Wyoming Purple Star School Program
The Wyoming Purple Star School Program offers comprehensive benefits designed to support military families, ensuring that military-connected students experience a smooth transition into new educational environments.
Military-connected students relocate an average of six to nine times throughout their K-12 education and encounter varying school cultures, curricula, and social dynamics on their journey. Wyoming Purple Star Schools address these challenges to ensure the educational and emotional needs of military-connected students are met during transitions and deployments. The program enhances the educational experience for these students and provides peace of mind for their families, knowing that they are supported in a military-friendly environment.
Purple Star Schools Offer:
- Dedicated Family Liaisons
Each Purple Star School designates staff liaisons who assist military families navigate school resources to ensure they receive support for deployment challenges, transition planning, and enrollment processes. - Streamlined Enrollment and Support
Schools provide simplified enrollment procedures and facilitate expedited transfer of records to maintain academic continuity during relocations.. Academic assistance programs, counseling services, and extracurricular activities are specifically designed for military-connected students to ensure that families can access resources that address their unique challenges and students can integrate into their new school with minimal disruption to their education. - Peer and Community Support Programs
Purple Star Schools establish peer support groups or mentorship programs specifically for military-connected students. These initiatives foster a sense of belonging and community, helping students connect with their peers and reduce feelings of isolation that can accompany frequent moves. Additionally, family events strengthen the connection between military families and the school community. - Staff Training on Military Family Dynamics
Educators and staff receive training on the unique challenges faced by military families, including the impact of deployments and relocations on students. This training helps create a more empathetic and understanding environment within the school, promoting better communication and support for military-connected students.
The Wyoming Purple Star School Program recognizes the efforts of Wyoming K-12 schools that are committed and supportive of military students and families as they transition to their new homes and schools. The program was designed to help with the challenges of high mobility by setting standards of commitment for the school’s award of the military-friendly Purple Star designation. All Wyoming public and private schools are eligible to apply for the Purple Star School Award.
Participating Schools
With more than 1.1 million military-connected students attending schools, issues of school transition are a high priority for families. The most current data indicates that Wyoming has 2,005 military-connected students in our schools. The frequent relocations required of military personnel mean that, on average, military-connected children move six to nine times between kindergarten and high school graduation. As they transition between schools, these students must adapt to varying cultures, school populations, curricula, standards, course offerings, schedules, and graduation requirements. As a result, military-connected students often face unique academic and social-emotional challenges. A mission deployment of a parent or parents can also contribute to impactful stress on a student.
Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3)
The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children was developed to ease interstate education transition challenges encountered by the children of active duty service members such as enrollment, eligibility, placement, and graduation. It was created jointly by the Council of State Governments’ National Center for Interstate Compacts and the U.S. Department of Defense, with input from policy experts, national associations, teachers, school administrators, military families, and federal, state, and local officials.
The Compact First available for legislative consideration in 2008, the Compact was adopted by all 50 states and the District of Columbia in just 6 legislative sessions. Wyoming adopted the Compact in March 2012. Compact dues are paid by the Wyoming Department of Education.
Visit the Wyoming MIC3 webpage to learn more, including contacts for leadership, meeting information, and other resources.
