Resources for Military Families

Jill Gavin, Director of Admissions, and Rachel Westbrook, Academic Counselor, work closely in the transition of our military families to campus. They provide the necessary information to incoming military families. If you are interested in admissions at Lamar School, visit the admissions page on our website.

The School Liaison Officer serves as the primary link between schools, commanders and military parents in K-12 academic matters. The job of the SLO is to inform and connect military families to the resources and information needed to maximize educational opportunities for their children. School liaisons provide assistance as needed in school enrollment and in-/out-processing and educate parents on how to be the best advocates for their children. School liaisons inform local school officials of base programs, policies and activities. They prepare news releases and write articles for installation newspapers to help educate the base population regarding available resources and school programs and policies. They work with the installation’s public affairs office and with other MWR venues to plan and coordinate installation tours and other engagements for school administrators, teachers and students.

Military Interstate Compact – MIC3

The Council of State Governments (CSG), in cooperation with the US Department of Defense, drafted this Interstate Compact to address some of the educational challenges transitioning children of military families face. The Compact addresses key educational transition issues encountered by military families including enrollment, placement, attendance, eligibility and graduation. In addition, the Compact provides for a detailed governance structure at both the state and national levels with built-in enforcement and compliance mechanisms.

Lamar School’s mission is to educate each individual by providing a challenging and purposeful college preparatory curriculum in a safe, respectful, Christian environment.

The Mid-South Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) and Southern Association of Colleges and Cognia (SACS-CASI) presently accredit Lamar School. Lamar School earned accreditation by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) in the spring of 2020.

LamarStudentHandbook2023-24.pdf

1. Military OneSource – Military OneSource is your 24/7 connection to information, answers, and support to help you reach your goals, overcome challenges and thrive. As a member of our military family, you are eligible to use this Department of Defense-funded program anytime, anywhere. Turn to Military OneSource for tax services, spouse employment help, webinars and online training, relocation and deployment tolls, and much more.
2. Military Kids Connect – Military Kids Connect is an online community for military children ages 6-17 and provides access to age-appropriate resources to support children dealing with the unique psychological challenges of military life. MKC offers informative activities, helpful videos, and an online community that can build and reinforce understanding, resilience, and coping skills in military children and their peers.
3. Military Child Education Coalition – MCEC works to ensure that every military-connected child is college, workforce, and life-ready through inclusive and quality educational opportunities. MCEC® delivers programs and services to meet the needs of military students and parents. Providing educational resources, support, and connections to empower military children.
4. The ASVAB Career Exploration Program helps students identify and explore occupations and develop an effective strategy to realize their goals. The ASVAB Career Exploration Program includes a validated aptitude test and interest assessment.
5. Fischer House – Find more scholarships for family of the military (active/reserve/retired) and veterans.

In the elementary school, students identified as struggling in the areas of academics or speech may be eligible for additional services at an additional cost. Teacher recommendation, documentation of needs, and certified professional testing for a specific learning difficulty or speech difficulty may be eligible for reasonable classroom support. Due to the lack of specialized programs beyond tutoring and speech services, the school is unable to serve students with severe learning difficulties or behavior needs that require additional support or modifications of curriculum/objectives.

The middle/high school is extremely limited in the support that can be provided for students in the classroom setting. Therefore, it is recommended that students requiring reasonable support investigate external resource programs and tutors that are available. Due to the lack of specialized programs beyond discovery/tutoring services, the school is unable to serve students with severe learning and/or behavioral difficulties that require more extreme support or modification of curriculum/objectives.

Sponsored by the school’s military point of contact, Mrs. Westbrook, Lamar School has a Student-to-Student team available for middle and high school and Student Council available for elementary school. They will assist new military students in their transition to campus. These students will be available to familiarize new students with facilities, faculty, and events in keeping with the culture of Lamar School.

Contact Rachel Westbrook at rwestbrook@lamarschool.com for more information.

Students of military families often experience multiple stressors before and during a parent’s deployment and when they return home. Without appropriate mental health support systems, children of military personnel may be at a significant disadvantage compared to their peers in non-military families. Military students are resilient, but there are resources available to help.

In each division, Lamar School works diligently to support our military students. Mrs. Westbrook is available to assist and support students in social, academic, and emotional needs such as deployment and reintegration, family dynamics, positive coping mechanisms, staff support and education, parent education, and stress reduction.