Monroe Primary and Junior High schools receive Purple Star designation

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce recently announced that Monroe Primary and Junior High Schools were two of 171 Ohio schools to receive Purple Star designations as members of the Purple Star Class of 2024. Ninety-seven Ohio schools received the esteemed award for the first time and 74 schools earned a renewal after three years as dedicated Purple Star Schools.

Purple Star Schools show a major commitment to supporting the unique educational and social-emotional needs of military-connected children and their families. These schools recognize that military-connected students must move whenever their active-duty parent receives a relocation order and will change schools far more often than their civilian peers.

“Frequent moves, family separations through deployments, and reintegration issues make life especially challenging for military families,” said Monroe Local Schools Purple Star Liaison and Attendance Officer Kelley Dudleson. “Our goal is to help military-connected students feel at home and well supported. I personally understand these challenges because I am part of a military family too.”

According to the Military Child Education Coalition, a military-connected child can expect to move six to nine times during the span of their K-12 educational career, with approximately 200,000 students transitioning to a new school in any given year.

In order to receive the Purple Star designation, a school must demonstrate its commitment to serving military students and families through a series of required and optional activities identified by Ohio’s Purple Star Advisory Board, including:

• The school must have a staff point of contact for military students and families who serves as the primary liaison between them and the school.
• The liaison completes professional development on special considerations for military students and families under federal law.
• The liaison identifies and informs teachers of the military-connected students in their classrooms and the special considerations military families and students should receive.
• The school maintains a dedicated page on its website featuring resources for military families.

“Ohio is a leader in its support to military families and the Purple Star program is a wonderful example of how this support extends to children in our schools,” said Governor DeWine. “I applaud Ohio’s Purple Star schools and thank them for supporting military-connected students and ensuring they have the services and learning resources to succeed.”