PASS: Parent Advocates for Students and Schools Published Oct. 15, 2014 By Senior Airman Sarah Hall-Kirchner 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Parent Advocates for Students and Schools is an organization for students of military parents to support their unique educational needs. "Military parents know, through personal and shared experiences, that effective transitioning of students from one school to another can be challenging," said Brenda Wells, Airman and Family Readiness Center Community Readiness Consultant. "PASS offers a venue for parents and educators to help transitioning students," she said. "The main objective is to educate parents in how to be positive and effective advocates for their children." The program achieves its objectives through a series of workshops at the AFRC each month. "Presenters range from parents of school-aged children to subject matter experts and local educators," said Wells. "The PASS slogan is 'PASS it on,' because this information needs to be shared with all parents of transitioning students." Often, parents do not know about the school system or what they can do to help their children. The PASS program helps parents to effectively advocate for their children. The program teaches parents about educational law, building relationships between local schools and military parents, and it gives parents a voice to talk to the schools and educators. "In that capacity, PASS is a positive force, because educators take the issues presented by parents and create programs or change policies at their schools to help our military-connected students," said Wells. Dr. Cindy Doil, Scott Air Force Base School Liaison Officer, formerly served on active duty and said she wished this program was around then. "I relied on the many school systems to see to my children's needs and failed to be truly involved beyond the occasional contribution to bake sales and classroom activities," said Doil. "I should have been helping set my children up for their futures by seeing to it that they took the correct courses to get into 'that' college or technical school. I should have made sure they weren't having to use the same textbook in 5th grade that they had in 4th in another school system. I should have insisted they be given the correct tests for proper placement rather than being 'herded' because that was the easy thing for the school to do." Doil admitted that if she had had the PASS program to educate her, she would have known how to advocate for her children better. "I would have learned what to say, when to say it, and how to say it," Doil said. "I would have learned the school system rules and regulations, and I would have known to save and gather documentation on my children's educational progress." She emphasized that every parent of a school-aged child who transitions should be actively involved in PASS. Parents can get involved in many ways. They can tell other parents about the program and encourage them to attend the workshops. They can help identify community needs and distribute PASS materials. Parents can also attend school board meetings. Attending the PASS workshops and advisory meetings is another way to get involved. Advisory meetings are held one hour prior to the start of each workshop. PASS workshops are held each month at the AFRC. Call 256-8668 to reserve a seat or for more information. Upcoming workshops: · Nov. 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Preparing for high school · Feb. 18, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Jumpstart to kindergarten · March 18, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Tracking your child's education