Military Child Education Coalition: free resources for Veteran families

The summer months have always been a productive time to catch up on reading and resources in preparation for the upcoming school year. This year, in particular, when so many of our lives have been upended, using the summer months to reset plans and expectations is vital, particularly for military and Veteran families.

Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) has a number of free-of-charge online tools that can assist and encourage students, parents and educators.

SchoolQuest

The new SchoolQuest interactive tool supports military and Veteran families’ middle and high school students as they navigate the academic school year. The tool tracks academic progress, securely stores student profiles, and hosts checklists, reminders and notifications for each step through graduation. And, if there is a PCS move on the horizon, it also has a search tool to help identify local schools matched to a student’s interests and needs.

For the Sake of the Child Parent

For the Sake of the Child Parent webinars and podcasts are two easily accessible series. Both address a variety of topics that assist parents in becoming their own children’s best advocates. They are educational and entertaining… and have also become popular with educators and other child-serving professionals because of the wide breadth of timely topics.

COVID-19 Supportive Resource and Content

The COVID-19 Supportive Resource and Content (for parents and kids) is a curated list of social, emotional and academic resources for families during this trying time. This site includes links to the Navigating Change webinars that were produced in response to the COVID-19 school closures. Parents and educators have given them high marks for their on-point content.

TedEd

The TedEd Lessons, Professional Learning Community – Military Kids: A Constellation of Strengths and Challenges, designed originally for education professionals to better understand military and Veteran students, provide great information for Veteran-connected parents, as well.

Leaving the military

And, for students whose families are leaving the military, here’s a set of three short videos that speak directly to those challenges, called “Students Look at their Parents Leaving the Military.” Students will find good transition advice as the child of a Veteran.

Call for the Arts

Call for the Arts (CFA) is an annual MCEC program that encourages students to submit artwork that expresses their lives as military/Veteran-connected children. All forms of visual art, creative writing and performance art are welcome! There are cash prizes and the opportunity to have the works highlighted at MCEC events. While the 2020 deadline is approaching (first of July), these summer months are a good time to prepare for the 2021 CFA. (Submission deadlines will be announced at a later date.)

We invite you to join the Military Childhood Education Coalition virtually this summer… for the sake of the child!

Joan Patterman Barrett, is an Instructional Systems Designer at Military Child Education Coalition.

The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on part of the VA