It’s fall again and Blue Star Families is working to ensure that military families are ready to head back to school. The non-profit organization, where Connie Milstein is on the Board of Directors, oversaw the distribution of free school supplies to military families in the Murrieta (California) Unified School District last week.
Students in military families can require special needs or attention when attending off-base schools, especially when dealing with enrollment, attendance and graduation requirements. In Murrieta, Blue Star Families works with the school district and officials at the Camp Pendleton base to confront these issues that can arise during the school year.
The director of the local chapter of Blue Star Families is no stranger to these problems. Reyna is married to a Marine and has weathered 16 deployments while raising her children. She has become an advocate for the increasing military population in the area because of her experience as a military spouse. The local high school, Murrieta Mesa, recently created a Military Liaison position to help support and counsel military families.
Reyna, who gets several calls a week from military families that are new to the area, says she often hears frustration from families that can’t find support in the school system.
“Their children are in a new school. They just left their old friends and now have no friends. Their mom or dad may be deployed or soon will be deploying. All these events affect a child’s ability to learn,” Reyna said. “Military families can help by speaking up and letting the schools know they are there even if they are only going to be stationed here for a short time.”
Blue Star Families is a national non-profit organization founded in 2008 that currently has chapters on 70 military bases and National Guard sites around the United States. The group works to raise awareness about the challenges affecting military families in schools, communities and the government.