A Purple Star School is a public or charter school that has committed to supporting the unique educational and social-emotional needs of military-connected children. 

These schools recognize that military-connected students must move whenever their active-duty parent receives a relocation order (called a Permanent Change of Station) and will uproot and change schools far more often than their civilian peers. 

In fact, a military-connected child can expect to move six to nine times from kindergarten through their high school graduation, with approximately 200,000 students transitioning to a new school in any given year. 

Purple Star Schools help military-connected students transition successfully with measures that include:

• Training a staff member to ease entry into the new academic environment, 

• Student-led programs to help create social connections, 

• A military family webpage on the school website to inform parents, and 

• Relevant professional development opportunities for additional school staff. 

• State programs may require schools to meet additional criteria such as holding school-wide military recognition events that encourage tolerance and inclusion. 

A primary goal of these programs is to ensure that staff can help manage the challenges military-connected children face when they move between schools with different cultures, curricula, standards, course offerings, schedules and graduation requirements. 

Purple Star Schools are especially attentive to students who arrive mid-year, missing out on the normal cycles of sports and club activities. 

Finally, Purple Star Schools acknowledge that every military-connected child has left behind friends and support networks and may be dealing with a parent who is away from home on deployment.