Photo by Steven Allen Adams State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt and retired lieutenant colonel Johnny Ross, the West Virginia Army Reserve Ambassador and director of outreach for the West Virginia Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, signed a joint statement of support in honor of Purple Up Month during Wednesday's state Board of Education meeting.

CHARLESTON – Members of the West Virginia Board of Education received updates at its monthly meeting Wednesday on ongoing efforts to support students from military families and partnerships with veterans.

Robert Mellace, an education development coordinator with the state Department of Education, talked to board members about successes from the Common Ground Partnership, a collaboration between 24 different military, government and community organizations focused on meeting the needs of military-connected students and their families.

April is designated the month of the military child, or Purple Up Month. According to data provided by the department, military-connected students experience between school transfers between six and nine times on average during the course of their K-12 education.

Purple Up Day is April 23, when people are encouraged to wear purple, representing a mix of all military branch colors, to raise awareness about the challenges military-connected students experience and honor their family’s military service.

“West Virginia has a strong record of citizens volunteering to enlist in a military service at a higher rate than most other states across the nation,” Mellace said. “This year, Purple Up Day is recognized on April 23rd in West Virginia when we celebrate the resiliency military-connected students display when a loved one is deployed and how we choose to walk with them through this challenging time.”

“This partnership contributes to our country’s military readiness and veterans are finding our state to be one of the most military friendly places in the entire nation to serve raise a family and retire,” Mellace continued. “The partnership also raises awareness among educators about how they can best team up with partners to enhance instruction, get kids excited about learning, and help them become the type of leaders we need for our state to experience economic prosperity, innovation, civic strength, and comforting security.”

The Department of Education has the Purple Star award program, recognizing a school’s commitment to supporting military children and their families. There are 315 schools with Purple Star awards since the program was implemented five years ago, with 17 county school systems received recognition as Purple Star districts for 100% of their schools earning Purple Star awards.

“Each of these schools has a trained military family point of contact, links to helpful resources on our website, participates in at least two military support activities annually and celebrates Purple Up Day in April to highlight the strength and resiliency military children display whenever they experience a loved one’s deployment,” Mellace said.

State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt and retired lieutenant colonel Johnny Ross, the West Virginia Army Reserve Ambassador and director of outreach for the West Virginia Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, signed a joint statement of support in honor of Purple Up Month.

“One thing the statement of support does, it’s a first-level display for folks to see when they walk into your offices,” Ross said. “It means a lot, because when military veterans show up and they can see that statement of support, they know right away that the facility is a recognized veteran location or there’s military members that work in that facility.”

April 20-24 is Military Signing Week this year, which includes events to encourage students to explore career opportunities in the nation’s military branches, bringing together educators, veterans, and community members to work with students.

Last year, 49 schools participated in Military Signing Week and related events, resulting in 288 students being recognized for their commitment to seek enlistment in the United States Armed Forces. Mellace said there are 44 schools already registered to participate in this year’s Military Signing Week. The department has developed a Military Signing Week celebration video to raise awareness.

“The activities are rapidly gaining popularity as an effective way of introducing students to many of the available career paths in the military and understanding the importance of public service in our society,” Mellace said.

The department launched the West Virginia Veterans to Teachers program last year, which offers a streamlined pathway for military members transitioning to veteran status can acquire a teaching certificate. The department named Wheeling Middle School teacher Tiffany Barnes, U.S. Army veteran who was deployed to Iraq twice, as teacher of the year for 2026 earlier this year.

“Tiffany is an outstanding special education teacher in Ohio County schools, and we could certainly use a lot more like her joining the profession of teaching,” Mellace said.