Welch Elementary recognizes military children

  • Published
  • By Jennifer Marx
  • Month of the Military Child Committee Chair
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Military children are a special part of our nation's population, with an estimated 1.88 million kids with an active duty or Reserve component parent. Military kids do not make the choice to be military kids, they just are. The life of a military child can be challenging; countless moves, leaving friends, starting over and deployments. They face it all with courage and strength. They are brave enough to confront whatever comes their way.

April is Month of the Military Child. To honor the unique contributions, commitments and sacrifices that military kids make and to recognize their non-military students for being supportive friends, Welch Elementary School on Dover AFB has been celebrating all month long with several themed events.

Mrs. Cherylyn Minto, Welch's art teacher, worked with every student to design art pieces that reflected their lives as military children. Their artwork is on display in the main school hallway and is an amazing representation of what being a military child means to each of them.

Welch's Parent-Teacher Association purchased a giant map mural to highlight the areas that students have lived prior to coming to Dover, Delaware. According to the Department of Defense Education Activity, the average child in a military family will move six to nine times during a school career. That is an average of three times more frequently than non-military families. In all, Welch's 450 students have lived in more than 100 places. The map project, titled "Oh, The Places We've Been!" is designed to show the students that no matter where they come from or where they have been, they are all bound together. It will be on permanent display and updated each year as students transition in and out.

On April 21st, Col. Kevin Gordon, 436th Airlift Wing vice commander, was the guest speaker at Welch's Month of the Military Child assembly. He talked with the students about the positives of being a military child and expressed his gratitude for their important job that, in turn, allows each of their parents to perform their duties. The Welch MOMC Committee put together a slide show with teachers, parents and base personnel holding signs thanking the students for their courage, strength and sacrifices. Included in the slide show were some infamous faces like Disney's Anna and Elsa, the Baltimore Orioles Bird and the Chick-fil-A Cow. Mr. Jason Payne, Welch Elementary principal, spoke about how most military children do not realize that they are any different and they are not aware of the courage and strength they possess. Mr. Payne said that the students at Welch are distinct from other elementary populations in that they all share a common thread and are not alone in their journey. Military children are resilient and bloom wherever their incredible journeys take them.

Welch Elementary's dedicated teachers and staff aim to provide a stable environment for learning and make new student transition as easy as possible. Honoring their military students and recognizing the uniqueness of their situations is just one way they accomplish this. Have you thanked your military kid?