gmu cehd operationeducate

8/10/2019 GMU CEHD OperationEducate

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OperationEducate the Educators

at George Mason UniversityA BLUEPRINT FOR SUPPORTING

MILITARYCONNECTE D CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES


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George Mason University College of Education and Human Development

CONTE NTS

1 Executive Summary

2 Background

3 Vision

5 Why Schools Need to Act

9 From At-Risk to Resilient

10 Seven Proposed Solutions

14 Why George Mason University

16 Partnerships and Funding

Executive Summary

Our military children are awesome,

just as their parents are. But they

have extra hurdles to clear,

burdens to bear...we have a sacred

responsibility to take care of them.

Robert M. Gates

former United States Secretary of Defense

eachers and other human services personnel are rarely prepared to address the un

issues that ace military-connected children. As a result, a critical need exists to dev

services, programs, and research that provides support or them within our schools

and communities.

George Mason Universitys College o Education and Human Development ()

has long recognized this need, and was among the first participants in Operation Ed

the Educators, an initiative to better prepare uture teachers and school personnel to

support military-connected children. o build on the momentu

o the nationwide Operation Educate the Educators effort,

has developed a blueprint or promoting best practices and evid

based programs in this domain.

We envision serving as a hub or the Washington, D.C. area,

a region with a large population o military amilies, and as

a resource or universities, schools, researchers, teachers,

communities, and amilies nationwide.

o achieve these ambitious goals, we seek short- and long-term

philanthropic support.


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2 Operation Educate the EducatorsA Blueprint for Supporting Military-Connected Children George Mason UniversityColl ege of Education and Human Development

Background

A MISSION TO E DUCATE

The Nations Future Teachers

In April 2011, the Military Child Education Coalition and the American Association o

Colleges or eacher Education joined orces to develop Operation Educate the Educators.

Tis national initiative was conceived in support o two goals:

1. Provide schools with greater capacity to serve military-connected students and their amilies.

2.Prepare teachers to understand the military communitys unique needs and provide

appropriate support to students.

Achieving these goals requires the participation o universities that educate uture teachers.

oday, more than 100 colleges and universities are signed on to the Operation Educate the

Educators program.

Te work o these institutions, however, tends to be scattered. Tere has been no systematic

effort to build on these individual initiativesuntil now.

Vision

L E ADING THE WAY

In Support of Military-Connected Children

It is our vision to create a service that supports Operation Educate the Educators miss

especially in the Washington, D.C. area and particularly through research, leadership,

education around the needs o military amilies.

Based at George Mason University, this s ervice will develop and sustain efforts to engage

and inorm educators about best practices, while also promoting evidence-based program

meet the needs o military-connected children. With a ocus on schools and communitie

the service will identiy and develop leading-edge practices, policy, and research.

George Mason University, located amid the regions large population o military amilies,

offers an unparalleled opportunity to orge partnerships and deliver outcomes with both

and national impact.


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4 Operation Educate the EducatorsA Blueprint for Supporting Military-Connected Children George Mason University College of Education and Human Development

FOUR MIL L ION STUDE NTS ARE MIL ITARY CONNE C

Military-connected students are present in every level o our education system, rom

pre-school through high school, trade schools, and institutions o higher education.

Currently, there are at least 4,000,000 military-connected students whose parents are a

duty members o the National Guard or Reserves, or veterans o the Unites States mil

Tese children live in communities in every state and attend schools in virtually eve

school system in the country. Most military-connected students attend public schoo

E DUCATORS ARE UNPRE PARE D

Educators are uniquely positioned to identiy at-risk students. And yet, teachers,

counselors, paraproessionals, principals, and others may not be aware o the social,

emotional, and learning challenges specific to military-connected students.

For example, military-connected children ofen eel anxiety around the multiple

transitions they experience, including moving to a new home. I an inormed teach

notices that a student is alling behind or acting distant, he or she can find out i

a military transition is the cause and then proceed with an appropriate response and

an intentional strategy.

eachers and other community personnel rarely receive training to prepare them to

the unique needs o military-connected children. Te development o services, pro

and research is thus critically needed.

Why Schools Need to Act


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STUDE NTS FACE UNIQUE CHAL L E NGE S

n High Mobility Rates

Active-duty amilies typically move every two to three years. Students ofen experience

six to nine moves during their P-12 school years.

n Access to Special Needs

Students ace difficulties qualiying or, receiving, or continuing special needs servicesdue to differences in regulation, testing, and resource availability in school districts.

Between 10-12% o military-connected students are served in special education programs.

n Elevated Stress

Relocation, making new riends, deployment o a parent, and adjusting to new

curriculum or instructional methods can put students at-risk or distress and emotional

challenges, including depression and anxiety.

THE RISKS ARE RE AL

Research confirms that children o military amilies ofen exhibit increased levels o

social-emotional and behavioral problems, including anxiety, regression, irritability,

sleep issues, and high-risk behaviors such as substance abuse.

Some children also have difficulty with academic perormance in school, mostly as

a result o lie-stressors attributable to a parents military service.


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T O K N O W B E T T E R I S T O D O B E T T E R

Educators are uniquely positioned to identiy military-connected children who are

and help them build resiliency.

Studies confirm that responsive school environments and teacher-student relations

positively impact students social, emotional, and academic unctioning. I teachers

and community members are aware o military-connected childrens needs and dev

responsive rameworks, they can serve as an important stabilizing orce or our

military-connected children.

o do so, however, it is necessary or teachers and others to have a deeper understan

o the military community, liestyle, and culture so they are able to provide well-ino

responsive, and systematic support.

S U P P O R T C H I L D R E N B Y S U P P O R T I N G T E A C H E R S

o address this need, George Mason Universitys College o Education and Human

Development has developed a blueprint or promoting best practices and evidence-

based programs. It starts by inorming aspiring teachers enrolled in teacher prepara

programs. It then extends to proessional development or educators and others in

schools and community support agencies.

From At-Risk to Resilient


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A MUL TI FACE TE D BL UE PRINT

Operation Educate the Educators at George Mason University will initiate a range o

activities to ulfill its role as a resource to educators and other human services

proessionals, including the ollowing:

1. Education Modules. For military-connected children, poor or slipping schoolperormance may be related to a amily members military service. When teachers

are aware o these types o issues, they can better respond. o acilitate this,

George Mason University will develop online education modules to train teachers.

Tese modules will provide contemporary inormation on the needs o military-

connected children and their amilies. Te modules will be offered through

George Mason Universitys academic programs, will be distributed to higher

education institutions throughout the nation, and will be made available online as

continuing education courses or current teachers.

2. Summer Academies. In order to provide intense, multi-day courses on theunique needs o military-connected children and their amilies, George Mason

University will develop a summer academy. Participants will be drawn rom

throughout the country, and the academy courses will be taught by leading

researchers and educators.

3. Scholarly Research. George Mason University will support scholarly researchand program evaluations that are key to better understanding military-connected

children. opics will include: What is the impact o mobility on academic

perormance among military-connected children? And how well do current

Seven Proposed Solutions


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nonprofit programs succeed in addressing the needs o military-connected chi

and spouses? Scholars will identiy evidence-based responses and intervention

best suited to support teachers in their day-to-day interactions with military-

connected amilies.

4. Resource Bank. Currently, the efforts o individual institutions are scatteredwith ew opportunities to learn rom each other. George Mason University wil

provide schools and human services agencies an online bank o resources ocu

on the unique needs o military-connected children and amilies, including vi

models and best practices.

5. Summer Camps for Children. Summer camps provide a sae environmenchildren who have similar amily and lie experiences, thus enhancing their

resiliency when coping with military-related stressors. George Mason Univers

will develop and host camps that provide military-connected children with

a supportive experience while also providing a orum or teachers-in-training

practicing teachers, and other human services proessionals to learn firsthand

about the needs o these students.

6. Community of Practice. George Mason University will provide inormedand critical leadership. Te university will convene educators, human services

proessionals, schools, community organizations, and others to build a network

community o practice and caring in support o military-connected children and

their amilies.

7. Stakeholder Conferences. George Mason University will host regional,national, and web-based conerences to urther disseminate inormation abo

unique needs o military-connected children and their amilies, including

models and best practices or schools and community organizations.


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14 Operation Educate the EducatorsA Blueprint for Supporting Military-Connected Children George Mason University College of Education and Human DevelopmentGeorge Mason University College of Education and Human Development

Why George Mason University

R E S E A R C H A N D P R A C T I C E

In the Nations Capital

George Mason University has a large local ootprint in the Northern Virginia and

Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Each year, the College o Education and Human

Development enrolls more than 4,000 students and works in close partnership with

the regions world-class school systems.

As part o Operation Educate the Educators at George Mason University, the College o

Education and Human Development will draw upon multiple areas o expertise within

the university, including the College o Health and Human Services and the College

o Humanities and Social Sciences. Tis alliance among disciplines promises a visionary,

multi-disciplinary, and multi-dimensional lens through which to view, understand,

and support military-connected children and their amilies.

Operation Educate the Educators at George Mason University is positioned to have a vast

and immediate impact, not just in the region but as a model or other school systems,

universities, and communities nationwide.


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Partnerships and Funding

W O R K I N G T O G E T H E R F O R M I L I T A R Y F A M I L I ES

Te needs o military-connected children and amilies are well documented and

virtually universal. We believe its time to address these needs by educating aspiring and

current teachers as well as human services proessionals.

In order to succeed, Operation Educate the Educators at George Mason University

seeks philanthropic support. Such unding will allow us to implement education,

proessional development, and continuing education or teachers and human

services proessionals, while strengthening the capacity o schools and community

organizations to meet the needs o military-connected children and amilies.

George Mason University requires both short- and long-term philanthropic unding.

Tere are many opportunities or co-branding and or ensuring that this program

has maximum, positive impact. We invite individual, corporate, oundation, state, and

national organizations to partner with us.

Please contact the College o Education and Human Development at George Mason

University at [email protected] or more inormation.

L E ADE RSHIP

Jennifer Drake Patrick, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator

Operation Educate the Educators

[email protected]

703.993.2166

Mark R. Ginsberg, Ph.D.

Dean and Professor

[email protected]

703.993.2004

Robert Johnson

Director of Development

[email protected]

703.993.2005

AL L IE S

Association of the United States Army (AUSA)

Blue Star Families

Child Care Aware of America

Dare Mighty Things, Inc.

George Mason Universitys College of

Health and Human Services and College

of Humanities and Social Sciences

Gordon Sumner Consulting

Military Offi cers Association of America (MOAA)

National Military Family Association

They Serve 2

Virginia Department of Education

Zero To Three


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College of Education

and Human Development

George Mason University

Thompson Hall

4400 University Drive, MS 2F1

Fairfax, Virginia 22030

cehd.gmu.edu P h o t o : D O D

F o r t B e l v o i r

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