Did you know that Virginia is home to several of the nation’s largest and most important military installations? Currently, more than 80,000 school-aged, military-connected students attend schools in the commonwealth. Their parents serve on active duty, in the reserves, or in the Virginia National Guard.
The Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children are recognizing 189 schools as “Purple Star” schools for the 2022-2023 school year. Created in 2009 to consider any and all matters related to the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, the compact expresses the commitment of participating states to remove barriers to academic success for children of military families. The Purple Star designation is awarded to military-friendly schools that have demonstrated their commitment to meeting the needs of military-connected students and their families.
Congratulations to the 12 Chesapeake schools who earned the 2022-2023 Purple Star School Designation:
![PURPLE STAR SCHOOLS [Graphics: Chesapeake Public Schools logo, VDOE Purple Star Logo, Virginia Department of Education logo] Text reads: The Purple Star designation is awarded to military-friendly schools that have demonstrated their commitment to meeting the needs of military-connected students and their families. [CPS 2022-2023 Purple Star recipients include the following 12 schools]: Crestwood Middle*, Great Bridge High*, Great Bridge Middle*, Greenbrier Intermediate*, Greenbrier Middle*, Hickory Elementary*, Hugo Owens Middle*, Indian River Middle*, Jolliff Middle*, Norfolk Highlands Primary, Oscar Smith Middle*, Western Branch Middle* (*denotes schools earning the award for a second time)](https://cpschools.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Purple-Star-2021-FacebookInstagram-Template-5-300x300.png)
To qualify for a Purple Star, schools must have a staff member designated as the point of contact for military students and families. The point of contact is the primary link between the military family and the school. Schools must also demonstrate their commitment to meeting the needs of military students by providing resources and programming on issues important to military families such as academic planning and transitions between schools, districts, and states.
With the addition of this year’s 2022-2023 schools, Chesapeake Public Schools is the FIRST public school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia to have 100% of its schools designated as Purple Star Schools.
Purple Star schools retain the designation for three years before being required to reapply. This year’s Purple Star recipient schools join our thirty five (35) schools who previously earned the designation making Chesapeake Public Schools the first public school district in the Commonwealth to have 100% of the schools with active purple star designation. We are so proud of our schools and their commitment to serving our military-connected students and their families.
Purple Star schools retain the designation for three years before being required to reapply.