Smooth
Moves
A military student’s point of view
What if:
This is going to be
another new school, and everyone else knows the routine but you
and you feel a little bit dumb?
You do not know a soul in this school, you do not know who to
ask about kid problems and you are not comfortable talking to
strange adults, even teachers?
You are a little scared and not very good at acting cool to try
to impress your new class mates?
You are eight years old, and this is the second time you have
had to change schools?
You do not have any one to hang with at recess or even eat lunch
with?
You really missed all of your old friends where you came from
and you do not even know which children it is safe to talk to
here?
Everybody at school already has friends and you are worried that
no one wants to play with you?
Your household goods were still on a ship in the middle of some
ocean, and you are looking forward to ninety days living in what
amounts to a motel room with all of your other family members
while you wait to be assigned to permanent quarters? |
What if:
There was a system of School Liaison Officers, Army wide, to help
students and families transition from one school system to another and
help resolve school issues when you got to your new school?
Your parents coordinated with the School Liaison Officer who told them
what to expect and who to talk to at your new school in order to
smooth your transition?
The SLO helped make sure you had all of the records you need to enroll
in the new school and even had graduation requirements and scholarship
information? |
The SLO had worked with the school system to make them aware of the
problems Military Students face and had a buddy system in place to
make sure there was a child who you could talk to, hang with and eat
lunch with until you began to make your own friends?
I would like to help. Please give me a call. I am John Jennings, the
School Liaison Officer at Fort Rucker, 255-9812
Making a Move
Our children tell time by some mysterious, internal clock that advises
them when it is time to cling or time to be independent or time to
blend in. For children with stationary lifestyles, these alarms go off
periodically and, with varying levels of difficulty, they adjust.
Growing up in multiple schools and various cultures,
military-connected children have their alarm constantly set to,
"Adapt! Adapt! Adapt!" They can hit the "snooze" button for a while,
but it's bound to go off again. Combine these transitions from school
to school with the loss of other support systems like families and
churches, and you're beginning to get the idea.
Now for the good news. There are ideas and tools you may never have
considered that can help your child make smoother transitions. As the
best advocates for your child, parents can greatly enhance educational
experiences for their children by being well-informed and
well-equipped with moving tricks of the trade.
Transitioning to a New School Checklist
Give the
losing school adequate notice of withdrawal. It is Army policy
to in/out process with the school.
Hand carry all school records. Placing these records in your
household goods may mean delay in registration or inappropriate
placement.
Contact Army
Community Services Relocation Program
Standard Installation Topic Exchange
Service (SITES) at the Defense Manpower Data
Center for information on your gaining installation and
surrounding communities.
Check the
new school calendar for beginning and ending dates. Taking
leave in conjunction with a pcs move can mean significant loss
of time in the classroom and possible retention.
Be familiar with
eligibility requirements,
such as age, and requirements for graduation.
Contact the
housing office at the
gaining installation to determine the wait period for on-post
quarters.
Visit the Alabama State Department of Education at
www.alsde.edu. If going overseas, visit the
DODEA homepage. |
What Soldiers Need to Know About Their Child’s School Records
Your child’s class records of grades earned are kept in their
teacher’s grade book or books if there is more than one teacher. Class
grades are normally gathered only for report cards. The rest of the
time they are a work in progress. If you need to have your child’s
grades gathered to transfer schools (PCS) it takes a little time.
Teachers normally do this grade averaging and gathering during their
planning period not in class time.
Records concerning money are usually kept with the homeroom teacher,
the library, the lunchroom or who ever else must keep up with money.
It takes time for the school’s office to gather these records.
If fees are owed official records are sometimes not sent. This policy
varies from school system to system. If official records are not sent,
promotions sometimes do not happen.
The copies of school records you are given to hand carry are not the
actual records, but they are important. They are unofficial copies of
your child’s records that let guidance personnel place your child in
the correct classes so that their education can continue without
interruption while the official records are forwarded. The official
school records are always mailed or faxed from one school to another.
They are never hand carried! This prevents “adjustments” that some
people have attempted to make in their child’s records.
Now you know why it is a good idea to let the school know two weeks in
advance to gather your child’s records. It can make a grade’s
difference in one or more classes if grades are missed or projects are
not credited because of doing records in a rush.
Eligibility Requirements
According to the Code of
Alabama, a child must be six years old on or before September 1 to
enroll in First Grade. A child must be five years old on or before
September 1 to enroll in Kindergarten. Though it is available and
encouraged in all of the school systems serving Ft. Rucker,
kindergarten is not required by Alabama Law. There is a part day pre
kindergarten available in the Ft. Rucker DDESS Primary School on
post for four year olds.
To be eligible to attend an on post school a Soldier's Family must
either reside on post or have a letter from Housing that says they
will be assigned permanent on post housing within 180 days. There
have never been any exceptions to this DDESS policy that I have been
able to discover.
The housing areas have many bicycle and running trails that children
use regularly to ride bicycles to school everyday.
Back to "Transitioning to a New School
Checklist" |