Coordinated by Sondra Thomas, Aiken County Public School District’s Military Community Liaison, the month of April will feature numerous District and school events in honor of Military-connected students and families during the Month of the Military Child (MOMC).
The District was recognized during the 2019-20 school year as the first school district in the state of South Carolina to be honored with a Purple Star School District designation.
“Due to the pandemic our plans to celebrate the Month of the Military Child were canceled last school year, so this will be our first year celebrating it as a school district initiative,” stated Thomas. “We are so excited for the month-long celebration and all the activities that are planned.”
The school district’s two primary MOMC events in April include a collaborative, month-long MOMC Walk-a-Thon and a “Purple Up” day.
Each school has been challenged to walk 589 miles during the month of April to represent the 589 military-connected students in our district. The total number of miles walked will be recorded and sent to the Military Child Education Coalition. The event’s hashtag is #purpleupaiken.
According to Thomas, “the walk-a-thon will allow everyone in the school district and the Aiken County community to walk a mile or more to visibly support our military-connected students.”
On Friday, April 16th students and faculty are encouraged to “Purple Up” by dressing in purple, which is a combination of Air Force blue, Army green, Navy blue, Marine red, and Coast Guard blue, in a way to demonstrate our support for military families.
Individual schools will celebrate the Month of the Military Child in their own unique ways, but all activities will serve to highlight the importance of military-connected students.
“Celebrating the Month of the Military Child helps brings awareness to the many sacrifices and challenges Military-connected children must overcome during their K-12 years,” added Thomas.
Many Military-connected students struggle with academic and social challenges which are often attributed to frequent school changes, the deployment of a parent or parents, the return of a deployed parent, or the injury or loss of a parent.
Aiken County Superintendent King Laurence says it is important for Military-connected students and families to feel welcomed and supported no matter where they attend school in Aiken County.
“Military families make huge sacrifices to our community and that includes the children,” stated Superintendent Laurence. “It is important for us to remind everyone just how special these families are. It is also important for us to help remove any potential obstacles they may face and just do anything and everything we can do to help them succeed.”
For information on MOMC events in Aiken County Public Schools, please contact ACPSD Military Community Liaison Sondra Thomas by phone at (803) 641-2428 Ext. 12766, or by email at sthomas@acpsd.net.
LINK TO DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE: 2021 PR MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD