By LAURA HAMMACK, guest columnist
Last school year, right before the onslaught of the coronavirus, two of our incredible social studies teachers at Brown County High School asked the board of school trustees to consider supporting a districtwide application for a very special designation.
Mrs. Alecia Adams and Mrs. Emily Lewellen outlined their vision for every school in the district being named as a member of an inaugural class of schools earning the Indiana Department of Education’s “Purple Star” designation.
In mid-August, Brown County Schools was notified that this vision was realized.
Our schools are six of only 60 total schools across the state of Indiana to earn this incredible distinction.
The Purple Star designation was established by the IDOE to honor schools displaying a significant commitment to service members, veterans, students and families connected to our nation’s military. In the application, schools were required to commit to seven action steps.
As a result, each building now has a designated staff member at the school who serves as the liaison for service members, veterans, and students and families. The designated staff member was required to participate in specialized training with topics including “15 Things Veterans Want You to Know,” “Supporting Military Students,” “Preparing for Successful Parent/Teacher Conferences” and “Veteran 201: Military Families.”
Additionally, our schools collaborated on creating a dedicated webpage to provide recognition and resources for service members, veterans, and students and families. This page can be found on the redesigned website for Brown County Schools under “Resources for Military Families.”
Schools earning this distinction must hold an annual military program that demonstrates a military-friendly culture. Our annual Veterans Day program serves as a great illustration of this type of commemoration already taking place. Additionally, schools all agree to have a public military display that recognizes service members, veterans, and/or students and families.
The school board passed a resolution in early March affirming their gratitude and support for all military personnel, their families and veterans, and resolved to make every effort to connect military families with the resources they need. One action step to evidence this support is ensuring military service members and their immediate family members, who meet the minimum qualifications for job openings within the school, will be guaranteed a job interview.
Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Lewellen, in partnership with the incredible members of the Brown County High School History Club, laid the foundation for this distinction to be realized. History Club members have been engaging with local veterans to capture “living histories” where students listened to veterans tell their stories while capturing what they learned for future students who might not be so fortunate to hear the stories told firsthand.
In the press release for this award notification, our state superintendent of public instruction, Dr. Jennifer McCormick, said, “As a proud military parent, I know firsthand the honor and respect our nation’s military deserves. I want to thank Indiana schools for their commitment to honoring and highlighting military service members. I am happy to award the inaugural Purple Star designation to a group of very deserving schools.”
The Purple Star designation is one we are deeply proud to offer to our community. The board and I offer deep gratitude to Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Lewellen for their vision and leadership of this project and, as always, to our local veterans for their incredible ongoing partnership and support.
Laura Hammack is superintendent of Brown County schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6601 or [email protected].
