Much like any committee or group meeting for the first time, the first order of business for Stafford County’s new Military Family Advisory Committee was to find an acceptable meeting date and time.
Everyone agrees to no Fridays.
There are scout meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays (several members are leaders). One parent has three kids involved in three different sports that practice and play multiple times a week. Several commute from the Pentagon and say a 5 p.m. meeting is unreasonable. Eventually, they reach a consensus for the monthly meeting, barring vacations and standing obligations.
Every member of this committee is part of a military family, either directly as a service member or as a spouse. And each one is dedicated to making the lives of their children easier when possible. That means having a school system that honors the unique needs and challenges of military children.
April is the Month of the Military Child, and the school board recently presented a proclamation to Col. Michael Brooks, Commander, Marine Corps Base Quantico and the Hudson family. Throughout the month, the school division celebrates the resilience and sacrifices of military children and shows its appreciation for their strength and courage as they navigate the unique challenges of service life.
Stafford County has nearly 3,000 military-connected students — about 9% of its total enrollment — unsurprising given the large number of military families in the region. Stafford County is bordered to the north by Marine Corps Base Quantico. Many families live in the county but commute not only to MCB Quantico, Fort Belvoir, and NSF Dahlgren, but also to other major installations in the National Capital Region.
Aquia district representative Maya Guy is the school board member who will work with the MFAC. A former Navy wife, she sees it as another way to make military families feel included in the school community.
“It will be a way to find other ways to support them that aren’t obvious to us right now,” she said. “Military families have unique needs and some of them are very specific.”
The newly formed committee consists of 16 members, two from each district, both active duty and retired military from the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Army. Two members are high school student representatives who volunteered to serve.
Supporting these children and teenagers is important to newly-elected Chairperson MJ Boice. “A large percentage of military-connected kids end up becoming our future force,” she said.
“I’m really excited looking at the people we brought in. Who knows what we are going to come up with because the culture of each branch is changing and the needs of families are changing,” Guy said.
The committee will also lean on MCB Quantico School Liaison Officer Penny Rowley. Rowley has been instrumental in establishing the Stafford School system (and Fredericksburg City Schools) as Purple Star Schools, a designation only held by five divisions in the entire state. The Virginia Purple Star Designation is awarded to military-friendly schools that have demonstrated a major commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military.
School liaison Penny Rowley (left) addresses the Military Family Advisory Committee at its first meeting, with Sandra Osborn (center), Stafford Schools’ chief communication officer, and school board member Maya Guy. (Photo by Kathy Knotts)
“As a school liaison for the Marine Corps, I advise and counsel in support of the military-connected families that attend our public schools off-installation,” Rowley said. “We help ensure that when they’re transitioning, from all over around the world, that their children are not at a disadvantage just because they have to move an average of six to nine times during their parents’ careers.”
Rowley estimates that about 80% of the military population live off-installation, so that means many children in public schools, although her support extends to private and homeschool families as well.
Both the committee and the Purple Star program work to educate teachers on ways to welcome these children, assist them as they transition to or out of a new school and provide families with all the necessary information and resources they may need on a dedicated page on the school division’s website.
“When my husband was in Iraq, my kids had an outlet with other students they could talk with, about how scared they were. Military children understand the burden they are under,” Guy said. “They are raised up knowing that the spouses and children are serving, too. But they don’t always feel empowered to speak up because they don’t want to stress out their family. This is one more way to support the whole student.”
The committee meetings are open to the public; the next one will be held May 6 at 6 p.m. in the Professional Development Center at the school system’s offices in Stafford.
