SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois National Guard Education Outreach Program is continuing to reach more military children through distribution of the Educator's Guide Book, the adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard said recently.
"Through the Education Outreach Program [which began in September 2010 to help military children in school] the Illinois National Guard Family Program provides information and resources on the impact our families may experience while their service member is deployed away from home or working stateside with his or her unit," said Army Maj. Gen. William Enyart.
The resources, including a five-week program with a military family life consultant are available at the school one day a week for five weeks, offering free sessions with children, printed materials and interactive Web sites for online tutoring.
"Our goal is to help schools create an environment of awareness and provide resources to better assist military children in school," said Christie Weiss, the Illinois National Guard state youth education coordinator.
"We would like the chance to give each school social worker the Educator's Guide and a one-page, front and back Teacher's Reference Guide to help them better understand military children," she said.
The Educator's Guide for military children includes an explanation of the deployment cycle, general information about the military, reproducible activities for children ages 5 to 12, information on caring for kids after trauma and death and Web sites and additional resources for the school.
The National Guard Family Readiness Office also provides resources to military families and educators.
The office can provide educators with the tools to apply for Department of Defense Education Activity and other governmental grants, team school counselors with qualified Military Family Life Consultants and offer free continuing education classes.
In addition to assisting educators, the office provides information about free online tutoring for military kids whose parents are on active-duty orders along with many additional resources.
If you would like a copy of the Educator's Guide or Teacher's Reference Guide please call the Illinois State Youth Education Coordinator at 217-761-3842.