resources that help them build on those strengths and respond to transitions and changing needs.

The School Resources to Support Military-Connected Students website has been updated to make it easier to find evidence-informed resources, complete focused professional learning, and apply useful strategies in school settings. The updates include refined learning modules, a new Student Resilience and Well-Being series, personalized module handouts, nearly 100 new vetted resources, Purple Star alignment guidance, and a new page highlighting the website’s impact.

A More Focused Learning Experience

Every learning module on the website was reviewed as part of a comprehensive realignment effort. Overlapping content was removed, gaps were addressed, and the modules were organized to create a more focused learning experience.

The updated modules also reflect a more consistent strengths-based approach. Across topics, greater attention is given to the experiences and strengths of military-connected students. This helps school personnel connect evidence-informed practices to the students and families they serve.

The module library will continue to grow as new research, priorities, and needs emerge. Check back regularly to explore the latest modules and professional learning opportunities.

Personalized Handouts That Support Application

During our review, we noticed that the application activities and final handouts in the learning modules did not fully connect. Participants could reflect on strategies they already use and choose new ones to try, but the final handout included every strategy rather than only those they selected.

We updated this experience. Now, the strategies you select are automatically added to a personalized, downloadable handout. As a result, you leave each module with a focused resource that reflects your goals and can help you put the strategies into practice. You can find this feature on the Action page of each module.

A New Student Resilience and Well-Being Series

Research highlights the strong capacity that military children and families have demonstrated for adaptation and resilience. Military life can also offer opportunities for personal growth and foster a strong sense of identity, belonging, and purpose (Park, 2011). Schools can build on these strengths by creating environments that help students feel connected, understand and follow clear expectations, seek appropriate help, regulate emotions, and remain ready to learn.

The new Student Resilience and Well-Being series prepares school personnel to strengthen these conditions and support military-connected students’ success.

Nearly 100 New Vetted Resources

The website now includes nearly 100 additional vetted resources for school personnel who support military-connected students and families.

These resources were identified for their relevance, usefulness, and accessibility. They address topics such as military culture, deployment, geographic transitions, parental injury, student grief, and reintegration. Users can search the collection and filter resources by topic, audience, grade level, and level of support.

The expanded collection complements the learning modules by connecting school personnel with additional tools and information from trusted organizations. These resources can support professional learning, planning, family communication, and the implementation of new strategies.

Supporting Purple Star Goals

Purple Star School programs recognize schools that demonstrate a commitment to military-connected students and families. Professional learning is an important part of that commitment.

A new alignment guide explains how the School Resources website supports state Purple Star goals. The guide connects the website’s design to challenges identified through the Military Child Education Coalition’s evaluations of Purple Star School programs (MCEC, 2020, 2022).

The alignment highlights several ways the website can support state and school efforts.

• Accurate and consistent content. The learning library provides a standardized set of evidence-informed materials that can be shared across schools and states.
• Brief professional learning. Most modules take approximately 15 minutes to complete, making it easier for busy school personnel to participate.
• Content for specific roles. Users can filter modules by audience to find content aligned with the responsibilities of teachers, administrators, school counselors, school nurses, and other professionals.
• Options for annual learning. Schools can select and rotate topics each year to support ongoing professional learning.

Eight states currently list the modules as a professional learning resource for their Purple Star School programs. School personnel can explore the full Supporting Military-Connected Students learning series at no cost.

A Clearer View of Our Impact

The new Impact page brings together participation data, evaluation results, and perspectives from the field.

Current results include the following.

• 83% of participants reported that the learning modules were time well spent.
• 90% of participants reported confidence in their ability to apply what they learned in the modules to their work.
• 10,000+ learning modules have been completed.
• Eight states list the modules as a professional learning resource for their Purple Star School programs.

The page also includes feedback from Pete LuPiba, Ohio MIC3 Commissioner and founder of the Purple Star Schools Program, and Dr. Stefano Bagnato of the University of Pittsburgh. Their perspectives highlight the quality, usefulness, and practical relevance of the website’s learning materials.

Explore and Share the Updated Website

These updates strengthen the School Resources website as a source of free, evidence-informed professional learning for those who serve military-connected students.

Explore the new content, complete a learning module, or share the website with colleagues. You can download the School Resources informational flyer to make it easy to share the website with your colleagues.

To learn about new modules, resources, research, and other updates, sign up for the School Resources newsletter.