A school will be honored with the Purple Star Award if it completes all the required activities, plus one additional activity, listed below.

Required Activities

• The school must have a staff point-of-contact for military students and families who serves as the primary liaison between them and the school.
  • The liaison completes professional development on special considerations for military students and families under federal law. Visit the Military Family Liaison web page for roles and responsibilities. The liaison can complete any professional development they choose to fulfill this requirement. A variety of online learning options are available.
  • New liaisons need to complete one of the following options:
    • The Military Children in Ohio’s Schools course available on the Department's learning management system (access by logging into your OH|ID account). Under "My Apps," select "Learning Management System (LMS)" and click "Open App." Then search for the course in the course catalog. 
    • The Military Child Education Coalition offers virtual learning opportunities for education professionals.
  • Liaisons renewing their Purple Star designation need to provide evidence of continuing professional development. This can come from any source. Some examples include: 
    • Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness; 
    • Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission;
    • Purple Star USA National Convening;
    • Ohio Purple Star Roundtables;
    • The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's "Supporting Military-Connected Students" webinar series; and
    • PsychArmor.
  • The liaison identifies and informs teachers of the military-connected students in their classrooms and the special considerations military families and students should receive. Visit Identification of Military-Connected Students for more information on the required and best practices related to this activity. 
• The school maintains a dedicated page on its website featuring resources for military families and lists contact information of the liaison.

Additional Activities

In addition to the requirements listed above, each school needs to complete at least one additional activity from this list to be honored with the Purple Star Award.  

• The school provides professional development for all staff on special considerations for military students and families.
• The school hosts a military recognition event that demonstrates a supportive culture. The hosting of a military recognition event is in addition to Veterans Day celebrations for this activity. Hosting a Veterans Day celebration on its own does not meet this requirement. 
• The school implements social and emotional development programs with the military child in mind. Examples of these programs include a monthly club for military-connected students, lunch groups, and regular check-ins between the liaison and identified students.
• The school implements a peer-to-peer transition program that trains student ambassadors to provide tours and engage in activities with all students that are transitioning in or out of the school or when a service member deploys. 

• The school has processes in place to identify students with military connections beyond what is required under federal law. Schools also need to host an event for veterans or include veteran and sibling-connected students in student programs similar to those offered to students from families currently serving in the military. This may include Veterans Day celebrations. 

  • The expansion of the identification of students with military connections would include parents or guardians who are veterans and those with siblings in the military. Only students with parents or guardians currently serving on active duty, in the reserves, or the National Guard should be reported under the Military Student Identifier Element in the Education Management Information System (EMIS). The identification of students from veteran families and with sibling connections should be maintained locally and not reported in EMIS. 

• The school celebrates the Month of the Military Child (April) with events or programming honoring military-connected students. Month of the Military Child events need to be completed prior to applying to be considered for the award. 

For more information about activities, visit the Military Family Liaison web page.

Application