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Supporting Military-Connected Students in Schools: A Framework for Success

Published on April 11, 2025
Learning, question and hands raised with girl in classroom for education, discussion and knowledge. Help, studying and teacher with children and woman at school for why, scholarship and answer

Most educators agree that supporting military-connected students is important. However, even with an available and growing collection of tips, toolkits, and resources, these efforts can lose momentum and/or lack cohesion over time. Schools often face challenges sustaining change, particularly when supports are not embedded into systems or reinforced through structured planning. For schools that are committed to making meaningful, lasting improvements, applying a research-based change model may offer the direction needed to translate intention into impact.

The Lippitt-Knoster Model for Managing Complex Change offers a framework that is grounded in organizational change theory. It identifies six key components necessary for successful and sustainable change: vision, consensus, skills, incentives, resources, and an action plan. When applied intentionally, these elements can help schools build an environment where military-connected students are consistently and effectively supported.

Why Supporting Military-Connected Students Matters

Military-connected students do not just attend schools located near installations. They are present in nearly every state and in many communities due to a variety of reasons, such as a parent’s retirement, a temporary relocation during a parent’s deployment, or a parent’s service in the National Guard or Reserves. These students often face challenging experiences such as school transitions, caregiver changes, and parental absences. Such changes can interfere with students’ academic continuity, social development, and emotional well-being. While these experiences are common among military-connected students, they are not exclusive to them. Many students face instability, separation from family members, or unexpected life changes. This overlap underscores the broader value of designing systems that intentionally support military-connected students. Doing so can lead to stronger practices that benefit all students as they navigate uncertainty.

Vision: Establishing a Clear Purpose

Developing and using a vision, which can include long- and short-term goals and/or guidance for strategic decision-making, provide the foundation for all coordinated school-based efforts. Establishing and adhering to a clearly articulated vision for supporting military-connected students can help ensure strategies are aligned with school-wide goals and frameworks, such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). Vision, within the educational system, might include a commitment to identifying military-connected students upon enrollment, developing protocols for supporting transitions, or ensuring access to academic and mental health resources. Anchoring this work in the broader mission of the school promotes integration rather than isolation of military-connected initiatives.

Resource Spotlight: Mitigating the Impact of School Mobility: An Effective Practices Model and Guide for Educators by the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University helps schools establish a clear and actionable vision for supporting military-connected students. Rooted in research and developed through collaboration with educators nationwide, this guide outlines the academic and socioemotional risks of school mobility and introduces a comprehensive Mobility Mitigation Model. The model provides a systemic approach to school transitions by offering structured strategies across all phases—from pre-move planning to post-enrollment support. The guide includes adaptable tools, self-assessment rubrics, and a theory of action, and using these instruments can help school leaders embed military-connected supports into their broader mission. This resource could be important for schools that intend to move from fragmented practices to a unified, sustainable vision of support.

Consensus: Building a Supportive School Culture

Sustainable change requires buy-in from all stakeholders. Consensus ensures that educators, administrators, and school staff are aware of the vision and understand their role in advancing it. One evidence-informed method for building consensus is data storytelling. When schools use local data to contextualize the needs of military-connected students—such as differences in attendance, discipline referrals, or academic outcomes—they can generate urgency and foster empathy. Framing these data within the broader narrative of student success helps align stakeholder priorities and reinforces a shared purpose.

Resource Spotlight: Edutopia’s guide to consensus-building strategies for school leaders provides tools school leaders can use to engage diverse audiences in meaningful decision-making. These strategies are directly aligned with the Lippitt-Knoster element of consensus and offer practical techniques for presenting school data in compelling ways and for developing a shared understanding among staff and stakeholders.

Skills: Equipping Educators with the Right Tools

Without adequate training, staff may feel ill-prepared to support military-connected students. The Lippitt-Knoster Model emphasizes that skill gaps can lead to anxiety or confusion and can, ultimately, undermine implementation. Professional learning opportunities for educators should focus on the following: building awareness of military culture, understanding the common challenges faced by military families, and equipping staff to respond with evidence-based strategies. Training should be embedded in ongoing professional development cycles, and it should not be offered as one-time events in order to support capacity building and sustainability.

Resource Spotlight: The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse) offers a series of training modules on supporting military-connected students. These modules include evidence-informed practices and frameworks that build educator capacity and address knowledge gaps around military culture and effective school-based interventions. This resource directly supports the development of skills necessary to implement and maintain effective programming for all students, especially military-connected students.

Incentives: Encouraging Buy-In

For change to be sustained, individuals must perceive value in their participation. Incentives, as conceptualized in the model, do not need to be monetary. Recognizing staff who demonstrate excellence in supporting military-connected students, celebrating student successes, or using data to highlight improvements are all ways to reinforce engagement. When educators see that their efforts produce tangible results, whether through improved student outcomes or a more inclusive school culture, they are more likely to continue investing their time, expertise, and energy.

Resource Spotlight: A recent professional learning literature review conducted by the Clearinghouse explores what educators report motivates them to engage in military-connected training. This resource helps school leaders understand what types of supports are valued by staff and how to structure professional development in ways that foster continued buy-in, which is key to sustaining momentum and investment.

Resources: Providing Support Systems

Change cannot be sustained without access to resources, even if a school has a strong vision and a motivated team. These resources include tools for identification, access to training, time for collaboration, and evidence-based intervention materials. The absence of these resources can result in educator frustration and failed implementation. Schools that integrate high-quality supports are better positioned to meet the diverse needs of military-connected students.

Resource Spotlight: The blog post Educators Can Use Existing Initiatives to Support Military-Connected Students from the Clearinghouse offers real-world insights into the daily challenges military-connected students face and examines how educators can help. Drawing from the SPEAK Military Children project, the post outlines four key initiatives that support school transitions: Advance Enrollment, the Interstate Compact, the Military Student Identifier, and the Purple Star School Program. Through research and interviews across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the project revealed promising outcomes such as reduced family stress and improved student belonging, but it also highlighted implementation gaps and barriers. The blog encourages school personnel to understand how these initiatives work in their own state and to actively help families navigate them.

Action Plan: Implementing Sustainable Strategies

A strong action plan turns vision into practice. This plan should outline specific goals, timelines, and accountability structures. Teams should meet regularly to monitor progress, troubleshoot barriers, and make course corrections as needed. Embedding this plan into existing systems can reduce redundancy and increase sustainability.

Resource Spotlight: The Month of the Military Child Toolkit for Schools, developed by the White House’s Joining Forces initiative in collaboration with the Departments of Defense, Education, and Veterans Affairs, is a comprehensive planning resource that helps schools turn intention into action. Designed to raise awareness and foster school-wide engagement, the toolkit includes ready-to-use classroom activities, school-wide event ideas, and sample messaging to support military-connected students throughout April (Month of the Military Child) and beyond. With options tailored for all grade levels, it also highlights strategies for building community, honoring service, and supporting military-connected students as they face unique challenges such as caregiving changes or frequent relocation. Schools can use the toolkit to scaffold a sustainable action plan aligned with their goals and available resources.

Summary: Using the Lippitt-Knoster Model to Create Lasting Change for Military-Connected Students

When schools apply the Lippitt-Knoster Model as a framework for supporting military-connected students, they are better equipped to move from fragmented efforts to a coherent system of support. By attending to vision, consensus, skills, incentives, resources, and action planning, schools can foster environments where military-connected students and all students can learn to navigate transitions, overcome adversity, and thrive.

For additional evidence-informed strategies, tools, and implementation supports, visit the School Resources website from the Clearinghouse.

 

Educators Can Use Existing Initiatives to Support Military-Connected Students

Published on April 7, 2025
Male teacher squatting down and smiling next to young male student in a classroom.

Did you know the 3rd grader with the military parent who is acting out in your class was in gifted programming at his old school and is acting out because he is bored? Did you know that the 11th grader in your French 1 class is in a bad mood, not because she has an attitude problem, but because your school does not offer the foreign language that she took for 2 years at her last school? What about the girl who transferred in a month after school started? Have you noticed that she keeps a positive attitude despite missing cheer tryouts this year because, by the time her family moved to your school, tryouts were over, and the season had started?

States have made great strides in the last 15 years in their understanding and support of military-connected students. However, a lot of variability exists regarding how supports are implemented in different states and different schools. The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse) gained this insight through its work on the SPEAK Military Children project, funded by the Department of Defense’s Defense-State Liaison Office. This project looked at the implementation of four initiatives across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

  • Advance Enrollment – Allows military families to enroll their children in schools based on military orders rather than proof of residency.
  • Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children – Addresses challenges related to school transitions, such as credit transfers, graduation requirements, and extra-curricular activities.
  • Military Student Identifier – A federally mandated data point that asks families in public schools about their military status.
  • Purple Star Schools Program – Recognizes schools that implement military-friendly policies and programs.

Clearinghouse scientists conducted this project in three phases: (1) a review of the literature related to military-connected students; (2) an analysis of state-level laws and regulations related to the four initiatives; and (3) interviews with national-, state-, and local-level stakeholders, including school personnel, military parents, and installation personnel.

Participants report a variety of positive outcomes related to the four initiatives. These outcomes include less stress on families, increased extra-curricular participation, better-prepared schools, more on-time graduations, increased feelings of belonging, and increased opportunities for military-connected students. These factors are important for family well-being, which impacts Service members’ mission readiness.

However, we also found differences across states in laws and regulations related to the initiatives. Furthermore, participants discussed barriers such as inconsistent policy implementation, lack of awareness among school personnel and parents, and variations in compliance with the laws and regulations.

School personnel have an important role to play in helping military-connected students and their parents navigate the four initiatives. You can help military families by doing the following:

  • Find out which initiatives are available in your state.
  • Understand how the initiatives are implemented in your state and how their implementation may be different from other states.
  • Help families understand how the initiatives are implemented in your state and in your school.
  • Understand that, even if your state has the initiative, families may be coming from a state that did not have the initiative or from a state that implements the initiative differently.

Many states have implemented the four initiatives, and many states and schools share the goal of supporting miliary-connected students. With continued support from policymakers and school personnel, military-connected students can successfully adapt to their new school environment and thrive. If you would like additional information on how you can support military-connected students, the School Resources to Support Military-Connected Students website offers several free training modules.

More information on the literature regarding miliary-connected students’ educational success, the laws and regulations related to the four initiatives in each state, and people’s experiences with local implementation is available on the project webpage.

Jennifer Karre, Ph.D., is a research and evaluation scientist at the Clearinghouse. In this role, she has been evaluating programs and policies for nearly 15 years. She was the project lead for the SPEAK Military Children project.

Supporting Military-Connected Students: Why It Benefits All Students

Published on April 1, 2025
American soldier in his uniform holding his daughter who is wearing a purple sweater.

April is the Month of the Military Child. This designation provides an opportunity for individuals, within the military sector and within the civilian sector, to recognize the resilience and learn about the experiences and sacrifices of military children and their families. This can also be a time to focus on military-connected students within your school. Military-connected students often face unique challenges, such as coping with parental deployments, changing structures at home, and adapting to new educational and social circumstances due to frequent relocations. Military students are also among the most resilient students since they are able to rely on a supportive community, develop and sustain a strong sense of belonging, and experience many opportunities to try new activities and take on new responsibilities (Easterbrooks et al., 2013). Educators play an important role in creating an environment that supports military-connected students as they navigate these challenges.

Understanding the Unique Challenges of Military-Connected Students

Military children navigate distinct experiences that shape their educational and social journeys. Some key challenges include the following:

  • Frequent Moves – These students may change schools often as their parents are deployed or change duty stations. These changes require them to adjust to new academic expectations, curricula, and social groups.
  • Cultural and Social Transitions – Students moving between different schools, states, and countries may face challenges in adapting to new norms and making friends. They may experience stress due to a lack of stability and predictability.
  • Parental Deployments – Having a deployed parent can create emotional stress, uncertainty, and changing roles at home, and these situations may impact a student’s well-being and academic performance. Additionally, the consequences of deployment, including parental injury and death, can be traumatic for students.

Why Supporting Military-Connected Students Benefits Everyone

While these challenges are unique to military-connected students, many other students also experience family separations, transitions, or emotional stress. For example, not all students will experience a parental deployment, but they may experience long parent work trips, parental incarceration, divorce, serious parental illness, or parental death. By deeply understanding the unique needs of military-connected students, you can implement supports that can be utilized by military-connected and civilian students and help create social connections and improved access to learning for all students.

Best Practices for Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment

Educators can take actionable steps to support military students and enhance school culture by doing the following:

  1. Build welcoming classroom environments. Greeting students, creating a consistent daily schedule so that students always know what to do and expect, and allowing students some group work or social time to make connections can help support a sense of belonging.
  2. Support academic transitions. When receiving new students, provide academic and social supports. Schools can create processes to streamline enrollment and collect information about new students. Consider creating a student welcoming task force in which students can volunteer to explain school rules, give tours, and provide early social interaction.
  3. Make emotional supports accessible. Students should be aware of responsive services such as school counseling and school-based therapy and mental health-related initiatives, such as peer mentoring, student assistance programs, and group counseling opportunities. All students should know when to ask for help and who to go to for help.
  4. Recognize and celebrate many kinds of events. Schools can recognize and promote learning about military-connected students by participating in events centered around military students, such as Purple Up Day (Wednesday, April 9 this year). Schools can also observe a variety of different holidays related to other types of students who may be represented in your student population. Learning about other students’ experiences can help all students (and teachers) build empathy and social connections.

Military-connected students do face unique challenges, but their underlying needs can often be addressed by using strategies that can help support all students. By creating inclusive and understanding schools, educators can help every student, regardless of background, feel valued and supported.

Take Action: Explore More Resources

For more specific information on understanding military culture and best practices for supporting military-connected students, check out the Military-Connected Students modules on the School Resources website.

Reference(s):

Easterbrooks, M. A., Ginsburg, K., & Lerner, R. M. (2013). Resilience among military youth. The Future of Children, 23(2), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2013.0014

Fenning, P. (2021). School supports for students in military families. The Guilford Press.

Optimizing Instructional Practices to Support All Learners

Published on March 1, 2025

Understanding Student Needs in the Classroom 

Imagine this: a fourth-grade teacher notices a student who has special needs, struggling in a small-group setting while the class is working on preparing poster presentations. This student often wanders the classroom doing unrelated tasks, distracts their peers with off-topic conversation, and generally appears to be unwilling to attend to the current work tasks. While these behaviors could be interpreted as a lack of interest, a lack of ability, or even defiance, they could also stem from the teacher not using strategies that align with the student’s needs. If students like this do not receive instructional practices that target and address specific learning and/or behavioral needs, these students may be unfairly labeled as having “behavioral problems” when what they need is support that is tailored to how they learn best. 

The Importance of Effective Instructional Practices 

Implementing instructional processes that use differentiated practices for different kinds of learners can be the foundation of an effective classroom. All students come into the classroom with different experiences, neurobiology, and intellectual abilities, and they will not all respond positively to the same instructional approaches. In fact, teachers may need to engage in more reflection and planning to meet a variety of student needs as research consistently shows that, when teachers use evidence-based strategies that are tailored to the needs of their students, they create environments that improve academic outcomes and reduce problem behaviors. When teachers participate in professional development, especially preemptively, this proactive action may yield positive results for all learners and save educators time and aggravation as they will not need to rely on constant reminders and redirection.  

Core Instructional Practices for Student Success  

Regardless of the group of students you’re teaching, implementing certain instructional practices can produce universal benefits: 

  • Build Positive Relationships: Building trust and rapport with students can foster a classroom culture in which students are naturally motivated to behave respectfully. 
  • Set Clear Expectations: Clearly explain what academic and behavioral successes will look like for each activity so students know how to behave.  
  • Utilize Scaffolding: Break down complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps, and provide clear instructions at each stage. 
  • Incorporate Visual Cues: Use visual rules, schedules, charts, or graphic organizers to help students understand expectations and stay organized. 
  • Provide Frequent Feedback: Provide consistent, specific feedback to help students understand their progress and areas for improvement. 
  • Maintain Structured Routines: Maintain predictable routines to reduce students’ anxiety and help them increase focus. 

Remember, specific instructional materials are available that can provide information on tailored strategies and best practices that can be used to address a variety of student concerns and disabilities, including autism, giftedness, and trauma. 

Applying Differentiated Instruction: A Real-World Example 

 Revisiting the earlier classroom scenario, the teacher recognizes that the struggling student has ADHD and requires structured support. Instead of assuming a lack of interest or defiance, the teacher implements the following strategies: 

  • Redirection & Clear Instructions: The teacher calmly reminds the student of the task expectations and provides a tangible handout summarizing the project. 
  • Task Breakdown: Recognizing that the assignment may feel overwhelming, the teacher scaffolds the activity by dividing it into smaller tasks and assigning the student a specific role, such as selecting images or researching sources. 
  • Choice-Based Engagement: The teacher introduces options, allowing the student to choose materials or decide which part of the project to complete first, increasing motivation. 
  • Frequent Positive Reinforcement: Throughout the task, the teacher offers encouragement and rewards the student for focus and participation, reinforcing positive behaviors. 

By employing these tailored strategies, the student is more likely to stay engaged, feel confident, and contribute effectively to the group project. 

Our Resources to Support Educators 

Adopting and refining tailored instructional practices can be challenging. That’s why the School Resources website provides materials that are specifically designed to help educators support students who have exceptional needs or abilities. The School Resources website offers educators valuable materials, including the following: 

  • Hands-on skill development exercises for teachers. 
  • Take-home resources to apply best practices in the classroom. 

The next time you receive a student’s IEP, consider leveraging these resources to implement the best strategies for student success.  

Are you using appropriate, differentiated practices, and are you still experiencing problem behaviors? Learn more about classroom management strategies.  

Reference(s):

Inside IES Research. (2022, May 26). Active duty military families and school supports. https://ies.ed.gov/blogs/research/post/active-duty-military-families-and-school-supports

Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

 

 

Building Stronger Relationships: Strategies for Educators and Beyond 

Published on February 13, 2025
Heart hands as a group of diverse people hands connected together shaped as a love symbol expressing the feeling of being happy and togetherness.

Many people think of February as a time to celebrate love and connection. While Valentine’s Day celebrates romantic and platonic love, this season can also be an opportunity for educators to reflect on the relationships they build in their classrooms. Although you may be familiar with some simple ways to work on building relationships with students, you probably haven’t considered how these same strategies can be used to improve other relationships in your life. Let’s look at some relationship-building skills for the classroom, and how you can focus on improving all of your relationships this Valentine’s season—in and out of school.  

The Power of Meaningful Conversations 

Engaging in discussions with students about non-academic subjects is one way teachers can build positive relationships with students. Giving people time to talk and listen to what they are saying can be beneficial, as this interaction can help the individual who is talking process emotions and thoughts, feel heard and understood, and reduce their stress.  

One effective strategy for changing the behavior of a student is the 2×10 strategy— spending 2 minutes talking to that student about non-academic topics for 10 school days in a row. These conversations can help the student improve their behavioral and academic outcomes, and it could reduce your need to use punitive discipline. Just a few minutes of talking can encourage students and teachers to build understanding and respect for one another and help students meet their needs for attention, safety, and control.  

Try This Outside the Classroom: Think about someone in your life you’ve been struggling to connect with lately. What would it look like to take a small step towards consciously connecting with them? What do you think engaging in 2 minutes of conversation with that person, especially the listening component, could do for your relationship?  

Using Praise to Reinforce Positive Behavior 

Using praise is another effective tool for encouraging positive behavior and utilizing it could help build a connection between teachers and students. When used effectively, praise can reinforce good habits, motivate students, and contribute to a more positive classroom environment. Here are some tips for giving meaningful praise to students: 

  • Use Names: Use the student’s name to make sure they know you’re talking to them: “Cevan, I noticed that you did a great job raising your hand before you answered.” 
  • Be Specific: Explain the behavior that the student performed well so they know how to do it again. “Good job” doesn’t give much direction, but “Kira, I love how detailed these adjectives are” tells the student exactly what she did right.  
  • Maintain a Positive Ratio: Focus on giving more praise than direction or criticism— using a ratio of three positive to one negative comment is suggested.  
  • Catch students being good: When appropriate, wait until a misbehaving student does something correctly so you can give praise, rather than scolding or redirecting them while they’re slightly off-task. 
  • Praise Small Steps: When working to shape a complex behavior, start by praising small behaviors that approximate or precede the expected behavior. For instance, this could be praising a student for starting their work when the goal is that they complete the task.  
  • Set Praise Goals: Give praise frequently and consider setting a goal for how much praise you will try to deliver during a lesson.  

 Apply This to Personal Relationships 

  • Give specific feedback instead of settling for “thanks.” An example of this could be saying, “thanks for grabbing me a coffee this morning because I mentioned I had a long night. That was so thoughtful of you, Marisa.” 
  • Offer criticism paired with some examples of things the other person is doing well. An example of this could be saying, “I really love how creative this idea is, and how fun you make it sound. You’re so interesting! That said, I don’t think a picnic in February is a good idea. What else could we do?” 
  • Focus on noticing how often you offer positive information in conversations. It can be easy to fall into a negative pattern, and you may think that you’re “being real” or people don’t mind. Consider how you can shift your ratio of positive-to-negative interactions. 
  • Look for small actions that people in your life are doing right and try to acknowledge them. You could recognize these actions by using a gesture; remarking on an action or habit (like always putting dishes in the dishwasher) that often gets taken for granted; or noticing and mentioning small steps that are being taken to reach a goal. 
  • Make a habit of looking for the good in others and telling them that you noticed. Consider setting a goal for how many compliments you give out every day.  

Strengthening Connections Inside and Outside the Classroom 

If you’re interested in learning more about building relationships with students, you can look at our trainings on active listening, giving praise, the 2×10  strategy, and being a warm demander. 

If you’re interested in learning more about simple strategies for improving your relationships outside of school, you could start by talking openly with your friends and loved ones and listening empathetically to what they have to say in return. Happy Valentine’s Day! 

Reference(s):

Dweck, C., & Carlson-Jaquez, H. (2010). Using praise to enhance student resilience and learning outcomes: Applications of psychological science to teaching and learning modules. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/using-praise

McKibben, S. (2014). The two-minute relationship builder. Educational Leadership, 56(7). https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-two-minute-relationship-builder