The end of day bell rings at my daughter’s elementary school. I look around the temporarily empty multipurpose and think I’m ready.
I’ve set up another game of Battle Ground to play. The “Welcome Packets” are ready to be personalized and assembled. Oh, we have rocks to paint today as well. We are going to hide them in the neighborhoods around the school for kids to find. Oh, right, I’m going to have two new kids to Hail today; one from Japan, one from Wyoming.
I’m ready for the slew of 50 students to burst through the door, sling their backpacks on the ground and greet me with fist pump.They’re ready! I’m prepping for an after school club has an exclusive membership: All students must be a military kid.
Did you know there was at least one military-connected student in every school district in the country? Yep, our kids are everywhere! It’s not surprising when considering there are 1.2 million active duty military-connected kids, 650,000 of those mini warriors are attending public school.
There is a new trend in a handful of Florida public schools offering an after school opportunity for military students to connect – Military Kids Club (MKC)
In Tampa, Florida, several elementary schools have taken the initiative to start a Military Kids Club in their schools. There’s a large military population located about an hour from MacDill AFB. Many families find it difficult to travel to base for services or functions due to the travel time and traffic, leaving many families feeling stranded and disconnected. Local Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA), military spouses and educators have teamed up to offer an after school program for military-connected students.
Our Military Kids Club is brimming with students whose parents are currently serving on active duty, retired or veterans of the United States Armed Forces. I also include the children of Department of Defense (DoD) employees stationed at base. Because some DoD employees deploy to active war zones, move every few yeas and experiences similar challenges as active duty members.
I started the club with help from my PTA President, Alisa Adams, who is a former military spouse. With a large school like ours and with so many military families in the community, she knew there was a need.
“Having lived in a military communities before, I felt the support of other military families. I knew I wanted that for my girls. Living so far from base, there was void. If I was feeling that way, surely other families were, too… There is real strength in numbers, especially when those numbers have shared and similar experiences. In a non-military school, military kids are often overlooked, but live a unique lifestyle, share the challenges of supporting an active duty parent. Bringing them together provides an opportunity for a larger voice.
With the help of PTA Presidents like Adams and a supportive board, a MKC was born. Thanks to a little bit of seed money, rock star military spouses and a teacher liaison, we were able to host once a month meetings bursting with fun and activities while giving students the opportunity connect with each other. These clubs are contagious. Several other elementary in the area are starting their MKC’s this year.
Our MKC may be fun and infectious, but make no mistake, we are laser focused. MKC has several missions to accomplish through the school year:
Mission 1: Our club welcomes every new student with personalized packets from MKC members; we like to add our unique welcome new kids. According to the Department of Defense, military students move an average of six to nine times throughout their K-12 school education experience. Our students know what it is like to be the new kid. As a club, they have spent hours, writing letters and assembling personal welcome bags for new students who arrive after the first day of school.
Mission 2: MKC wants to properly Hail and Farewell students throughout the year. We want every child to feel their presence is important to school. Whether students are new, moving to Florida from Japan or kids are PCSing to North Carolina after only three months into the year– their presence at school is important to us, they matter to MKC.
Mission 3: It’s important for our club to celebrate Veterans Day. Whether it’s writing letters to the local Veterans Administration Home or learning about what club members’ parents do for living; we spend time learning about what being a veteran means.
Mission 4: The single most important job as club is to celebrate ourselves! MKC takes on the responsibility of celebration Purple Up and the Month of the Military Child in April of every year. We take it on as club a plan the week of activities. It’s rewarding and helps the school understand our members a little better.
At another nearby elementary school, Holly Vega AFIMSOY19 runs a PTA sponsored Military Kids Club at her daughter’s elementary school. She started it because she believes there was need for new kids to connect.
“Military Kids Clubs are very important, especially for kids not living on base. It allows them to get to know their peers that have similar life experiences and know they’re not alone. It not only builds a community at school, but theses relationship can spread to the military family.”
Vega, along with a teacher liaison and other parent volunteers, plan an entire school year of activities for their MKC members that include games, crafts and a cool obstacle course. Their school will be celebrating their second year as a booming MKC.
Together with amazing PTA boards, a few supportive schools and lots of amazing military kids, MKC’s are thriving in the Tampa Bay area. However, this type of club can thrive at any school. To learn more about Military Kids Club and how to start one, contact me at stacyhuisman@gmail.com. We are happy to help kick start a club best suited for your school. Read more about MKC’s at Seasons Of My Military Student/Military Kids Club.