Ways Teachers Can Support Students During Deployment

Ways Teachers Can Support Students

During Deployment

Dear Teacher:
If you have children of military families in your classroom, below are some resources and ideas that can help you serve them, while their deployed family member is serving our country.  Thank you for taking the time and effort to best serve these children and their families.

Educate yourself.
Check out these materials for Working with Children in Military Families:

“Building Resilient Kids“
An on-line course through The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships. http://www.jhsph.edu/mci/training_course/

Operation Military Kids
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for Washington State
Resources Available online: Ready, Set, Go! Training Manuals, Presentations, Resources & Links for
Tackling Tough Topics Series - An Educator’s Guide to Working With Military Kids, Nov.2008
www.k12.wa.us/OperationMilitaryKids/ and video
http://www.operationmilitarykids.org/public/somk.aspx

Deployment: Strategies for Working with Kids in Military Families, by Dr. Karen Petty: Redleaf Press, St. Paul, MN, 2009

This book provides information on reactions to expect from various ages of children and offers strategies for responding.  Curriculum ideas, resource and book lists and much more are included.


Be predictable and consistent. 
Make sure your classroom has a positive behavior support plan. Check out CHAMPs from www.safeandcivilschools.com . Order and stability have a calming effect. Maintain predictable, consistent school schedules, routines, and rules to provide structure and stability for your students. This means walking the fine line between maintaining expectations and accommodating students' special needs.

• Focus on the positive.
Students often know that deployed parents worry about them. Some students may be anxious that they could increase their parents' concerns if they are not successful in school. Boost all students' self-esteem by having each one create an "I'm proud" list of positive accomplishments. Display the lists on the classroom walls and encourage military students to send their lists to the deployed parents.
Reward positive behavior Students interpret positive feedback to mean they are capable and competent. For students under duress, increase opportunities to gain rewards and positive feedback. For younger students, write their names on the board when they share, listen, help, cooperate, and do things for one another. Go the extra mile to catch students being good and doing well. Focus on their progress and positive actions. Even if you have to look hard, it is always possible to find something positive.

Increase positive feedback Students may need extra attention to replace that missing from the deployed parent. Praise positive school achievements in the group, particularly among those students who are struggling. Some students may "act out" to gain the needed attention. Turn this into an opportunity by assigning them classroom "jobs" for which they can gain positive recognition and approval.

Be a resource.
Know the resources available and be able to direct families and children to these.  (See the resource list on this site.)

• Be sensitive.
Think about the things you are doing in the class, are there any activities that might trigger a stress reaction in the student? If so, how can you address this?

Be aware that any war-related remark may be misunderstood as a slur against the military students' families. Remain objective in handling topics about the war, particularly during classroom discussions. Preview current events material to ensure there are no messages that could be interpreted as negative about parental deployment.

•Check out your assumptions about what is worrying young students.
You might be wrong. For example, instead of worrying about the deployed parent, a student may actually be worried about a parent's reaction to a bad grade or about loss of the remaining parent.

• Encourage Communication
Help the student to keep in touch with his/her parent. Students can send: E-mails, letters, tapes, books both the parent and student can read and share about, drawings or crossword puzzles with hidden messages for the parent, etc.

If possible record the pre-deployed parent reading their child's favorite books.  Check out www.unitedthroughreading.org/military/

• Customize the Curriculum.
Include relevant deployment examples in the curriculum such as a unit on the geography and culture of an area where a parent may be deployed. A math alternative assignment might be for the student (depending on math level) to write and solve word problems on the topics of the distance from the deployment site to home. Or students might calculate the velocity and fuel used by the airplane on the parents' return flight.

Build deployment projects into lessons. For example, send group e-mails to deployed parents as a Language Arts lesson, such as "A day in the life of Ms. Brown's class." Write poems or essays on topics such as "Ways I've learned to be more independent since (Mom/Dad) has been gone." Adopt class members' deployed parents as a group letter writing project.

Use children's literature on deployment.  (See the booklist on this blog.)

Make homework accommodations as necessary. If students struggle emotionally during parental separations, they may have difficulty keeping up with the workload. Alter or shorten assignments as needed. When the parent returns home, give "no homework" passes that either entitle students to a night off or a delayed due date. Another alternative is to substitute homework assignments if a student will miss school for a reunion. Assignments might include writing a mock news report of the service member's "on site" deployment experience or creating a poster presentation with photos of the reunion to share in class.

• Discuss topics and feelings in class (if there are many students), or with individual students.

• Prepare students.
Ask students to brainstorm ways to prepare for and enjoy an event (birthday, holiday, etc.) despite a parent's absence.

• Teach Independence Skills.
Help the student learn skills he/she may need such as managing time and organizing their homework completion in light of increased responsibilities at home.

• Prepare for Reunion.
Be aware that the reunion process may be as or more challenging than the deployment itself. The returning parent may not be the "same old" mom or dad because they have gone through a challenging time. Both the returning parent and the family will have a period of adjustment. Recognize that return dates are uncertain and may change, making the wait more stressful. Monitor and check in with students to see how they are coping, and refer them to the school counselor if needed. Recognize that return dates are uncertain and may change, making the wait more stressful. Monitor and check in with students to see how they are coping, and refer them to the school counselor if needed. Use strategies to help with the reunion process. Have students brainstorm and list ideas for celebrating the reunion. Ask students who have experienced a reunion to help a classmate who is still waiting. Engage in activities that help the student and returning parent understand the changes they have experienced and the process of readjustment.

Some excerpts used from “Raising Resilient Kids”, written by Lynne Michael Blum, PhD, Connected Kids LLC and Johns Hopkins University Military Child Initiative.