Honoring Military Children This April and Equipping the Educators Who Champion Them
Read a guest blog from our TEACH partner, the Military Child Education Coalition!
Honoring Military Children This April and Equipping the Educators Who Champion Them
Submitted on behalf of the Military Child Education Coalition® (MCEC®)
April is the Month of the Military Child, and it is a perfect moment to pause and recognize the nearly 4 million military-connected children enrolled in the K-12 system in the United States, including those of active-duty service members, National Guard and Reserve families, and veterans (Kranke, 2019). These children are present in virtually every zip code, in public classrooms, on military installations, and in schools worldwide. Research consistently tells us that educators who serve these students want and need practical tools, relevant and responsive professional learning, and a deeper understanding of what makes the military-connected child experience truly unique (Martin et al., 2025). The good news? Those resources exist, and they are free.
Meet MCEC: A Coalition Built for the Military Child
The Military Child Education Coalition® (MCEC®) is a nonprofit organization with a clear and urgent mission: to ensure that every military-connected child is college-, work-, and life-ready. MCEC supports military-connected students, families, and the youth-serving professionals like teachers, school counselors, administrators, and coaches who walk alongside them every day. By educating, advocating, and collaborating to address the educational challenges associated with military life, MCEC serves as a trusted partner to schools and educators worldwide (MCEC, 2025a). Whether a child is navigating a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move, coping with a parent's deployment, or transitioning between school systems mid-year, MCEC is there, supporting students and their families and equipping professionals with the tools and training to meet their needs.
Grow Your Practice: The MCEC Learning Hub
One of MCEC's most exciting offerings for educators is the MCEC Learning Hub, a dynamic online learning management system packed with professional development courses designed specifically for youth-serving professionals. Courses are self-paced, free, and come with a downloadable certificate of completion.
The flagship course, Gone Is Gone: Supporting Military-Connected Children During Absences, guides educators through the impact of parental and caregiver absences on children across age groups and builds a toolkit of positive support strategies for the classroom. Additional courses include We Serve Too: National Guard and Reserve Children, Practical Approaches to Supporting Military-Connected Students' Well-being, When Military Service Ends: Supporting the Children of Veterans, and Purple Star Schools Exemplary Practices (MCEC, 2025b). New courses and mini-lessons are added regularly, so there is always something new to learn. Visit the Learning Hub, create your free account, and start making a difference for military-connected students today.
Research at Your Fingertips: The MCEC Resource Library
MCEC's Resource Library is a robust, ever-growing collection of research-informed materials available to anyone who supports military-connected children. Educators can browse and download issue papers, behavioral health guides, videos, webinars, and practical publications, all organized by topic, audience, and format. Whether you are looking for guidance on school transitions, deployment and reintegration, mental health, or exceptional needs, the library brings the research directly to you (MCEC, 2025c).
Explore the MCEC Resource Library
Parent Webinars: Insight That Helps Everyone
MCEC's Parent Webinars are another goldmine, and not just for parents. These live and recorded sessions cover a wide range of topics, including resilience, school transitions, mental health, exceptional needs, and more. New webinars are added weekly, and all recordings are freely available on MCEC's YouTube channel. Educators who tune in will find research-backed insights that deepen their understanding of what military families are experiencing and how to show up more meaningfully for their students (MCEC, 2025d). Each webinar is accompanied by a resource guide that participants can download and apply directly to their practice, making every session a meaningful opportunity for continued learning and growth.
View Upcoming and Recorded Parent Webinars
One Stop. Unlimited Impact.
MCEC strives to be the premier, one-stop resource for everyone who supports military-connected children, including you. Whether you teach on or near a military installation or simply have a few military-connected students in your classroom, MCEC wants to help you feel prepared, confident, and connected.
Wreaths Across America and MCEC share a deep respect for the military community and the children navigating its unique demands. We are grateful to WAA for its commitment to spreading the word. Together, we can ensure that no military-connected child goes unseen and that no educator feels unsupported.
April is the Month of the Military Child, and we invite you to let MCEC be part of your celebration, in your classroom, in your school, and every month in between.
Learn more at militarychild.org
References
Martin, L. T., Trail, T. E., & Jeffries, J. (2025). Assessing the needs of military-connected children and resources to address those needs. RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.7249/rra463-2
Military Child Education Coalition. (2025a). What we do. https://militarychild.org/about/
Military Child Education Coalition. (2025b). MCEC Learning Hub. https://militarychild.org/event/mcec-online-learning/mcec-learning-hub/
Military Child Education Coalition. (2025c). Resource library. https://militarychild.org/resources
Military Child Education Coalition. (2025d). Parent webinars. https://militarychild.org/event/parent-webinars/
Kranke, D. (2019). Teachers' perspectives on educating military-connected students: The forgotten group. Children & Schools, 41(3), 189–190. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdz014
