Pentagon to see how moves affect military kids

By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer

Some 2,800 military schoolchildren soon will be the subjects of a study examining the effects of moving from one installation to another.

The study, due to begin in the fall, is the first Defense Department effort to gauge the impact of relocation on military kids in kindergarten through high school, representing all service branches. Schools have yet to be chosen, but the research will focus on areas with high concentrations of service members in various parts of the country, said Jean Silvernail, director of the Military Students in Transition office of the Department of Defense Education Opportunities Directorate. "This will tell us what kids in transition have to deal with," Silvernail said. "Everybody talks about the fact that there's an adjustment cycle, but nobody knows what it is and what has an impact on it. When we start to understand the cycle, it will be much easier to provide the support the kids need."

The Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University will conduct the study, one part of which will involve about 2,000 military families who expect to move in the near future. Military parents' permission will be required, and parents will be asked to answer questions, too. Children will be interviewed once before they move and twice after.

A more in-depth study seeking the same kind of information will involve about 800 military students over two years. Silvernail said the study reaches beyond the schools, to touch on factors such as parents' attitudes about moving, their commitment to the military and the family feeling of well-being. Researchers also will look at families' use of support services, including a range of programs, such as spouse employment.

Public school superintendents were quick to volunteer for the study, according to Silvernail. She said the response could be based on the understanding of the importance of the study. When the study is complete, researchers will provide their findings to military and public school officials, along with recommendations for what can be done to help military children, she said.

As the mother of two daughters and wife of an active-duty Army lieutenant colonel, Lillie Cannon, has an idea of some of the things researchers will find. Cannon, a retired Air Force officer and deputy director of government relations for the National Military Family Association, welcomes the study.

"This is something that should have been done a long time ago," Cannon said. "The older children will say they'd like to see someone in the school district who is trained to deal with the emotional issues of highly mobile children. Many children will tell DoD, 'We wish our parents' terms were more stable. We'd love to spend first through sixth grade in one school.'"