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Board approves two Purple Star schools recognizing military‑connected supports
Summary
The Board designated Maize USD 266 and St. Francis Xavier School as Kansas Purple Star schools after presentations on enrollment supports, streamlined enrollment, career/CTE access and district‑base partnerships for military families; the Board voted to approve both designations.
At the March 10 meeting the Kansas State Board of Education approved two new Purple Star school designations — Maize USD 266 and St. Francis Xavier School (Junction City) — recognizing schools that meet specific criteria for serving military‑connected students.
What Purple Star means: KSDE’s director of school finance explained that Purple Star status signals that a school provides enrollment‑transition supports, a designated military point of contact, and programs to ease credit transfer, course access and family communications for students whose parents are on military duty. The designation also highlights CTE access, liaison services and community recognition practices that make transitions smoother for military families.
District presentations: Maize described districtwide resources — a public web page for military families, buddies/lunch‑group transition supports, no‑cost CTE access, a college‑and‑career advocate who helps military students with GI benefits and scholarship navigation, and a planned Air Force JROTC program. St. Francis Xavier (a private school near Fort Riley) emphasized a high share of military families on campus, a dedicated website tab for military enrollment contacts and student‑led transition programs.
Board action: Following a motion to suspend rules to allow immediate consideration, the Board voted to approve Purple Star designation for both schools. KSDE staff said the Purple Star list will expand as more districts apply and as the state seeks broader geographic coverage.
What’s next: Districts seeking designation should contact KSDE and the Kansas Military Children’s Education Council; KSDE staff will continue to promote the program and support both public and private schools that meet the criteria.
