On April 27, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story’s (JEBLCFS) Commanding Officer Capt. Michael Witherspoon awarded School Liaison Karen Phillips the Civilian Service Achievement Medal upon her retirement from federal service.
Phillips began her career at JEBLCFS in 2015. In this capacity, she assisted military families by gathering and sharing information on homeschooling issues and information on policies and legislation from school districts. Additionally, she helped leverage military Child and Youth Program resources to support military families.
Military families face frequent moves which could mean attending a lot of different schools. Having someone to assist with the navigation of learning each school district’s policies could help ease the mind of military parents.
“Relocation is part of military life. Every few years military families may be required to move, possibly across the county or to another country,” said Child Youth Program Director Kelly Green. “Relocating a school-aged child includes its unique challenges and responsibilities. Karen is responsible for helping that family with all of those challenges and makes a significant difference in military children’s lives by offering positive support, encouragement, and life skills as they face many unique challenges while being a military child.”
Phillip’s career as a 33-year teacher and school administrator in the Virginia Beach City Public School system provided her a strong foundation for the job.
The impact of her actions was not lost on command leadership. For her dedication and hard work, she was presented the award which is the fifth-highest honor a Navy civilian can receive.
Her award citation reads, “Displaying exceptional resourcefulness, Ms. Phillips significantly improved the quality of life for nearly 3,000 military families with school-age children in the Hampton Roads area. Ms. Phillips provided sustained superior support to the military families in an unprecedented fashion at the height of COVID-19. Ms. Phillips ensured that there was no loss of continuity with vital information being relayed in a timely manner to best support the military child. The culmination of Ms. Phillips’ efforts and trademark event was her support to the annual Art of the Military Child display which coincided with the Month of the Military Child in April. As a noteworthy achievement, Ms. Phillips implemented ‘Anchored for Life’ in seven elementary schools, eight middle schools, and two youth centers. Ms. Phillips’ initiative, perseverance, and total dedication to duty reflected great credit upon herself and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Department of the Navy.”
“Thank you for all your hard work, dedication and service to military members and their families,” Witherspoon said after the presentation. “How perfect and fitting it is that you are sailing into the sunset during the Month of the Military Child. We appreciate all you’ve done and wish you well on your next endeavors.”
Phillips recognized the important role she played for transitioning families.
“The most rewarding aspect of being a school liaison is that it is a very positive role to play in Family’s lives,” Phillips said. “Although I have seven core services, supporting families as they PCS or experience a deployment is by far my favorite. Helping families navigate the educational process to ensure their children receive the best education possible is my major accomplishment while being here.”
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2021 14:09 |
| Story ID: | 395154 |
| Location: | VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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