Governor McAuliffe announces April is Month of the Military Child

Governor Terry McAuliffe has proclaimed April as Month of the Military Child and encouraged Virginians to wear purple on April 15 to show their support for military-connected children.

“Virginia is home to some of the nation’s largest and most important military installations and second only to California in the number of active duty military members,” said Governor McAuliffe. “It should come as no surprise that the Commonwealth’s schools educate more military children than schools in almost any other state.”

In 1986, the Department of Defense designated April as “The Month of the Military Child” to recognize the contributions of children whose parents serve in the military and celebrate their spirit.

In honor of the more than 142,000 military children in the Commonwealth, Governor McAuliffe is calling on all Virginians to help turn Virginia purple on April 15, which has been designated as Purple Up! for Military Kids day. Purple is the color that symbolizes a combination of all branches of the military: Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red and Navy blue.

“It is important to recognize our military children for their resilience and ability to deal with life-changing events,” said Dorothy McAuliffe, First Lady of Virginia and the governor’s designee to the Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. “Frequent moves, family separations through deployments and reintegration issues following deployments make life especially challenging for many military children.  We need to do all we can in the Commonwealth to support our military students and families”

“In nearly every community in Virginia, there are children with parents or guardians on active duty or reserve with the armed forces,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples said. “School is often the one constant in military children’s lives, despite being the ‘new kids’ an average of six to nine times before they graduate. With that in mind, the Virginia Department of Education’s website provides information and resourcesto assist military families whose children attend public schools here.”

Last month, the Virginia Board of Education joined Governor McAuliffe with a resolution of recognition commemorating the Month of the Military Child.