No one understands the ups and downs of military life like a military child. They’ve said goodbye to their parent, their friends, and their homes more times than most people can even imagine. DoDEA reports that the average military child will move six to nine times throughout their school-aged years, about three times more than non-military kids.
Military parents know how important their child’s education is, and most of them learn on-the-fly just how complicated it is to move their child from one school to another, especially as they get older. State-specific requirements, missing auditions and tryouts for the next year, and additional services are all just one piece of the puzzle for these military families.
So when Seasons of My Military Student: Practical Ideas for Parents and Teachers released earlier year, military families jumped for it. Written by two military spouses and parents, Seasons of My Military Student is the tool for parents, teachers, and administrators of all ages.
A little background
Every good military spouse friendship has a story. The story of Stacy Allsbrook-Huisman and Amanda Trimillos began with their passion for helping other military families. They consulted on education stories, interviewed each other for various projects, and both contributed to Stories Around the Table.
When Elva Resa Publishing approached them about working on this book together, to combine the parent and educator perspectives, Amanda was stationed in Washington, D.C., and Stacy in Germany. When Amanda’s spouse received orders to Germany, Stacy literally moved her in next door. They wrote together around the kitchen table, each week, and their children became fast friends. They finished the book up after Stacy moved to Florida.
Why this book? Who’s it for?
Struggles with military moves and education are nothing new, which prompted a question about why write this book? What was the inspiration?
“Each school told me something different,” Stacy said, “I’m was not going to take no for an answer.”
She added that she knew if she was struggling, other parents were as well.
Both Amanda and Stacy hope this book will teach parents and teachers to advocate and support their military children. “The big picture look is to explain to teachers how to talk to parents, help parents talk to teachers about the military-connected life of their student,” Stacy explained. “We created what we consider the lifestyle of a military student. Every kid goes through the same cycle each move.”
The book speaks to students, and not to their age. “Every K-12 student goes through these seasons,” Stacy explained. They did break down some sections into age groups, yet the actionable steps presented can help everyone. “This book is for anyone who works with military students,” she explained. Administrators, counselors, coaches, teachers, and parents are just the starting point.
What’s next?
“Survive middle school!” Stacy joked.
She and her kids have moved nine times, and she’s eager to settle down when the time comes. Amanda and I would like to continue to work to impact military education. “We’d like to work on curriculum for teacher and parents, help develop lesson plans to connect to military kids better,” she said.
They’d also like to focus on areas with smaller percentages of military kids, to make sure they are included in these conversations. All of this, while attending seminars, doing book tours, and more moving.
Read more about getting your student ready for the new school year: Helping Military Students Avoid the Summer Slide
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