This summer, the faculty of Montgomery Catholic had an
opportunity to learn about the unique challenges that children of military members
sometimes face and how to motivate and inspire students by engaging their
interests and being sensitive to their stressors. Shirley Raby and Teresa Hearn
of the Military Child Education Coalition conducted a seminar entitled
"Helping Military Children Discover Their S.P.A.R.C.", with S.P.AR.C. being an acronym for Strength, Potential, Aspirations, Resourcefulness, and Confidence. This highly
interactive all-day seminar highlighted the different types of stressors that
can affect the lives of military families and how educators can identify and
react to them. Guided by the books Mindset by Dr. Carol S. Dweck and Sparks
by Dr. Peter L. Benson, the faculty learned the importance of adopting a growth
mindset, knowing whether a child is just surviving or if she is thriving, and
how to nurture “Sparks”—passions and interests children have that give their
lives meaning and purpose.
“My hope is that
students at Montgomery Catholic will continue to thrive, experience smooth
My compassion for these families and their
sometimes difficult circumstances gives me a lot of insight into the military
life experience.”
transitions, and find what brings them true joy in life, besides of course
Jesus,” said Raby, who is a retired educator from Texas and has taught this
course all over the world. “Although I am not from a military family myself nor
did I have much experience with military families when I was teaching, I have discovered
that my “spark” is helping these children to succeed.
Montgomery Catholic has been proud to serve the families of
our locally-stationed military members. The seminar hit close to home for the
faculty and staff in attendance, many of whom were either children or spouses
of military members or had been in the armed forces themselves.
“I have experienced first-hand what it is like to have a
spark recognized and nurtured by caring teachers,” said Julie Lopez, Montgomery
Catholic Director of Admissions. “I changed schools often because my dad was in
the Air Force, so I was reluctant to participate whenever I entered a new
school. I ended up landing the lead role in a school play simply because a kind
teacher encouraged me to audition, even though nobody knew who I was.”
Founded in 1998, MCEC’s mission is to ensure inclusive,
quality educational opportunities for all military-connected children affected
by mobility, transition, deployments and family separation. They serve
communities all over the world, wherever American military families are
stationed. They have been recognized for both their service to the military
family community for also for creating
Montgomery Catholic is the first school in the River Region
to host this professional development.
