As families across the country prepare for a return to the classroom, we talked with Jerrod Wheeler, superintendent of the Knob Noster School District in Missouri and a member of the ADC board of directors. He told On Base how schools and communities can welcome new military students.

ADC: What are your schools and other military family-friendly schools doing to welcome military children back to school, including those who just moved to the area?

Wheeler: Summer break looks different for the military child. While many families hit the road for a vacation to the lake, mountains or beach, many military children pack up their bedrooms and [follow PCS orders to move] to a new installation, new neighborhood and new school.

Schools can take a huge step in helping ease the tensions of these moves by implementing transition programs, such as the Student to Student Program through the Military Child Education Coalition. Ensuring that military students receive a warm welcome, a quality orientation to their new school, and that they are partnered with new friends is extremely important and can ensure the next chapter of life for these students gets started right.

ADC: What support do defense communities provide to help military-connected students feel welcome at school or in a new community?

Wheeler: Along with easing transitions, it is important that schools create timely supports to ensure school records are effectively sent and received so that students can enroll and begin school on day one, just like civilian students.

But school life doesn’t stop at academics. Sports and activities are a big part of the lives of students. Schools and community-based sports and activities organizations can reserve spots on teams to ensure military students are not penalized or marginalized due to the PCS.

Creating proper avenues to ensure students have equal access to all services is not just the kind thing to do; it’s the right thing to do for our service member families.

ADC: What do you wish non-military-connected people knew about students from military families?

Wheeler: In Knob Noster Public Schools, nearly 70% of our students are military-connected. As a result, our small, rural, Midwestern school boasts a uniquely diverse student population with life experiences which span the globe. This offers a tremendous opportunity to expose all students to new perspectives, new personalities and new ways of thinking about not just how we learn but also how we can develop and sustain a network of friendships that can endure time and distance perpetually.

Each unique military-connected student carries with them a unique story. Those stories can add so much value and excitement to the school setting.