Through grants from the Infinite Hero Foundation (www.infinitehero.org), the Armed Forces Foundation (www.armedforcesfoundation.org) implemented a school counselor position in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) to support the needs of military impacted students at Fort Belvoir elementary where 98% of the students have an active duty parent. The AFF is seeking to expand the program and continue to support the personal, social, and academic needs of students whose parents are impacted by war related injuries.
Every school district in America has military-connected children and youth. Over 80% of military-connected children attend U.S. public schools. These children live with the perpetual challenges presented by frequent moves (One estimate is that military children move between six and nine times during their school years), parental deployments, and a host of life transitions including reintegration and dealing with profoundly changed parents suffering mental and physical service-related injuries. In their own way, military-connected children serve alongside their military parents.