Frequent relocations create unique challenges for children in military families, but a partnership between Caledonia Elementary School and an Alabama middle school aims to ease that transition for military students in Lowndes County.
Students from the two schools worked together to build a little library outside Caledonia Elementary to ensure military-connected students have consistent access to books.
The effort earned the school, Columbus Air Force Base and Lowndes County School District national recognition for their commitment to supporting military students and families.
“We’re appreciative of CAFB, and we’re honored to be able to serve those kids,” Superintendent Sam Allison said. “Anything we can do to help that transition, we want to do that.”
Military families move every two to three years on average, and military kids change schools six to nine times throughout their K-12 years, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Military Child Education Coalition is a national nonprofit focused on ensuring quality educational experiences for military-connected students despite the challenges of frequent moves. The coalition’s Pete Taylor Partnership of Excellence Awards recognize partnerships across the nation that help serve that purpose.
CES, CAFB and Lowndes County schools are recipients of the Recognized Community Partnership Award along with three other school districts, three schools and another military installation.
The partnership was started in 2015 with a focus on fostering academic growth for military students, and CES, CAFB and Lowndes County schools joined this year. Institutions in the partnership have installed similar libraries throughout the communities they serve to ensure military families there have consistent access to literature, especially when relocating.
LCSD serves roughly 400 military children, and the base has long prioritized community partnerships to help ease the transition families face, 14th Mission Support Group Commander Col. Scott Ryder said.
“We’re also committed to having the best quality of life for our airmen and their families, which includes schools in the local area,” Ryder told The Dispatch.
But the district and the base aren’t the only ones making that effort. Students are too.
The Anchor For Life club at CES consists of fourth- and fifth-graders who meet monthly to talk about leadership, kindness and inclusivity to then take those attitudes into the school, club sponsor Erica Lewis told The Dispatch. While any student can participate, the club has a special focus on supporting military students enrolled at the school.
“Any time there’s new kids that come in, (Anchor For Life students are) the ones that get the doors,” Lewis said. “They have bags that we give out for kids that are new to the school, kids who have parents who are being deployed. When parents come back from deployment, we have a bag for that.”
Lewis said the Anchor For Life chapter at Liberty Middle School in Madison, Alabama, reached out to her in December 2023 about a potential partnership. The goal was to create a resource that provides consistency for military students.
The partners landed on a little library to install outside the elementary school, so students could access books during and after school hours. Because there is already another little library on the base, Lewis said it will help guarantee the students have access to books.
“Any kids who read and take stuff out here can then return it to the one on base and switch it out,” she said. “Also their siblings that are younger can come and get it. It doesn’t have to just be kids that are at Caledonia Elementary. But military families in general that are new to the area, but don’t know where the public library is or where to get those resources can grab stuff from there.”
The students from Liberty Middle School purchased the materials for the project, and CES Anchor For Life students helped build the library outside the school’s front office.
Lewis hopes the library will help make an impact on students coming to Caledonia, even if it’s only for a short time. Working with another school that shares the same attitude was special, she said.
“I think that being able to partner with another school that also has a big military base and knowing that we’re in it together is special,” Lewis said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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