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Schools play an essential role in the lives of military-connected students who face frequent moves, disrupted friendships, and shifting school expectations. Many states now use the Purple Star Schools Program (PSSP) to recognize schools that put strong supports in place. But implementation of the PSSP varies widely, and educators often ask: How can we make PSSP meaningful in our building, not just another compliance task?

One useful lens comes from Michael Lipsky’s book The Street-Level Bureaucracy: The Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Service (1980). Lipsky studied how frontline workers translate policies into real-world practice. His insights help explain why PSSP sometimes thrives and sometimes feels symbolic. His insights can be applied to PSSP to identify practical steps schools can take to strengthen their support for military-connected students.

Why Lipsky’s Ideas Matter for Schools

Lipsky argued that people who work directly with the public shape how policy is actually experienced. Teachers, counselors, registrars, and administrators make hundreds of decisions a day while experiencing large workloads, limited time, and unclear expectations. According to Lipsky, this environment can, naturally, lead to discretion, shortcuts, coping strategies, and uneven implementation.

If you work in a school, this situation probably sounds familiar.

Two recent Clearinghouse reports (2024 report, 2025 report) on the PSSP found similar patterns. Many schools show exceptional effort to welcome military families. Others end up meeting only the minimum requirements. When school professionals can view these patterns not as failures but as predictable conditions, they are better able to make smarter, more sustainable choices.

1. Coping Happens: Use It to Strengthen, Not Weaken, Support

Lipsky observed that when demands exceed capacity, frontline workers develop coping routines to stay afloat.

This situation is evident in PSSP implementation as many schools meet the requirement for a webpage or point of contact (POC) but struggle to sustain peer-to-peer programs or ongoing check-ins.

What you can do:

• Build routines that support real connection.
  Examples of this can include using automatic welcome emails to new families, scheduling check-ins at 2 and 6 weeks, or creating a standing time on Fridays to update your military-resources page.
• Avoid one-time gestures.
  Schools often create a basic webpage or hang a Purple Star banner to “check the box.” Use these as starting points to create a connection—not final steps.
• Share responsibilities.
  No single person can handle all of the PSSP responsibilities. Identify a small team (administrator, counselor, teacher, and office staff member), and divide tasks.

2. Your Decisions Shape the Program

Lipsky described frontline workers as policy makers because their day-to-day decisions determine what policy looks like.

This concept surfaces clearly with PSSP. Many states require each school to have a POC who is expected to answer questions related to supporting military-connected students; however, many states do not define this role, so schools must fill in the gaps. How you interpret and fulfill this requirement can determine whether families feel supported.

What you can do:

• Clarify the role locally.
  Even if your state’s language regarding this requirement is vague, clearly define expectations at your school, and examples of these include the following:
  • Respond to new family inquiries within 48 hours
  • Oversee transition activities
  • Coordinate with the district POC for military families or the installation school liaison
  • Update the military family webpage each quarter
• Invite student voice early.
  Without mechanisms for requesting and collecting student feedback, schools will lack insight regarding whether peer programs meet real needs. Ask military-connected students what tasks or activities helped them adapt effectively during a transition, and what tasks or activities did not help them. This avoids guessing and prevents inequities from continuing.
• Treat the Purple Star designation as a school culture effort.
  Use this designation to start conversations about belonging and transitions, not just compliance.

3. Rationing Is Real: Watch for Unintentional Inequity

Lipsky also highlighted rationing, which happens when schools must decide how to use limited time, resources, and attention. In these situations, educators often focus on families who are easiest to reach or most proactive.

This happens in PSSP, too.

For example, staff may prioritize families who email proactively or attend orientation events, while families who are dealing with deployment stress or housing instability may receive less support simply because they are harder to reach. This type of normative rationing is unintentional, but it is real.

What you can do:

• Create outreach routines that do not rely on family initiative.
  For example:
  • Produce a welcome script for front-office staff to use
  • Use automatic referrals to the school POC based on enrollment data
  • Initiate programmed check-ins for all new students
• Make peer programs sustainable.
  Including student voice is key. Ask students to co-design activities or mentor structures. When students become involved and provide input, programs often increase momentum and sustainability.
• Track who is accessing support.
  Collect simple tallies to help you determine if anyone is being missed.

4. Reduce Ambiguity Where You Can

When assessing PSSP across all states, Clearinghouse researchers found major variability in PSSP requirements and very little enforcement. This lack of guidance leaves schools to interpret the program on their own.

Lipsky noted that when direction is vague, individuals disseminating a program use more discretion and personal judgment.

What you can do:

• Standardize the basics.
  Agree on the following:
  • Determine what information must be included on your resource webpage
  • Establish how your peer program will function
  • Organize and communicate what information teachers should know about the Interstate Compact and enrollment issues
• Keep room for local adaptation.
  Excessive standardization may reduce responsiveness, especially in rural schools with limited staff or in buildings with high turnover. The goal for employing PSSP is clarity, not rigidity.
• Create simple job aids.
  Develop and use quick reference sheets to help staff make consistent decisions.

5. Strengthen Feedback and Evaluation

The Clearinghouse reports show limited quantitative data on how PSSP affects student outcomes.

This lack of evidence reinforces Lipsky’s prediction that, when formal metrics are weak, discretion, not policy, guides practice. Schools end up assuming a program works rather than knowing if the program works.

What you can do:

• Ask students and families directly.
  Ask the following two questions:
  • “What tasks or activities made your transition easier?”
  • “What tasks or activities would you change for the next new student?”
    Using this simple feedback loop can help improve your system.
• Track a few indicators.
  • Monitor the number of new military students each month
  • Watch the participation numbers in peer programs
  • Track time from arrival to receiving needed services
• Use what you learn.
  Even using small adjustments that come from feedback can reduce inequities and cut down on rationing.

6. Build Capacity, Not Burnout

Educators want to support military students, but time and staffing limits are real. Lipsky reveals that burnout and overload can shape implementation as much as policy design.

What you can do:

• Advocate for time.
  Ask your principal to include POC duties in official schedules or give release time for key tasks.
• Use teams instead of individuals.
  Spread responsibilities to reduce stress on a single person.
• Integrate PSSP with existing work.
  Include military-connected student needs in your Multi-Tiered Systems of Support framework, school climate initiatives, or counseling protocols so the work is not a separate add-on.

Final Thoughts

Lipsky’s work shows that people, not policies, determine how effectively programs operate. For the PSSP, this means the most important factor is not the banner at the school entrance but the daily choices made by educators who welcome new families, run peer programs, and connect students to support. By establishing clear routines, asking for and using student voice, and incorporating small but steady structures, schools can make PSSP meaningful even within real constraints.