GaDOE recognizes Three Columbus Schools as Winners of the Military Flagship School Award

The Georgia Department of Education has selected 25 schools as 2024-2025 Military Flagship School Award winners, including three schools from Muscogee County.

• East Columbus Magnet Academy: East Columbus Magnet Academy provides counseling services and a Junior Leadership Corps (JLC) program for military students, focusing on leadership, fitness, and discipline. Monthly Table Talk sessions help military students connect with peers and discuss shared experiences. The school also works with Fort Moore to provide military mentors.
• Hardaway High School: Hardaway High School provides before- and after-school tutoring, dual enrollment options, and credit recovery programs to ensure military students’ academic success. HHS also has a Military Club where students with military connections can share experiences and support one another. A full-time Family Coordinator liaises for military families, helping them navigate school transitions and connect with the community. The school partners with Fort Moore NCOA, which sends military personnel to mentor students and speak in classrooms.
• Reese Road Leadership Academy: Reese Road Leadership Academy actively supports military students through Student 2 Student (S2S), a peer-led program that helps new military students adjust to their new environment. The school celebrates Veterans Day with a breakfast and parade featuring military families, and students participate in writing appreciation letters to service members. RRLA collaborates with Fort Moore’s School Liaison Officers to provide training for teachers and staff on understanding military culture and challenges. The school also integrates military history into classroom discussions.

By reaching this milestone, these schools demonstrated a comprehensive dedication to meeting the unique needs of military families and providing them with stability, resources, and opportunities for success.

The Military Flagship School Award recognizes schools that go above and beyond to provide a supportive environment for military students and families. These schools specifically reach out to military families and identify and accommodate their unique needs.

“As the son of a military family, I understand firsthand the challenges and transitions military families face,” said Georgia State Schools Superintendent Richard Woods. “That’s why it’s so important to me to recognize schools that go above and beyond to support Georgia’s military-connected students. These 25 schools have created welcoming, stable environments where military families feel valued and supported. One of the most meaningful ways we can honor those who serve is by serving their children well.”

The Military Flagship School Award applications were open to all of Georgia’s K-12 public schools, and a panel of judges with experience in the education of military-connected students evaluated them.

Schools were to provide specific examples of their outreach to military families, including:

• Services and programs offered to support the needs of military students and their families;
• Training provided to school personnel to help them understand and support the needs of military children;
• Opportunities for military parents and their children to connect with and feel supported by the surrounding community; and
• Efforts to help military parents and their children feel engaged and respected in their new school by creating opportunities for them to get involved.

Every selected school has a way to recognize and know if students are from Gold Star Families. They allow excused absences for a student during their parent’s overseas deployment departure or arrival day.

In addition, they allow enrollment with military orders, shot ID, or shot records for 90 days until the family finds a home or lease and allow online or phone registration for incoming military members from overseas Department of Defense military bases. Every school recognized has a military buddy system linking incoming military students with other military students during their first weeks of school.