Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)

Memorandum of Agreement(MOA)

Origin of the Memorandum of Agreement

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) came directly from the US Army's Secondary Education Transition Study (SETS) findings. A team of school superintendents, school board members, and commanders that represented the SETS locations crafted the original document. The Agreement, which is between and among school systems that support military families worldwide, provides a common structure for information-sharing and reciprocal processes. Currently, over three hundred such schools systems have signed the MOA and have committed to developing or improving systems for transition predictability for military-connected and other highly mobile students.

Copy of MOA [pdf]

MOA School District Signatories

The MOA School District Signatories is comprised of school districts that have made a commitment to address the student transition challenges that are primarily high school connected, and their commitment is documented through their adoption and formal acceptance of the MOA.

MOA School District Signatories [pdf]

How to Join MOA

The Guiding Principles for Addressing Issues of Transitioning Military Students

The intent of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is to invite school systems that serve military-connected children to join together in committing to The Guiding Principles, as articulated in the MOA, hereafter referred to as the Agreement. A team of practicing school superintendents, school board members, and commanders developed the Agreement. The Guiding Principles are designed to encourage and support schools as they work together to increase the likelihood of predictability for mobile students and, as such, are:

  • a unified understanding among many systems and, therefore, are not subject to local changes, additions, or modifications.
  • an interconnected, total construct that asks participants to commit to The Guiding Principles as a unified whole.
  • the nexus of local action and solutions.

Suggested Steps to Becoming a Signatory in the Agreement

  • Study and discussion of the Agreement by the superintendent with the installation commander.
  • Collaboration between the individual school systems and the installation in order to analyze how the Agreement "would look" in local implementation.
  • Understanding and commitment by the local governing board (school board).
  • Adoption by the local governing board and signature by the superintendent.
  • Communication of The Guiding Principles to local school constituencies.
  • Development of a plan for local action.
  • Commitment to link with other signatories regarding specific areas open to reciprocity.

The Guiding Principles: Scope of the Memorandum of Agreement

  • The MOA is for and about the best interests of children. It is a formalized covenant focused primarily on transition challenges for mobile students. The MOA is an agreement among school systems that is supported by the installations that the schools serve. It is grounded in comprehensive research.
  • The MOA is based upon common understandings and targeted areas of professional and academic reciprocity among school systems that serve military-connected students.
  • The MOA is respectful of local school autonomy and supportive of local action planning.
  • The Guiding Principles are not perfunctory, rather signatories agree to actions worked in concert.
  • The Guiding Principles are not exclusive to public schools that serve Army installations; rather any school system that serves military-connected students is invited to join the agreement.
  • The Guiding Principles are not to be adopted in part, rather they are to be considered in totality, in concept and process, as a far-reaching and formal commitment.

The Three Rs for Joining the Agreement

There are three prerequisites to consider before joining the Agreement: relationships, roles, and responsibilities. These are the cornerstones for building initial community receptiveness and, upon adoption, sustaining the commitment to the Guiding Principles.

Relationships

There are two core relationships necessary to the function of the Agreement. First, a strong working relationship between the installation commander and the supporting school's superintendent and governing body (school board) is essential. Secondly, there must be a willingness to be a part of a worldwide community of schools, represented by the other signatory school systems.

Roles & Responsibilities

The Superintendent - The superintendent of schools is "in charge" of the decision to initially consider the Agreement. During the study phase through adoption and implementation, the superintendent is responsible for building understanding by working collaboratively with appropriate system administrators and principals. Once the Agreement is adopted by the governing board (school board) and signed by the superintendent, the processes necessary to take action should become components of professional development in a way that permeates and affects daily practice. Additionally, the superintendent should work with the installation commander in localizing solutions to challenges faced by military-connected students.

School System Governing Boards - The board begins by working with the superintendent to carefully study the Agreement. The board considers the Agreement for adoption and upon formal acceptance they authorize the superintendent to become a signatory.

The Commander - The installation commander's primary role is to take a personal interest that, in turn, will foster and sustain strong partnerships with the supporting schools. This can be done by providing opportunities for the school leadership to become informed about military life and the importance of helping teens in transition. The commander provides input to local action plans that meaningfully addresses transition issues specific to military-connected students and helps determine progress checks for the schools as well as the installation.

Process Note: If the school system concurs with The Guiding Principles, outlined in the Memorandum of Agreement, the Agreement should be placed as an "action item" at the next available governing board (school board) meeting. Upon approval, the superintendent should sign the Agreement and send a facsimile copy to the Military Child Education CoalitionTM (MCEC) at (254) 953-1925.

Upon receipt, the MCEC will add the superintendent's signature to the original MOA document, send the update to the Agreement stakeholders, and distribute the updated document to all signatory superintendents. For additional information contact the MCEC at: (254) 953-1923 or send an electronic mail to: .

Guiding Principles for Addressing the Issues of Transitioning Military Students

Memorandum of Agreement

I. Purpose

This agreement is designed to facilitate the mutual development of reciprocal practices, conduits for information between systems about requirements, and accelerate the exchange of emerging opportunities. The fundamental architecture of this agreement is to sustain partnerships that serve as extraordinary models. The anticipated outcome will be institutionalized systems for transition predictability of the high school experience for the military connected student. The intent of this Memorandum of Agreement is to immediately address transition problems identified in the United States Army's Secondary Education Transition Study (SETS) data. For the sake of the child, this Memorandum of Agreement is adopted by the United States Army's Secondary Education Transition Study (SETS) partners in a way that models and exemplifies partnership, flexibility, inclusiveness, and information sharing for all schools that serve high school age military students.

II. Scope and Memorandum of Agreement Time Table

Designed to address transition challenges that are primarily high school connected, the scope of this document and process is to agree on issues that can be immediately solved and to begin implementing those solutions as soon as possible.

III. Guiding Principles

  • Whereas, Military students are faced with numerous transitions during their formative years, and...
  • Whereas, Moves during the High School Years provide special challenges to learning and future achievement, and...
  • Whereas, There are some 175,000 secondary school-aged students of military personnel, and...
  • Whereas, The Army's Secondary Education Transition Study revealed that the average military-connected student transitions more than two times during their high school years...
  • Whereas, The participants of the Secondary Education Transition Study understand that there are many students in schools that face transition challenges...
  • Therefore, be it resolved that in the best interest of all students in transition, we the undersigned agree to:
A. Improve the Timely Transfer of Records.

Practices may include:

  1. Developing consistent systems allowing for hand carried or temporary records to be used for placement.
  2. Cooperating and monitoring jointly with the supported military installation the effectiveness and efficiency of in/out-processing (school clearance).
  3. Evaluating the processes through a determination of local critical effectiveness measures.
B. Develop Systems to Ease Student Transition during the First Two Weeks of Enrollment.

Practices may include:

  1. Collaboratively developing "virtual" orientation (school and installation Web sites).
  2. Creating and implementing combined awareness training of school and appropriate installation staff on the challenges a student faces as the "new kid."
  3. Highlighting and monitoring the support systems and practices that increase the likelihood that a quick assimilation will be made.
  4. Communicating information about specialized high school programs (e.g.: magnet or special schools admission requirements, timelines and pre-requisites).
C. Promote Practices Which Foster Access to Extracurricular Programs.

Practices may include:

  1. Reviewing local try-out timelines and systems with an eye to the opportunity to increase access and encourage inclusiveness.
  2. Encouraging counselors, school coaches, and Youth programs staff to routinely write letters of referral and/or recommendations for students transitioning out of the system.
  3. Posting current and accurate information (including calendars of events) on school system and installation Web sites.
D. Establish Procedures to Lessen the Adverse Impact of Moves from the End of Junior Year, as Well as Before and During the Senior Year.

Practices may include:

  1. Using counselors and school transition specialists as outreach to students and resources to parents and staff.
  2. Encouraging and supporting student networking and sponsorship groups.
  3. Giving senior students and their parents additional assistance and support as needed for graduation completion and post-secondary application.
E. Communicate Variations in the School Calendars and Schedules.

Practices may include:

  1. Collaborating and posting current/accurate calendars and school year events in a manner for parents to easily access.
  2. Sharing calendar and school year information.
  3. Defining, explaining, and illustrating the type(s) of high school schedule(s) in-place at each high school.
F. Create and Implement Professional Development Systems.

Practices may include:

  1. Emphasizing strategies that support attention to individual student needs.
  2. Developing, encouraging, and fully supporting joint installation and school professional development communities that share strategies, resources, and effectiveness indicators.
  3. Discovering, recognizing, and consider replicating proven practices in sponsorship and peer mentor programs.
  4. Ensuring all professional school staff has the basic information about military life and culture. For example Army Family Team Building (AFTB) or other service modules could be used as a resource for professional development.
  5. Developing joint training modules for schools and installation personnel.
  6. Teaming school counselors with appropriate installation personnel/resources (chaplains, child and youth services, installation counselors) on the unique social/emotional needs of military students.
I. Continue Strong, Child-Centered Partnerships between the Installation and the Supporting School.

Practices may include:

  1. Connecting Installation School Liaison Officers and the school district counterparts in a working group in order to share ideas about partnership systems.
  2. Including senior level military representation from the supported military installation as an ex-officio member or an advisor to the district school board / advisory council.
  3. Encouraging site leaders to include an active duty member(s) and/or military spouse(s) as a member of the site based management team (or equivalent organization) of each high school serving military students.
  4.  Collaborating with the installation to provide a community orientation program for military families.
J. Provide Information Concerning Graduation Requirements.

Practices may include:

  1. Communicating high school requirements (enhanced or alternative diplomas).
  2. Communicating options and opportunities for earning graduation credit.
  3. Communicating information about state testing.
  4. Communicating opportunities available to senior students in transition to graduate from the sending high school through reciprocity.
K. Provide Specialized Services for Transitioning Students When Applying to and Finding Funding for Post Secondary Study.

Practices may include:

  1. Developing processes to inform parents and students of the best methods for completing college/vocational-technical application. Specifically highlight resident eligibility requirements and the opportunities and the other challenges for the mobile student.
  2. Modeling what should be in a student portfolio.
  3. Training counselors and teachers on how to best assist a transitioning student on preparing for college/vocational-technical application.
  4. Supporting preparation programs for success on the SAT and ACT.
  5. Publicizing scholarships and grants available to all students and those uniquely designed for military-connected students.

L. Commitment to Continue to Develop and Implement Best and Promising Practices.

The signatory leaders commit to continue developing and implementing best and promising practices to assist the transitioning military-connected student, as defined and articulated above.

Be it resolved, therefore, that the following school system signatories enter into this agreement on behalf of their organizations.

Best and Promising Practices

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...The SETS research was conducted in order to understand the challenges that military-connected high school students have transitioning from one school system to another. The ten major patterns that emerged from the Secondary Education Transition Study data as the most cogent were the keystones...