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October

October 26, 2009 - DODEA Comes Through with $56M for Public Schools Serving Kids of Military MOAA Website (Military Officers Association of America)
Read the full press release, including the full list of recipient schools at the DODEA Web site.

The Department of Defense Education Activity awarded $56 million in grants to public schools serving military children throughout the nation. There were two categories of grants - competitive and invitational. More than $41 million was awarded to 35 school districts in the competitive category and nearly $15 million was awarded to an additional nine school districts in the invitational category.

A total of 284 schools within the 44 districts will receive grant funds and those schools serve over 77,000 military students. The amount of the awards is based on military student enrollment and range from $300,000 to $2,500,000, depending on the number of military students at the target schools.

Fairbanks North Star Borough School District receives federal grant by Rebecca George The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District will expand academic, career training and social support programs for children of military families using a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense's school division.

District officials stated in a press release that they were honored to receive the grant. It will help lead to changes at all secondary schools, said Wayne Gerke, assistant superintendent of secondary schools for the district.

The grant -funded work will focus on five schools with the highest population of military dependents.

Those include Eielson Junior -Senior High, Lathrop High, North Pole High, North Pole Middle and Tanana Middle schools. During the 2008 -2009 school year, the district served more than 1,100 military dependents from both Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright Army Post in the five schools.

Video Clip - The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has received a 1 point 3 million dollar grant from the Department of Defense Education Activity. The grant is intended to help fund programs for children of military personnel. The borough is using the money on programs that improve students performance, allows them to take more advanced placement classes, and provide transportation for after -school activities. Assistant Superintendent, Wayne Gerke says, although the money was obtained because of the high percentage of military dependents , the programs will benefit other students, too.

October 24, 2009 - Operation Kids has mock deployment By Jennifer Rios

SAN ANGELO, Texas - To prepare her 6 -year -old son for her departure to Iraq, Priscilla Ochoa "deployed" him to Afghanistan.

At Goodfellow's Operation Kids, Raymond Ochoa was issued gear, briefed on his mission and otherwise learned what his mother would soon go through. Ochoa, an Air Force staff sergeant, and her family have talked about her upcoming Iraq tour, but she wanted to make things tangible for her son.

"I'm going to deploy soon," Ochoa said Saturday. "I thought it would help so he would get an idea of what's going on."

October 22, 2009 - Lawmakers form caucus for military families By Rick Maze - Staff writer

Sixty members of the House of Representatives are forming a new caucus to look out for the interests of military families, and intending to tackle spouse employment and aid for families with special -needs children as their first legislative issues.

One co -chair of the caucus is Rep. Cathy McMorris -Rodgers, a Republican lawmaker from Washington state who is married to a 26 -year Navy veteran. The other co -chair is Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr., D -Ga.

The Military Family Caucus officially launches Nov. 4 at an event at which Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, will be the keynote speaker.

McMorris -Rodgers, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, represents a district that includes Fairchild Air Force Base. Bishop, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, represents a Georgia district that includes Fort Benning and Marine Corps Logistic Base Albany.

Aimee Henneke, an Air Force spouse who handles military issues for McMorris -Rodgers, said the congresswoman was surprised to discover that there was no single caucus representing the interests of military families in the House, although the Congressional Women's Caucus has worked on some military family issues.

"If this is going to be the year of the Military Family, why not elevate to a whole different level," Henneke said, by forming a caucus of lawmakers dedicated to the cause.

One of the first planned orders of business is to arrange briefings for the staff of lawmakers in the caucus to give them a better understanding of programs available to military families and gaps in programs, Henneke said.

October 22, 2009 - Workshop for parents, professionals working with special needs kids By Lee Anne Hensley (Hilltop Times staff)

A nationally recognized training workshop will be offered free of charge to parents and professionals from Hill Air Force Base who work with or are parents of children with special needs. The Specialized Training of Military Parents workshop will be held Oct. 26 -28 in the Education Building 385, Room 208. The workshop offered Oct. 26 will be open to educators and other professionals working with special needs children and will be held from 8:30 a.m. until noon. The next two days offer full -day workshops for parents as well as educators and professionals, and is offered from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

"The first day is a half -day training for professionals and the workshops will discuss partnerships and communication between the schools and the military," said Judith Maughan, 75th Force Support Squadron Educations Programs officer. "It will also identify some of the unique needs these students and families have.

October 21, 2009Impact Aid program benefits NAS Jax military family/DoD civilian school children By Staff

In an economy where retail sales are slow, home property resale values receding, and even the sale of lottery ticket purchases down, local public schools continue to feel the pressure when competing for budget dollars. Parents or guardians, both military and civilian, who live or work on NAS Jacksonville (Jax) can help ease some of this financial strain by actively participating in the Impact Aid program.

Traditionally, property taxes, sales taxes and personal income taxes account for a large portion of the average school district's annual budget. However, federally connected students do not contribute as much to the local tax base because their parents or guardians do one or more of the following in the school districts that their students attend:

• Often pay no income taxes or vehicle license fees in their state of residence;
• Live on non -taxable federal property;
• Shop at stores that do not generate taxes; or
• Work on non -taxable federal land.

The Impact Aid program is designed to help compensate by reimbursing public school districts for the loss of these traditional tax revenue sources. Since its inception in 1950, this program has been amended many times and now includes five different types of impact aid. Public school districts are eligible to receive basic impact aid support payments if they have at least 400 "federally connected" students or these students comprise at least three percent of the average daily attendance. Unlike most other forms of educational assistance, Impact aid goes directly to the participating school districts from the federal government rather than through state agencies.

States' compact levels the field for military kids By Cheri Carlson

Military children can lose credits, the opportunity to play sports or take an honors class, and sometimes even the chance to graduate on time or continue in kindergarten as they move from base to base and school to school.

On average, military families move every three years, and children end up on many campuses, each with its own set of rules and schedules.

To help meet those challenges, officials drafted the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, addressing key issues such as enrollment, placement, eligibility and graduation requirements. By this summer, 24 states had signed off on it, officials said.