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Reading about education

An attendee of the Military Child Education Coalition workshop reads a section of text about different possibilities for benefiting military children in school Aug. 7, 2015, in the Red Morgan Center at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. The goal of the workshop was for each of the participants to be able to bring back to their schools a customized action plan to benefit the military children enrolled there. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Sean Campbell)

Stimulating discussion

Attendees of the Military Child Education Coalition workshop discuss their opinions about how to best approach having military children in their schools Aug. 7, 2015, in the Red Morgan Center at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. Attendees came from as close as Medical Lake, Wash., and from as far as Los Angeles. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Sean Campbell)

Interviews about strategy

Attendees of the Military Child Education Coalition interview each other using questions about strategies regarding how to support military children and families Aug. 7, 2015, in the Red Morgan Center at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. Throughout the workshop attendees participated in various activities to help facilitate thought. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Sean Campbell)

Fairchild hosts Military Child Education Coalition workshop

Published Aug. 17, 2015
By Airman Sean A. Campbell
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Team Fairchild hosted a Military Child Education Coalition workshop for educators that instruct military-connected children Aug. 7 at the Red Morgan Center here.

Fifteen educators attended the workshop traveling from as close as Medical Lake, Washington, to as far as Los Angeles, bringing with them ideas to help benefit Fairchild's military children.

Workshops like this are very important for the large number of military-connected students at Fairchild. Medical Lake School District, which is Fairchild's home district, serves around 1,900 students, 50 percent of whom are connected to the military. Michael Anderson Elementary, the on-base elementary school, has close to 500 students. More than 90 percent are associated with the military, said Steve McMullen, the Fairchild school liaison officer.

"We learned strategies to support not only our military kids but our military families as well," said Kimberly Headrick the Medical Lake school district director of teaching and learning.

The workshop brought administrators, teachers and counselors together to collaborate with one another in order to build a support structure to address the needs of the military-connected student. During the workshop educators discussed how to handle pre-deployment, deployment and reintegration of the active-duty member as well as frequent moving, making friends, separation, loss and other things that make being a military-connected student difficult, said McMullen.

"If the knowledge gained is applied at all levels within the district, I believe we will see some positive changes," said McMullen.