Stephensen Elementary school designated as Purple Star school

MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Idaho is the Gem State, but now it can add a star as well. One elementary school is now designated as a Purple Star school.

A celebration a year in the making as Stephensen Elementary School is now Idaho’s first Purple Star school.

The school serves military-connected students on the Mountain Home Air Force Base.

“It really took a lot of cooperation for those on the MIC3 commission, Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission, in Idaho and then followed by other states such as Ohio that helped us model and put it together and how it would be a great benefit to kids,” Idaho State Department of Education member Spencer Barzee said.

A Purple Star school is recognized for its commitment to military-connected students and families.

That is important for Stephensen because these students move around a lot, sometimes from other states and even from another country.

“Our military kids typically come in and out every two to three years,” Stephensen Elementary Principal Robynn Schipani said. “It gives us some support systems for having them, having counseling and having some structure in, so we make sure that we welcome them and that we’re not missing anybody and give them quality education.”

The new designation also creates a new position for a Purple Star Liason. That person’s peers meet with new students to help them transition into a new school.

“They’re going to have a friend on the first day of school,” Mountain Home Liaison Domineek Haag said. “They know that they’re going to have teachers and other students that are going to guide them throughout the school year, and they know they have someone safe they can talk to.”

For many people attending the celebration, they can relate to what the students go through.

“That’s one of the things I wanted to communicate to the kids today,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said. “That there are people that care about you, that there are other people that have experienced that same thing. We don’t have to be afraid when we go to school, and I think that’s what the Purple Star designation is about. It’s that we’re going to take care of our military families the best way possible.”

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