Military Impacted School Association (MISA) Newsletter

January/February 2012

Dr. Deegan Recovering From Heart Transplant

Dr. John Deegan is recovering at home following a heart transplant. Dr. Deegan was diagnosed with heart failure in December and received a heart transplant the afternoon of December 28 at The Nebraska Medical Center. In an email, he stated,“After nine hours in the operating room doctors say that the surgery went well and that I am on track. I have a bit of a road ahead of me, but I consider myself a very lucky man.” Dr. Deegan said he will take no phone calls or visitors for at least the next couple of months, so he can rest and because of the risk of infec-tion. He said he is grateful for The Nebraska Medical Center’s cardiac team and hospital staff, as well as “the tremendous outpouring of prayers and well wishes from family and friends.” Dr. Deegan added,“I am especially grateful for the generous gift of life the donor fam-ily made during a time of tragedy,” Deegan added. “A family’s decision and strength to participate in the organ donor program has provided me a new heart and the gift of life.”

SOAR Participates in geek•a•thon

For the fourth year, Kramden Institute Inc., a charitable organization based in Durham, NC, and computer manufacturer Lenovo joined to give away 250 refur-bished computers to the children of enlisted men and women stationed at Fort Bragg. Many of their parents are serving in Afghanistan. The Military Impacted Schools Association’s SOAR representative, Barbara Adams, was invited to brief families on the use of the Student Online Achievement Resources (SOAR) website during the paperwork station.

Dr. John Deegan Executive Director johnfdeegan@yahoo.com

Kyle Fairbairn Treasurer kykef@hotmail.com

Carol Ratcliff Secretary carolmisa@aol.com 402.216.3089 (cell)

Office Address: 1306 Galvin Road South Bellevue, NE 68005

Office Telephone: 402.502.6880

MISA Toll Free: 800.291.6572

MISA Fax: 402.502.0008

Web Address: www.militarystudent.org

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On Saturday, Jan. 28, the “Geek•A•Thon” was held at the Brig. Gen. William S. McArthur Army Reserve Center on Fort Bragg and marked 1,000 computers donated total to military families at Fort Bragg. The donated computers were all refurbished by the Kramden Institute, Inc. in partnership with Lenovo which involved around 200 volunteers from start to finish.

Volunteers from Kramden, Lenovo, Fort Bragg and the community distributed the computers, and demonstrated to students and parents how the machine works, including hardware, software and navigation.

A sixth grader, Amaya Tucker, from E. Melvin Honeycutt Elementary School showed up with her mom to re-ceive her first computer. “I can’t wait to tell my dad and maybe talk to him online with our new computer,” said Tucker, whose mom had lost her job last summer after moving to Fort Bragg when her spouse joined the U.S. Army.

Kramden Institute is a non-profit, charitable institu-tion dedicated to providing less-advantaged students with access to computers to enhance achievement and improve 21st century learning outcomes. Applications and recipients are prioritized and selected to provide military families with school-aged students access to technology to help them achieve their full academic potential.

“The Fort Bragg ACS (Army Community Service) Financial Readiness Program, in partnership with CYSS (Child, Youth and School Services), looks forward to hosting its fourth computer Give-A-Thon,” said Lynn A. Olavarria, program manager for ACS Financial Readiness. “Lenovo and Kramden have provided another won-derful opportunity for our military community to receive refurbished desktop computers at no cost. Our commu-nity is very excited, once again, to have another Geek•A•Thon event this January.”

FY 12 Defense Appropriations Bill

The final FY 12 Defense Appropriations Bill includes an additional $250 M for school construction. Below is the bill’s language:

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SEC. 8118. In addition to amounts provided elsewhere in this Act, there is appropriated $250,000,000, for an additional amount for ‘‘Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide’’, to be available until expended: Pro-vided, That such funds shall only be available to the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Office of Economic Adjustment of the Department of Defense, or for transfer to the Secretary of Education, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, or supplement other Federal funds to construct, renovate, repair, or expand elementary and secondary public schools on military installations in order to address capacity or facility condition deficiencies at such schools: Provided further, That in making such funds available, the Office of Economic Adjustment or the Secretary of Education shall give priority consideration to those military installations with schools having the most serious capacity or facility condition deficiencies as determined by the Secretary of Defense.

Summer MISA Meeting in Austin, TX Killeen ISD is the host for our summer meeting 2012 in Austin, Texas. They have designed a fun-filled day visiting Fort Hood, Charles Patterson MS and the district’s newest building, The Career Center.The dress for all tours, meetings and dinner will be business casual.

While still somewhat tentative, below is an agenda for events: Sunday, June 24, 2012 – InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel 6:00 PM Reception (Room: Capital A- 2nd Floor) 6:30 PM Dinner (Room: Capital A- 2nd Floor) Monday, June 25, 2012 7:00 AM Buses leave hotel for Fort Hood (Bring photo ID) 8:30 AM Social/ In Process/ Photo 8:45-9:30 AM Welcome/ Command Brief/ HOOAH Tape 9:30-10:00 AM In Route 10:00-10:45 AM Phantom Run 10:45-11:15 AM In Route 11:15-12:00 PM Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Training Facility 12:00-12:15 PM In Route 12:15-1:00 PM Dining Facility 1:00-1:15 PM In Route 1:15-1:55 PM Warrior Skills Trainer 1:55-2:35 PM Engagement Skills Trainer 2:35-3:15 PM Medical Simulation Training Center 3:15-4:00 PM Display

4:00 PM Farewell Reception 4:30 PM View Charles Patterson MS & Career Center on return trip to Austin 5:30-6:00 PM(Apprx.) Return to Hotel

Tuesday, June 26, 2011 – at the hotel 8-9:00 AM Continental Breakfast ( Room: Capital Foyer - 2nd Floor) 9:00-12 Noon MISA Meeting (Room: Capital Ballroom - 2nd Floor) 12 Noon – 1:00 PM Lunch (Room: Capital Ballroom Foyer - 2nd Floor) 4:00 PM (Apprx.) Meeting adjourns

Hotel InformationIntercontinental Stephen F. Austin, Austin, TXJune 24-26, 2012

Hotel Reservations:

Registration is now available and individuals can register in two ways: 1. Online - A dedicated booking website has been created for our event so your guests will be able to make, modify and cancel their hotel reservations online, as well as take advantage of any room upgrades, amenities or other services offered by the hotel. Use the web address below to register online:https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=8228490

2. Calling Toll Free Toll Free 1-800-235-4670.The group is listed as Military Impact School. Please be sure to ask for room rate for Military Impact School and NOT MISA. The agents won’t know which group unless the correct name is used.

Room Rates: Single/Double Occupancy – King/Queen Bed - $165/nt Double/Double Occupancy – 2 Beds - $165/nt Junior Suite - $309/nt One Bedroom Suite - $349/nt

50 rooms have been blocked for Saturday, June 23, and 65 for Sunday-Monday, June 24-26. If members are interested in extending beyond Tuesday, room rates may be honored on a space available basis.

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Austin Skyline and Town Lake

Reminder: FREE Workshops Available to MISA Districts

Workshops are available for campuses of those districts belonging to MISA. Principals, assistant princi-pals, teachers, counselors and other campus personnel may participate in these MISA-sponsored workshops at no charge to the campuses or the workshop participants. Topics included in the workshops relate to such items as building relationships with students, responding to student needs in times of transitions and deployments, re-viewing findings from research that will enable school personnel to better respond to needs of military students, uses of technology in responding to student and parent needs, strategies for building resilience in students, and “best practices” in working with students of the military.

Workshops will be adapted both in length and in the content covered. Workshops could range from 2-3 hours in length up to two days, depending on the needs of a campus or campuses.

Districts or campuses interested in scheduling a workshop should contact one of the following: Charles Patterson- cpatterson3@hot.rr.com 254-449-3477 Barbara Adams- barbsadams@gmail.com 254-291-8014

Superintendents are requested to survey principals in their districts to determine if any campuses have a need for professional development for their personnel related to finding ways to better serve the needs of military chil-dren as well as all children at their campuses. You are encouraged to forward this information to campus person-nel. As noted above, there are absolutely no charges to the campus or district for these workshops.

Dates to RememberFebruary 26-28, 2012 NAFIS Conference, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC February 27, 2012 MISA Breakfast Meeting – 7:45 – 10:00 AMJune 24-26, 2012 MISA Summer Meeting – Austin, Texas Hyatt Regency Austin, 208 Barton Springs Rd Hosted by Killeen ISD, TexasSeptember 23-25, 2012 NAFIS Conference, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC September 24, 2012 MISA Breakfast Meeting – 7:45 – 10:00 AM

Reminder: The newsletter is intended to provide valuable information about opportunities for MISA member districts and keep members informed about the work of MISA, so be sure to pass the MISA newsletter along to staff members such as assistant superintendents and principals as well as school board members!

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