LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- The first day at a new school--for most students it can be a hard adjustment, but for children of U.S. Armed Forces members it is a common struggle.
Now for those students coming to Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, they won’t have to worry about feeling isolated in a new city on their first day of school thanks to the “Student 2 Student” program.
“Student 2 Student is an ambassador program that welcomes our military-connected students,” said Shenese Broadus, Little Rock Air Force Base school liaison officer. “We ensure our teachers are aware that our military-connected students are coming in and welcome them to the school by showing them around and getting them familiar with the school policies.”
Last week, teams of students and adult school staff members from local schools met in Little Rock for two days of training by members of the Military Child Education Coalition. The S2S program was brought to Arkansas to combat the difficulties experienced by military children during permanent changes of station by having students and teachers guide them through their new school experience.
“I’m excited to do this because we don’t have a program like this at my school,” said Ricky Moore, S2S trainee. “My friends and I would already sort of greet new kids, but it’s nice to have an official program supporting us.”
Efforts are being made by Team Little Rock leaders to strengthen partnerships with local educators and advocate for improvements in this key quality-of-life focus area. Utilizing both students and teachers as part of this warm welcome, the S2S program works to support the peace of mind of parents and guardians of children.
“One of the concerns brought up by parents is that once they PCS, it’s hard for their children to make friends,” Broadus said. “We were taught here today that there’s a two-week time period to really make friends and the S2S program will give them a baseline for achieving that.”
After absorbing a plethora of knowledge and familiarization techniques, Broadus was confident she and the other trainees would be able to provide support to new students in need of some friendly guidance.
“I’m really excited about this, and we’ve already received some great feedback on the program from students,” Broadus said. “In the military everyone has sponsors when they go to a new base, and this is like a sponsor program for the kids. It allows a child to immediately feel like a part of the community.”