TPC-Journal-V4-Issue2

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 2 111 Conclusion Military families experience unique stressors related to the military culture, such as parental deployment and multiple relocations. The literature attributes the negative effects of multiple school transitions to factors such as tension at home and parental absence, slow transfer of school records and differences in curricula between schools, adapting to new school environments and making friends, limited access to extracurricular activities, and a lack of understanding by school teachers and staff of military culture. The majority of the reviewed lit- erature found that the challenges of mobile military students can lead to a decline in academic achievement and social/emotional problems. Research seems to suggest that supportive relationships and an encouraging school environment can help military students adjust to the struggles that they are likely to face. The literature points to the professional school counselor as being the most appropriate staff member to foster these positive experiences and advocate for new enrolling military students. School counselors can create a positive experience for new enrolling mili- tary students by connecting parents and caregivers to community resources, advocating for quick transfer of school records, creating programs that acclimate new students to school grounds and culture, encouraging ac- cessibility to extracurricular activities, and facilitating school staff trainings specific to military culture and the particular needs of military students. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The author reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Astor, R. A. (2011, June 8). The need to support students from military families. Education Week , 30 (33), 27, 32. Re- trieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/06/08/33astor_ep.h30.html Berg, K. F. (2008). Easing transitions of military dependents into Hawaii public schools: An invitational educational link. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice , 14 , 41–55. Bradshaw, C. P., Sudhinaraset, M., Mmari, K., & Blum, R. W. (2010). School transitions among military adolescents: A qualitative study of stress and coping. School Psychology Review , 39 , 84–105. Chawla, N., & Solinas-Saunders, M. (2011). Supporting military parent and child adjustment to deployment separations with filial therapy. The American Journal of Family Therapy , 39 , 179–192. doi:10.1080/01926187.2010.531647 Department of Defense. (2010). Demographics, 2010: Profile of the military community [Annual report]. Retrieved from http://www.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2010_Demographics_Report.pdf Department of Defense Dependents Education. (2012). Fiscal year 2013 budget estimates: Department of Defense De- pendents Education (DODDE) [Annual report]. Retrieved from http://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Docu- ments/defbudget/fy2013/budget_justification/pdfs/01_Operation_and_Maintenance/O_M_VOL_1_PARTS/O_M_ VOL_1_BASE_PARTS/DoDDE_OP-5.pdf Department of Veterans Affairs. (2013). Parenting for service members and veterans. Retrieved from http://militaryparent- ing.t2.health.mil Eason, M. (2012, November). Operation military kids . Program session presented at the annual conference of the Georgia School Counselors Association, Athens, GA. Engel, R. C., Gallagher, L. B., & Lyle, D. S. (2010). Military deployments and children’s academic achievement: Evi- dence from Department of Defense Education Activity schools. Economics of Education Review , 29 , 73–82.