Copperas Cove ISD campuses honored by TEA for support to military students

By WENDY SLEDD

Special to the Leader-Press

Dandelions are resilient. If you try to keep them out of your yard, good luck, because they’ve developed many strategies for bouncing back.

House Creek Elementary School Counselor Amy Simpson loves the idea of the dandelion being a symbol for military students.

“It represents resilience, strength, and the ability to flourish no matter where the wind takes them,” Simpson said. “These students do not have a choice when or where they go somewhere new.  It is so important that ‘where they land’ becomes a place of safety, security, and caring. 

Nine of 11, more than 80 percent, of Copperas Cove ISD’s campuses are being honored for their support of military families with the Texas Education Agency’s Purple Military Star Designation. Started in 2021, the accolade rewards those schools who provide support to military-connected students and their families.

“Schools play a crucial role in the social and emotional support that military students desperately need as they transition from one place to another. In a district with a large number of military-connected students, CCISD places a great deal of importance on the well-being of those we serve. We are so lucky to have such a large number of military-connected students throughout Copperas Cove,” Simpson said. “By providing an immediate welcome to the school through student-led tours and introductions to friends and supportive staff members, military students can feel more at ease with the challenges they face in a new environment.” 

Nearly all of CCISD campuses have functioning Student2Student groups that welcome new students to each campus, providing them immediate support and friendship, reducing isolation and loneliness. For the last two consecutive years, Copperas Cove ISD schools have been named the best elementary schools in the nation for military children by the Military Child Education Coalition. House Creek Elementary earned the international honor in 2022 with Clements/Parsons Elementary receiving the award in 2021.

Crossroads High School Counselor Audrey Trahan said it is important to serve the needs of military students because just like their parents serve the nation, so do the children.

“Understanding the unique challenges that our military students face and being able to offer them a sense of belonging and support them is key to their learning and development. Having to move a lot and being worried about your parent being deployed is a stressor that our students face. Giving them a connection and a friend at school, sometimes helps with those stressors,” Trahan said. “The Student2Student program strives to help every new student feel welcomed and like they have a friend, a connection, and someone they can to talk to even on their very first day of school. While we can’t help them with the stress and worries about their parents being deployed, we can certainly give them a connection at school. Often that one friend and one connection can change a life forever.”