►
Description
In this episode of At Your Service, hosts Susan Love and Ryan Voegtlin discuss how to support military connected students and families. Guests include Michelle Boone, School Liaison Officer with Naval Support Activity Annapolis and Meredith McCandless, School Liaison Office with Fort Meade.
A
B
A
B
As
the
school
liaison
for
the
Navy
I
work
to
help
families
make
that
important
transition
when
they
are
pcsing
in
and
pcsing
out,
to
help
their
children
sort
of
get
settled
in
the
school
systems.
You
know
military
children
move
many
times,
often
one
to
four
times
every
one
to
four
years,
so
helping
them
with
that
school
transition.
Support
is
very
important.
I
also
help
with
deployment
support
with
families
and
children
and
supporting
the
families,
as
they
receive
orders
for
deployment.
I
also
help
with
the
special
education
system
navigation.
B
We
have
a
program
called
efmp
which
stands
for
Exceptional,
Family,
Member
Program,
so
helping
to
connect
them
so
that
they
can
get
information
to
support.
Families
who
have
children
with
special
needs
and
I
serve
as
a
link
between
command
and
educator,
community
and
parents,
and
giving
that
communication
so
that
they
can
have
that
information
that
communicates
in
between
all
of
those,
and
we
also
have
Pi,
which
stands
for
Partnerships
in
education,
which
supports,
gives
supports
in
the
school
system
and
between
families
and
the
command.
B
I
also
provide
homeschool
support
as
well,
because
some
of
our
families
do
choose
to
homeschool
their
children.
So
we
provide
those
supports
to
those
families
and
again
and
also
post-secondary
education,
providing
information
to
families
as
their
children
make
that
transition
to
the
post-secondary
world
and
a
myriad
of
other
things.
C
So
everything
Michelle
just
listed
it's,
we
I'm
doing
the
same
kind
of
programs
and
activities
on
Fort
Meade
base
for
the
our
side
of
the
house.
We
partner
up
on
a
lot
of
things,
I
think
the
the
most
vital
role
I,
find
in
being
the
school
liaison
officer,
is
serving
as
an
advocate
for
military
families.
C
You
know,
like
Michelle
mentioned
the
amount
of
times
that
they
have
to
transition
from
school
to
school
is
anxiety-inducing,
so
being
that
person
who
they
can
call
on
to
reduce
that
stress
level
and
have
the
answers
for
them
and
walk
them
through
registration
and
give
them.
The
information
is
really
I,
find
it
really
rewarding
excellent.
D
B
You
want
to
go
okay,
that's
a
good
question
because,
as
sometimes
the
first
point
of
contact,
usually
after
housing,
I
do
get
parents
that
have
a
lot
of
questions
concerning
their
children
and
and
how
to
get
their
children
sort
of
settled
in
school.
You
have
to
remember
when
families
are
relocating
because
they
receive
orders.
I
get
inquiries
from
literally
around
the
world
across
the
country
and
around
the
world,
and
school
systems
are
very,
very
different
and
parents
don't
know
how
to
navigate
that.
E
B
C
Of
the
challenge
challenges
that
I've
noticed
is
a
lot
of
times.
Family
pcsing
in
from
somewhere
else,
aren't
aware
that
they're
addressed
dictates
what
school
they
go
to.
So
there
isn't
much
of
a
choice
there,
so
that
needs
to
be
explained
to
them.
The
other
one
is
that
I've
experienced
several
times.
C
Is
them
being
told
that
they
can't
register
their
student
because
they
don't
have
an
actual
address
yet
because
they're
on
the
waiting
list
for
housing,
which
I
then
enable
as
the
school
liaison
officer
step
in
and
clarify
for
the
school
that
they
can
indeed
use
their
orders
to
get
that
child
registered.
So
it's
one
less
thing
to
worry.
D
A
And
with
that
Meredith
yeah
tied
to
those
challenges
when,
when
families
deploy
or
PCS
what
are
some
of
the
things
that
people
should
know
who
maybe
aren't
military
connected,
maybe
they're
Educators
in
our
system?
What
should
they
know
about
the
impacts
that
they
might
have
on
a
family
or
a
student
that
they
might
see
in
that
school
or
that
classroom.
C
Right
so
I
think
the
number
one
thing
that
I've
been
stressing
to
faculty
is
the
stress
level
for
the
family
and
them
not
knowing
how
like
Michelle
mentioned,
not
knowing
how
to
navigate
the
school
system,
because
they're
all
so
different
right
so
having
something
in
preparation
for
the
families
that
come
in
a
welcome
pack
with
detailed
information
about
the
school.
Those
type
of
things
are,
you
know
what
they
need
to
focus
on
if
there's
any
type
of
special
activities
that
the
students
are
required
for
graduation,
that
these
are
talked
about
up
front.
B
We
have
other
supports
that
can
help
the
family
I
think
it's
important
and
I
just
for
the
schools
to
know
that,
like
we
have
military
family
life
counselors
who,
if
the
if
school
systems
or
counselors
in
the
school,
see
that
children
are
undergoing
some
sort
of
stressors
or
if
the
families
share
that
they
can
pick
up
a
phone
if
they
have
a
connection
with
their
school
liaison
and
share
that
and
that
family
can
be
referred
to
supports.
Like
military
family
life
counselors,
we
have
financial
counselors.
B
A
About
them
that
they're
able
to
better
support
and
I
think
one
thing
is
just
having
like
Mentor
or
buddies
that
kids
can
get
can
get
connected
to
when
they
come
from
a
military
deployment
that
they
can
show
them
around
they're
automatically
connected
with
a
student
in
the
building,
because
that
can
you
know
when
you're
transitioning
to
one
to
four
schools
over
your
school
career.
That
is
a.
B
I'm
glad
you
said
that,
because
in
several
schools
in
Anne
Arundel
County,
there
are
programs
that
I
personally
have
that
do
provide
that
mentorship.
It's
called
anchored
for
life
and
it's
a
program
that
the
Navy
has
introduced
and
pays
foreign
supports,
and
it
is
a
mentorship
program.
We
have
it
in
several
elementary
schools
and
in
middle
school
in
Anne,
Arundel
County,
and
it
is
absolutely
fantastic
and
the
feedback
that
I
get
is
that
the
children
love
it.
They
love
being
the
mentors
and
the
children
who
received
a
mentorship,
love.
B
C
Similar
to
that
yeah,
we
have
in
the
Mead
cluster,
we've
got
in
our
middle
school
and
high
schools
and
ambassador
program
yeah.
So
those
are
the
people
or
students
that
are
designated
and
there's
two
genders
at
each
age
level
to
welcome
whatever
students
coming
in
and
then
they
fare
well
when
they
leave,
in
addition
to
the
purple
star
group
that
they
have
at
MacArthur
Middle
that
they
meet
weekly,
so
they're,
all
military
kids
that
can
discuss
the
same
type
of
life
that
they're
all
experiencing.
That's.
C
D
And
we
we
talked
a
little
bit
about
we
mentioned
earlier
about
the
difficulty
or
just
how
to
navigate
the
process
of
enrolling
in
a
new
school
system
and
then
moving
from
a
different
state
and
I.
Don't
under
you
know
as
I
work
at
a
high
school
level.
Mostly
that's
my
expertise,
but
you
know
just
requirements
are
different,
and
so
it's
really
helpful
to
hear
that
there
are
Liaisons.
Do
they
have
Liaisons
in
other
states?
Is
it
something
that
every
base
has
like?
How
does
that?
How
does
that
work.
B
Well,
there
actually
are
Liaisons
everywhere,
literally
across
the
United
States
and
around
the
world
and
each
School
liaison.
We
have
the
information
to
connect
families,
for
instance,
if
a
family
is
pcsing
out,
okay,
they
should
contact
their
current
School
liaison,
which
I
absolutely
love,
and
we
will
find
out
once
you
tell
me,
your
orders,
I
will
find
out
who
the
school
is
on
is
in
the
area
in
which
you're
pcsing
out
to
I
will
con
contact
them
and
make
that
connection.
B
B
Now
one
of
the
advice
that
I
give
to
families
PCS
Technologies,
make
sure
you
hand
carry
any
school
records
you
have,
because
if
it's
packed
up
with
everything
and
the
military
packs
you
up,
then
there
could
be
a
delay
with
the
arrival
of
those
records
with
your
furniture
and
your
goods
right,
and
that
could
cause
a
delay
in
enrolling
your
children.
So
those
little
pieces.
D
B
The
place
of
advice
are
helpful
and
that
school
liaison,
wherever
you're
going,
could
will
help
to
transition.
You
and
one
thing
that
we'd
like
to
say,
is
school
liaison.
Although
Navy
is
blue
and
army
screen,
we
are
purple
right
right,
so
we
helped
all
branches
of
service,
no
matter
what
branch
we
currently
work
for
it
doesn't
matter.
If
you
are
what
branch
you
are,
we
help
all
that's.
D
A
Could
you
real
quick
before
the
break
Meredith?
Can
you
tell
us
like
what's
the
biggest
enrollment
issue,
that
families
have
when
they're
coming,
the
biggest
thing
is
it
is
it
transcripts?
Is
it
is
it
like?
You
said
understanding
which
school
they
have
to
go
to
having
all
the
records?
What
do
you
think
is
the
biggest
thing
that
families
face.
C
A
F
Hi
I'm,
Dr,
Mark,
Bedell
and
I
am
proud
to
be
the
superintendent
of
Anne
Arundel
County
Public
Schools,
a
district
of
85
000
students
in
14
000
dedicated
employees.
We
are
on
our
way
to
being
the
best
school
system
in
Maryland
and
we
could
use
your
help
to
get
there.
Consider
one
of
these
many
careers
with
us.
E
D
B
D
Okay,
interesting
and
I
know
that
we
talked
about
supporting
students
and
families
and
I
think
one
of
the
things
that
you
talked
a
little
bit
about
are
you
know
who
you
support
and
the
areas
in
which
you
support
So
Meredith.
Can
you
talk
a
little
bit
about
you
know?
We
know
that
you're
Fort
Meade,
but
can
you
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
who
else
you
support
sure.
C
So
to
provide
services,
you
do
not
need
to
live
on
Fort
Meade
on
the
post.
You
can
be
on
the
outskirts:
I
have
assisted
parents
in
Howard
County
with
Howard
County
Public
Schools
I've
assisted
parents
in
PG
County
with
PG
County
Schools.
So
we
really
are
wide
open
and
because
that
is
our
main
priority
is
to
Advocate
and
serve
families.
B
Yeah
School
Liaisons
the
way
it
generally
works.
Is
you
have
your
coverage
areas
as
a
50
mile
radius
or
one
hour?
Okay?
So
that's
why
you
have
school
Liaisons
in
so
many
different
areas.
If
someone
were
outside
of
my
coverage,
range
I
wouldn't
ever
or
turn
them
away
right,
I
would
find
out.
Who
would
be
the
school
day
is
on
in
that
area?
Who
would
be
the
subject
matter,
expert
and
know
that
area
best
and
we
would
work
together
to
serve
that
family
good
to
know
so.
A
B
In
short,
everyone,
but
it
depends
on
what
the
issue
is,
that
the
family
brings
to
me
right.
I
can
tell
you
from
plastic's
past
experience,
I
have
worked
with
school
principals
and
administrators.
I
have
worked
with
central
office.
I've
worked
with
the
transportation
office
quite
a
bit
as
you
in
recent
years.
Sometimes
I
work
with
the
registrars,
the
school
registrars.
Those
are
invaluable
people
who
really
know.
Sometimes
it
depends
sometimes
if
it's
an
issue
that
comes
up
involving
Sports
I
work
with
athletic
directors.
It's
a
myriad
of
people.
It
depends
on
who
who?
B
C
C
D
D
So
I
know
Michelle.
You
talked
a
little
bit
about
the
anchor
program
anchor
for
Life
yeah.
What
are
some
other
programs
I
know
that
we
talked
about
ambassadors.
Are
there?
Is
there
anything
else
or
other
programs
that
maybe
that
supports
students
and
the
families?
It
doesn't
necessarily
have
to
be
within
the
school,
but
things
that
I
think
the
community
needs
to
know
about.
B
I
do
know
one
thing:
that's
in
the
school
and
Veterans
could
probably
speak
to
this.
Also,
it's
another
acronym,
but
I'll,
explain
what
it
is
mflac,
which
is
the
military
family
life
counselors.
There
is
a
version
of
that.
That's
actually
in
the
schools
and
there's
a
version
of
it.
That's
outside
of
the
schools.
That's
provides
support
to
families.
A
One
of
the
the
biggest
tools-
I
think
that
you
know
was
created
a
number
of
years
ago
and
really
connects
all
military
families
throughout
the
United
States
when
it
comes
to
schools,
the
military
interstate
compact.
Can
you
all
talk
about
that
and
how
you
utilize
that
to
support
families
and
work
with
the
school
system,
and
just
the
importance
of
that?
If
you
want
to
start
Meredith
yeah.
B
Yes,
I
find
that
the
for
the
military,
compact
interstate
compact
or
we
sometimes
use
the
acronym
make
three
yeah-
is
something
that
was
created
to
even
that
playing
field
as
Meredith
said,
and
it
really
promotes
and
supports
on-time
graduation.
That's
really
the
the
reason
and
the
basis
for
the
Mig
3
or
the
military,
Interstate
Compact
and.
E
B
C
E
B
A
B
A
B
D
Know
the
high
school
we
connect
quite
often
with
the
military
Compact,
and
you
know
it's
interesting,
because
some
families
think
when
they
move
into
Anne
Arundel
that
they
have
to
if
they
have
a
senior
that
they
have
to
have
or
earn
the
aacps
diploma,
but
really
they
can
get
it
from
their
sending
school.
If
it's
just
the
coursework
aligns
so
there's
so
many
opportunities
for
families
that
we
really
look
at
it
from
a
holistic
View
and
just
really
that
on
time,
graduation
is
critical.
D
Absolutely
and
you
know,
I
think
it's
it's
a
wonderful
and
that
it's
a
wonderful
partnership
but
one
another
resource.
I
think
for
families
is
a
military
child
coalition
and
they
provide
resources
and
programs
and
just
unique
opportunities
for
families
that
you
know
that
there
are
certain
things
that
are
impacting
their
family.
Can
you
talk
about
any
of
the
resources
for
these
families?
C
Well,
for
an
example,
I
had
one
of
the
PTSA
members
at
MacArthur
reach
out
to
me
looking
for
month
of
the
military
child
information
and
just
stuff,
you
know
so
that's
where
I
sent
her,
because
there
was
a
quick
click
and
there
was
all
kind
of
like
a
toolkit
almost
and
as
well
as
mental
health
and
Behavioral
Health
toolkits.
So
it's
you
know
we're
dealing
with
kids
who
transition
a
lot.
So
we've
talked
about
that
earlier,
the
anxiety
and
stress
and
whatnot.
So
that's
a
great
place
to
go
for
those
Behavioral,
Health
Resources.
D
And
you
can
get
their
newsletters,
so
families
can
sign
up
because
I
know
I
receive
emails
all
the
time
about.
Here's
a
workshop
for
families
related
to
it
could
be
just
like
graduation,
the
compact,
but
like
specific
information
right,
and
so
that's
always
like
kind
of
my
go-to
place,
and
so
when
I
receive
information
about
the
webinars
that
they
have
sending
those
out
to
families
and
even
School
staff.
You
know
to
stay
up
on
what
are
the
changes
and
what
is
happening.
Yeah.
B
So
we
do
support
that
and
as
Liaisons
we
also
support
those,
and
we
also
offer
webinars
too,
that
may
be
tailored
specifically
to
our
population
in
this
area.
If
we
find
that
we're
often
getting
questions
about
a
specific
thing
or
inquiries
about
that,
we
will
create
a
webinar
that
answers
those
questions
or
addresses
those
specific
needs.
So
those
are
webinars
and
information
that
we
can
send
and
direct
parents
to
on
that.
B
A
What
about
so?
We
talked-
you
talked
about
how
you
were
someone
mentioned,
the
purple
star
program
early
in
the
show
and
and
I
know.
This
is
a
piece
of
legislation
that
passed
last
year.
Can
you
all
maybe
Meredith
if
you
want
to
start
talking
about
the
the
purple
star
program
and
what
what's
cool,
what
are
the
criteria
for
schools
to
become
what's
considered
to
get
that
purple
style.
C
C
They
need
to
identify
the
military
children
that
are
coming
in
and
leaving
have
some
type
of
program.
That
does
that
and
then
appropriate
School
services
for
the
military
connected
with
embedded
within
the
school
and
I
know
that
we
have
a
couple
right
over
in
the
Mead
cluster
that
are
all
set
and
ready
to
do
this.
They
just
need
to
process
the
application
and
they'll
be
good
to
go.
That's.
A
D
C
In
specific
what
I
had
brought
up
earlier
about
families
calling
me
and
letting
me
know,
I'm
I'm
trying
to
register
but
I'm
being
told
I
can't
I,
don't
have
an
address
yet
we're
waiting
for
housing
in
this
house
bill
503.
It
clearly
states
that
the
active
duter
active
duties
orders
are
enough
to
get
the
student
registered.
They
do
not
have
to
wait
for
an
actual
housing
at
that
moment.
So
that's
just
one
of
the
ways:
it's
a
big
help.
Yeah.