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Purple Star School Program
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All 10 Duneland Schools were awarded the Purple Star Designation on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.
The Duneland School Board of Trustees adopted a resolution on August 9, 2021 in support of Military Families.
Duneland School Corporation Purple Star Resolution
What is a Purle Star School?
A Purple Star School is a public or charter school that has committed to supporting the unique educational and social-emotional needs of military-connected children.
These schools recognize that military-connected students must move whenever their active-duty parent receives a relocation order (called a Permanent Change of Station) and will uproot and change schools far more often than their civilian peers.
In fact, a military-connected child can expect to move six to nine times from kindergarten through their high school graduation, with approximately 200,000 students transitioning to a new school in any given year.
How they help
Purple Star Schools help military-connected students transition successfully with measures that include:
- Training a staff member to ease entry into the new academic environment,
- Student-led programs to help create social connections,
- A military family webpage on the school website to inform parents, and
- Relevant professional development opportunities for additional school staff.
- State programs may require schools to meet additional criteria, such as holding school-wide military recognition events that encourage tolerance and inclusion.
A primary goal of these programs is to ensure that staff can help manage the challenges military-connected children face when they move between schools with different cultures, curricula, standards, course offerings, schedules and graduation requirements.
Purple Star Schools are especially attentive to students who arrive mid-year, missing out on the normal cycles of sports and club activities.
Finally, Purple Star Schools acknowledge that every military-connected child has left behind friends and support networks and may be dealing with a parent who is away from home on deployment.