Ohio National Guard News

Purple Star Award

Ohio schools support Military Families

Story by Stephanie Beougher, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs

Staff Sgt. Michael Carden, ONG

Jason Durell, a middle school counselor and a sergeant in the Ohio Army National Guard, organized a Military Family committee in Olentangy Local School District to organize resources and help teachers and counselors become aware of the challenges Military Families face. The Central Ohio school district has been recognized by the State of Ohio for supporting Military Families with the Purple Star Award.

Courtesy photo

The Carcamo family of Central Ohio poses in January 2017 for a photo before Ernie, a major in the Michigan Air National Guard, deployed to Southwest Asia. The Carcamos' children attend school in the Olentangy Local School District in Central Ohio, which recently has been recognized by the State of Ohio for supporting Military Families with the Purple Star Award.

Courtesy photo

Maj. Ernie Carcamo is welcomed home by his family in July 2017 at John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, after he returned from a seven-month deployment as a member of the Michigan Air National Guard. The Carcamos' children attend school in the Olentangy Local School District in Central Ohio, has been awarded the Purple Star Award from a state advisory board for supporting Military Families.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (04-03-18) — With the nearest active-duty military base hundreds of miles away, it might be easy to think the Olentangy Local School District wouldn’t have to be concerned about the unique situations and needs of Military Families among its 22,000 students.

In recent years though, Olentangy Liberty Middle School counselor Jason Durell and several of his colleagues in the Central Ohio school district noticed an increase in people asking for resources to help families experiencing military deployments. As a sergeant in the Ohio Army National Guard, Durell is well aware of the challenges Military Families face.

“Many military youth feel they are alone in dealing with the circumstances such as deployments, frequent moves to other schools and states, and the stress put on their parents from the demands of the military. From an academic standpoint, when military youth don’t get the support they need, they run the risk of declining grades, very noticeable changes in behavior, attendance issues and conflicts with friends,” Durell said.

Durell advocated creating the Olentangy Military Family Committee to support the district’s estimated 500 Military Families by organizing resources and helping other teachers and counselors become aware of the challenges Military Families face.

As the parents of a 13-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter, Jodi and Ernie Carcamo know the challenges of raising teenagers in a Military Family. Ernie spent nine years in the Air Force and is now a major with the Michigan Air National Guard’s 110th Attack Wing in Battle Creek, Michigan. They lived in Germany for about year while he was on active duty orders in 2015. When they came back to the U.S. and settled in the Olentangy Local School District, the Military Family committee hadn’t been established yet.

“We experienced some challenges when we returned to Ohio. Our seventh- and 10th-graders had to start a new school with new friends and new teachers. The committee could have given us more awareness on all the different programs available to military families,” Ernie said.

Now, he adds, the Olentangy Military Family Committee is connected to the Ohio National Guard Family Readiness Program and a variety of special programs, including summer camps just for children of Military Families.

As a way to encourage Ohio schools to be more military-friendly, the Purple Star Award was created. The Purple Star Advisory Board, formed by the state departments of Education, Higher Education, the Adjutant General and Veterans Services, selects winning schools from submitted applications. Olentangy was among the first group of schools to receive the award last year.

“A supportive school environment can have a significant impact on our military-connected students, and we’re happy to see such a great interest in this designation by Ohio’s schools,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria. “These Purple Star schools provide our children and families with the resources they need to be successful. We’re thankful for their service and honored to continue the important work of improving services for Ohio’s Military Families.”

There are currently 52 Purple Star award-winning schools around the state.

“The Purple Star distinction lets our military-connected students know they are not alone, that there are educators who understand the unique challenges faced by students in a Military Family and they’re committed to the students’ success,” said Maj. Gen. Mark E. Bartman, Ohio adjutant general.