Pacific Beach Middle School and Sessions Elementary have been named Purple Star Schools due to their work to help children in military families.
Their designations, in place for the next three years, were announced by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond on March 13.
They Crown Point Junior Music Academy, which received the honor in 2023, as the only Purple Star campuses in Pacific Beach.
“I am proud of our initiatives, programs and partnerships that ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment for military families transitioning to our school,” said Sessions Elementary Principal Elizabeth Ward.
Sessions Elementary has received the honor for a second time, after first earning it in 2022. PB Middle and Crown Point are in their first three-year award cycle.
“Our Purple Star team collaborates closely with counselors, teachers and student leadership to implement programs that help ease adjustment, foster social connections and promote academic success,” said Pacific Beach Middle School Principal Kimberly Meng.
Only 83 campuses state-wide received the honor this year.
“Congratulations to the educators, staff, s, parents and students at these schools,” Thurmond said. “These schools are crucial to ing our military-connected students, ensuring that they maintain their academic, college and career aspirations while their parents serve our country.”
Since the program began in 2021, the state has honored 179 campuses. Of this year’s 83 honorees, 41 are in San Diego County.
“Military families make many sacrifices for our country and we have a duty to them however we can,” said San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Gloria E. Ciriza. “I applaud all the Purple Star designees for their efforts to make sure our students feel connected and a sense of belonging, which is critical to their success.”
The Purple Star honor indicates a school recognizes that dependents of military service deserve as smooth a transition as possible when their families transfer to new duty assignments and they change schools.
With one of the largest workforces in the United States being the military, there are over 2 million active-duty service and individuals in the National Guard and Reserves.
California has the nation’s largest concentration of these individuals and many are parents/guardians of minor children.
In September 2021, California had 162,362 active-duty service and 55,537 individuals serving in the National Guard and Reserves. California also has 64,293 individuals serving as Department of Defense contractors and civilians.
Military-connected students can expect to change schools between six and nine times between kindergarten and 12th grade, three times more often than nonmilitary-connected children.
Their moves between schools, often in different states and countries, mean they must adapt to varying cultures, school populations, curricula, standards, course offerings, schedules and graduation requirements, officials said. As a result, they often face unique academic and social-emotional challenges, and struggle to stay on track to be college and career ready.
The California Purple Star School Designation Program seeks to reduce the burden on these students and families by articulating the most critical transition s for them. The program is a way to publicly recognize and designate schools that meet certain requirements and signals which schools are the most committed and best equipped to meet these students’ unique needs.
At Crown Point Junior Music Academy, Sessions Elementary and Pacific Beach Middle School, their campuses have strategically implemented programs and resources that include:
• A designated staff member to act as a liaison between military families and the school to ease students’ enrollment and acclamation period. Each school also partners closely with Vanessa Marin, the child and youth school liaison at Naval Base Point Loma.
• They create and implement professional development to better understand and address the unique challenges military families face.
• A dedicated web page on their school’s website with easily accessible information and resources for military-connected families.
• A transition program to welcome and socially acclimate these incoming students.
• Hosting and promoting events that celebrate and honor service and military-connected students and families, including community .
