Supporting Students in Military Families during Times of Transition: A Call for Awareness and Action

Abstract

Throughout their time in school, students in military families face many challenging periods of transition, which include deployments, relocations, and the family's separation from the military. During these transitions, students in military families may be especially susceptible to social, emotional, and academic challenges both in their home lives and in their school lives. As advocates for all students, school counselors are called to actively support this population in these times of transition. Examples of support that aligns with these students' needs include performing academic interventions, creating partnerships with family and community members, accessing appropriate resources, facilitating peer support, referring students to outside mental health providers, and providing professional development training to equip other school personnel on best practices for working with this population. Overall, school counselors should be aware of best practices for intervening and should actively carry out these interventions to help students in military families overcome the challenges they face in the midst of their families' transitions.