VICENZA, Italy — Even though they’re deployed to places such as Afghanistan and Iraq, servicemembers can still take part in their children’s education.
Thanks to technology donated by the Military Child Education Coalition, it’s now possible for personnel deployed to southwest Asia to talk to school counselors or teachers face to face. It’s done via the Interactive Counseling Center that about 150 schools with military students in the States, Europe and Pacific have been using to communicate with each other.
The new connection, reliant on sometimes iffy phone service and sometimes balky technology, got a test run Monday at Caserma Ederle. Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, the commander of the Southern European Task Force (Airborne) at Vicenza, is currently deployed with his troops to Afghanistan.
His wife and eighth-grade daughter are still on base.
“I can see it in your eyes that you’re anxiously awaiting summer vacation,” Kamiya joked with high school principal Kathleen Reiss, proving that the video feed was working. Those listening in had no trouble hearing his voice, either.
He got plenty of laughs from local educators and parents when he asked about the parking situation on base, now that most of the soldiers are deployed. The response: There are a few free spaces these days.
John Zaborek, a counselor at the school who has the system hooked up in his office, said the ICC is designed to help students adjust to new environments. Students can meet with counselors and teachers at the schools they’re heading to before they get there. It allows the new school to review records and talk with the student in real time, helping determine what classes they should be enrolled in.
Zaborek said it’s most likely that the connection with Afghanistan would be used “if everything else is failing.” In other words, if the student was having problems and it was determined that a direct talk with the military parent might help resolve the issue.
Reiss said meetings don’t have to be negative, though. A parent might be told that his student is doing exceptionally well.
“I could see it used for many different things,” she said.
The key, educators say, is going to be getting servicemembers access to the lone portal in Afghanistan. Kamiya said the plan is to place the connection in the education center at Bagram Air Base. That means that troops stationed at isolated bases — including most of those stationed with the 173rd Airborne Brigade — would need to fly into base to make a meeting work. So it’s probably not likely that deployed parents will hook up with teachers often unless there’s a real need.
Vicenza was the first school in Europe to get the ICC connection. Schools in Kaiserslautern and Würzburg, Germany, are also now hooked up. So are a dozen schools that serve Fort Bragg, N.C. That means soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division taking over the mission in eastern Afghanistan could also use the system — if they can get a flight from Salerno.
Mary Keller, executive director of the MCEC, said five more schools are adding on in the States this week. She said the coalition has also donated equipment for a hookup in Iraq and another for an aircraft carrier stationed in the Gulf. More may be on the way. Zaborek said the more the merrier at Vicenza.
“I’d like to see more people take advantage of it,” he said.
Coalition teaches teachers how to deal with moves
VICENZA, Italy — Mary Keller said students with military parents and the educators who teach them are generally masters at adapting.
In her five years as executive director of the Military Child Education Coalition, Keller said she has seen “remarkable changes going on in military schools and school districts in terms of awareness of moving and preparing kids for separation.”
But a few reminders are always helpful.
That’s why Keller and other members of the coalition are traveling in Europe these days, presenting a series of professional development courses via the Transition Counselor Institute.
Keller spent Monday and Tuesday talking with school officials from Vicenza and Camp Darby after a recent swing through Gaeta. Next week, it’s up to Germany.
“I don’t think there’s a lot that’s tremendously new,” she said of the information presented. But she said it can be easy for counselors and administrators to start getting into a routine, forgetting that each child can handle a move differently.
“A military child’s life is one of transition that’s punctuated by separation,” she said. A study carried out by the MCEC a few years ago found that the average student attended at least six different schools. And having at least one parent deployed for a year in places such as Afghanistan or Iraq can create more stress.
The coalition was formed in 1998 to help students and educators face such issues. It serves about 800,000 students in American military families around the globe.
— Kent Harris
