Photo By Vanessa Schell | Marine Corps Community Services flyer for the Back to School Brigade 2024 event held...... read more read more
The Marine Corps School Liaison Program, in coordination with Marine Corps Community Services, and the United Service Organization invite military and civilian families to attend the Back to School Brigade event, held at the McTureous Hall library on July 24, at Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California. During the event, families can pick up school supplies that are generously provided through sponsorship funds by the USO. These supplies are free to school-aged children, kindergarten through twelfth grade, as well as eligible adults who are enrolled at Barstow Community College.
The Back to School Brigade will also be an opportunity to meet and interact with the superintendents of Silver Valley unified and Barstow unified school districts, as well as representatives from other nearby schools. MCLB Barstow does not have an on-base school, so the event allows families to “shop” for schools.
“These representatives will be on-site to help register your child for school and to answer any questions you may have,” said Adam Diaz, school liaison officer and Exceptional Family Member case worker, who is also the lead organizer of the Back to School Brigade event at MCLB Barstow.
Held annually during the summer for over the past decade, the Back to School Brigade event was previously supported by Operation Homefront and retired Marines. Now, for the past few years it has been supported by the USO, which is based on Fort Irwin and USO staff routinely travel to MCLB Barstow to host various monthly events. The USO handles procurement of the school supplies and brings them to MCLB Barstow for the event, where they will host a table to distribute the supplies.
In the past, when the event was supported by Operation Homefront, school liaison program staff traveled into the valley areas of San Bernardino County to gather supplies from Dollar Trees. The experience was humbling. “It was really amazing, how much support we would get from distance communities,” said Diaz.
The vast majority of students from MCLB Barstow are at Silver Valley unified, or Barstow unified. There are occasionally a few outliers in Hesperia, or even Phelan, and the purpose of the event is to give families every opportunity to find a school that works best for them. Although the main focus of the event are the nearby elementary schools, middle schools and high schools are also invited to the event. Families can enroll students on the same day as well.
“We are fortunate that the nearby schools are understanding of the transient nature of the military community and can adequately support military families as they come and go,” said Diaz.
It is also important to consider the impact that a military installation has on its nearby town. Public schools lose out on local tax revenue, some of which comes from the property taxes non-military residents pay, because federal property is not taxed. Schools may qualify for reimbursement from the federal government through programs such as Impact Aid, which gives out yearly grants based on schools meeting a threshold of students from active-duty military families. Per Military OneSource, on the Impact Aid program “military families have a shared responsibility to support the communities in which they live. Impact Aid for schools is one small way a military family can help ensure its school district has the necessary funds to provide high quality education to all students.”
The Back to School Brigade is “the one-stop shop for back-to-school readiness” that exemplifies the school liaison program’s commitment to serving the educational needs of MCLB Barstow. If you spend any amount of time speaking with Diaz about the education programs, it’s clear he has immense consideration and understanding of the trials of military children. “I really do care and I want to provide what’s best. It’s very difficult to move every three years. It’s rough, the things these kids endure. If I can help, that’s what I care about,” said Diaz. “I don’t know exactly where you’re coming from, but if you show up to the event, you will have all the supplies you need.”
Please join us for the Back to School Brigade, July 24 at 11AM in the McTureous Hall library classroom!
| Date Taken: | 07.12.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2024 17:51 |
| Story ID: | 476266 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, US |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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