David Splitek, Ph.D., Program Manager Higher Education Initiatives …for the sake of the child Princeton University October 8, 2014 Military Children and Schools

About the Military Child Education Coalition Vision: To serve as a model of positive leadership and advocacy for ensuring quality educational opportunities for all military children affected by mobility, family separation, and transition. Mission: To ensure quality educational experiences for all military children Military Child Education Coalition 909 Mountain Lion Circle Harker Heights, Texas (254) Combined Federal Campaign approved organization, #10261

Presentation Roadmap  Overview of Military and Military- Connected Children Demographics  MCEC Origins  MCEC National Policy Priorities  Summary

Military Facts and Figures All volunteer force since 1973 (40+ years) About 1.4 million on active duty About 1.4 million National Guard/Reserve Forces Across all branches: 50% are below age 25 85% male High school degree or equivalent 70% have at least some college credit About half are married 10% are dual-military marriages

Who Are the Military Children? Almost 2M children (Mom, Dad or Both Active Duty, Guard or Reserve) 1.1 Million school-aged (5-18) 630,000 children of Active Duty 480,000 children of Guard & Reserves 75% of Active Duty children under age 12

Military Children and Transitions Over 2 million children have a mother or father who served in Iraq or Afghanistan Active Duty Military families move 3 times more frequently than civilian counterparts

Distribution of Military-Connected Children by Type of School Environment On average, 90% of public education funding comes from state and local sources. Public Schools:76% Private/Parochial: 10% DoDEA: 8% Home Schooled: 6%*

MCEC Origins  Vietnam  1973 All-Volunteer -> Longer Service  All-Volunteer -> More Married, More Children  1983 Grenada  1991 Desert Storm  1995 Bosnia

MCEC Origins  Military Parent Issues coalesced in 1990’s  School Policies and Admin Rules did not recognize mobile students  Grade level placement  Course Placement  Graduation Requirements  Extra-curricular participation  Student to student connections  School-Age Eligibility Dates  Immunization Requirements

MCEC Origins  1997 Ft. Hood and Killeen ISD leadership met informally  1997 MCEC created as a nonprofit organization supported financially by KISD for several years  Now serving military-connected children worldwide

11 State Rank by Populations of Military Connected Children 1/1 2/3 3/2 4/4 5/5 6/6 7/7 8/8 9/9 MD 10/10 HI 11/14 SC 12/12 13/11 14/13 18/18

12 The 25 Largest Districts for Military Student Populations State School District Total Military Students% of Military TXKilleen ISD % VAVirginia Beach City Public Schools % NCCumberland County Schools % HICentral Admin SD955431% VAFairfax County Public Schools92256% CASan Diego USD90238% UTDavis School District765612% TNClarksville-Montgomery County748926% NCOnslow County Schools741533% VAChesapeake Public Schools628217% TXEl Paso ISD590510% WAClover Park School District481541% FLOkaloosa County SD469417% COFountain-Fort Carson SD % OKLawton Public Schools427828% VANorfolk Public Schools416715% VAPrince William County Public Schools41235% KSGeary County USD % MDAnne Arundel County PS37495% TXNorthside ISD36734% FLHillsborough County PS36622% MOWaynesville R-VI SD348862% VANewport News Public Schools346213% VAYork County School Division311526% TXCopperas Cove ISD306339%

Military Child Education Coalition Policy Priorities Data Quality: We support the inclusion of a military-connected student identifier in state public school data systems to help us better understand and track the academic progress of these students and they move through their K-12 school years. College and Career Ready: We support programs designed to ensure that all students are college and career-ready when they graduate from high school. Implementation of the Interstate Compact: We support the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children. The Compact provides the best opportunity for continuity for mobile military children throughout their K-12 school years.

How We Serve – Research and Scholarly Publications Over a Decade of In-Depth Inquiry and Analysis -- Research -- The Secondary Education Transition Study (SETS), 2001: Made recommendations to improve the transition of military-connected students The Special Needs Studies, 2005 and 2009: Explored what transitioning military families face when moving with children who have special needs Education of the Military Child in the 21st Century (EMC-21), 2011: Updates SETS; explores the education challenges of military-connected students with deployed parents; surveys home schooled students; studies challenges faced by children of Reserves and National Guard during deployments Scholarly Publications -- The Future of Children (FOC), 2013: Jointly developed with Princeton University, The Brookings Institution, and MCEC -- to promote effective policies and programs for military-connected children and their families by providing timely, objective information based on the best available research. Spring

MCEC National Training Seminar: July 30-31, 2015 Washington, DC 20

…for the sake of the child