By Dr. Kimberlee Ratliff
Program Director, M.Ed. in School Counseling at American Public University
As we celebrate the month of the military child in April, I reflect on my own experience as a military child many years ago. I enjoyed moving and adjusting to new places, but the challenges I did not look forward to often occurred in the school setting. I remember moving suddenly from Ft. Clayton, Panama prior to the ousting of Noriega and being tossed from a Department of Defense Dependent School (DoDDs) to a public school in Arkansas. At the time I was in the 7th grade and had to live with my grandparents temporarily before eventually moving to our new duty station at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. The difference in curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities were drastically different as I bounced from junior high school out of country to junior high school in Arkansas to middle school in Kentucky, all within five months. Through this transition I went from a college-preparatory curriculum to general education courses that were boring and less than challenging. I’m not sure I learned much in 8th grade as the content and concepts were a review from my 7th grade year in Panama. School became just something I had to do rather than something I enjoyed. Nearly every test score I received was above 100% in every subject (due to correct extra credit responses). Quickly, I acquired nicknames such as “nerd”, “smarty pants”, and “goody two shoes”. That wasn’t the impression I wanted to make in a new middle school.
After my academic experience at the new school, I mustered up the courage to sign up for extra-curricular activities and get involved. At my previous school, I enjoyed participating in student government, newspaper staff, and other clubs that caught my interest. After visiting the school counselor’s office, I was very disappointed to discover that being on the school newspaper staff was restricted to students enrolled in advanced English. I was enrolled in the general education English course due to lack of test scores to place me in the advanced course. As you can imagine, my transition from a junior high school that I loved to two schools that fell short of my needs was the most challenging part of my military child journey. Although I describe my experience as challenging, those transferring during high school have a tougher journey ahead with completing high school graduation requirements, different course sequence offerings between states, and misplacement in courses due to lack of state test scores from that particular state. Additionally, they may be left out of sports and extra-curricular activities for missing try-outs or missing application deadlines.
To address these concerns, an Interstate Compact on Education Opportunity for Military Children was created and adopted by 44 states, including Kentucky where I experienced the toughest transition. On March 5, 2013, Arkansas officially adopted it as well. According to the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission, the compact addresses issues related to enrollment (i.e., records, placement in courses, special education services), eligibility (i.e., extra-curricular activities), and graduation (i.e., flexibility on exams, waiving courses). Military children in those 44 states will hopefully have a more positive educational experience with these considerations in place. I hope to see all 50 states adopt this important compact in support of military children.
In April as we celebrate the month of the military child, it is encouraging to see initiatives move forward to support the needs of military children. If you want to see if your state has adopted the compact, you can access that information at the following link: http://mic3.net/pages/contact/contactmic3_map.aspx If your state is not represented, I strongly recommend advocating for our military children. You can contact your local and state representatives to support this effort.
Other excellent sites that I recommend for further information and resources:
- The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
- Military Child Education Coalition
- The School Superintendents Association
- Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission
About the Author:
Dr. Ratliff holds an Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology, M.Ed. in School Counseling, and B.S. in Psychology. She has been with APUS since September 2010 and is an Associate Professor and Program Director of School Counseling. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC), National Certified School Counselor (NCSC), K-12 Certified School Counselor (VA), and a Trauma and Loss School Specialist with 12 years of experience as an elementary and middle school counselor.
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