Purple Star Schools Program
Military-connected students have distinct educational experiences. They are three times more likely to move than their civilian peers, which means they are continuously adapting to new academic and social environments. Many also have to deal with the absence of a parent due to deployment, which can cause tremendous stress for them and their families. The Purple Star Schools (PSS) program, an initiative adopted in numerous states that sets standards to designate military-friendly schools, is designed to help mitigate the unique academic and socio-emotional challenges faced by military-connected students and their families. The Military Child Education Coalition® (MCEC), the National Advocate for PSS, partnered with CPRL to study the implementation and impact of the initiative. This report is a follow-up to a previous study by MCEC and CPRL conducted in 2021. It updates the previous study by providing additional detail on how the program has been implemented over time and furthers it with a focus on program evolution and how stakeholders have worked to ensure rigor and sustainability. The report is based on research in six focus states: Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.