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Here's a great article I found at www.northwestnavigator.com: -- When Sailors move, many of their children find themselves left out of their favorite sport for the season or needing to retake courses to meet new school requirements. The Navy is trying to do something about it. The Education Summit, a bi-annual event discussing the challenges military children face during a transition or deployment, was held aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) April 21. More than 30 panel representatives from Washington State met to discuss today’s military children with leadership from Navy Region Northwest and Fleet and Family Support Programs. “What are the stresses the military child faces during deployment? How could we do better to allow educators to have the right resources and knowledge to help them?” inquired Commander, Navy Region Northwest, Rear Adm. James Symonds as he questioned the panel. “We want to enable the children to get the most out of their school and education.” Symonds explained the Navy views family readiness as an important part of overall Navy readiness. “About four years ago, you would not have heard about family readiness,” said Symonds.  “A Sailor is ready to go on deployment if the family is totally ready for them to go.  Part of that is the Sailor wants to make sure there are no issues with their child’s education.” “They already have enough challenges on their plate, so it’s really important for a school district to make sure that transition is as comfortable,” said Carl Johnson, president of the Central Kitsap school board. “That is why we are here today; to make sure we have a good partnership between the Navy and the school districts.  We want to be sensitive to the needs of military families and their children.” To understand the needs of military children, the panelists had an opportunity to hear the experiences from Sailors during the summit. “We wanted to create an opportunity for our partners to see the hardware, and potentially engage with the Sailors,” said Jennifer McKee, Navy Region Northwest representative.  “It’s an effort to learn about the lifestyle on board, which ultimately becomes part of the family experience.” This is the second education summit this year in Kitsap County, but other summits are taking place across the country in an effort to connect the school districts with military families. http://www.northwestnavigator.com/index.php/navigator/regionalnews/stennis_hosts_education_summit/