Newcomers:
Military

Student counseling and deployment related services

Adolescent Substance Abuse Counseling Services (ASACS)
Youth Counselor Mark Mortier, (907) 384-0134, mark.a.mortier@us.army.mil

Alaska National Guard Family Programs
Military and Family Life Consultants
Cell: (907) 382-1408 Phone: (907) 428-6668, www.akguard.com

Alaska Military Family Assistance Center
National Guard Child and Youth Program
Joan Boltz Phone: (907) 428-6670, joan.boltz@us.army.mil
Consultants may help with managing and coping with stress; returning to familial and social
relationships; dealing with anger effectively; education and support for families experiencing deployment, reunion or homecoming issues; restoring hope, optimism and direction.

Army Community Service
Family Advocacy Program
Stan Austin, (907) 384-1006, www.usarak.army.mil/framwr/fap.htm
Education groups to help individuals gain skills in the areas of anger management, stress
management, time management, and couples communication; crisis intervention; group/individual/family therapy; intake and assessment of child abuse reports.

• Youth Center 384-1508
• School Age Services (SAS) 384-1068
• CYS Central Registration 384-7483
• Chaplain 384-5433 (LIFE)

Elmendorf AFB Military and Family Readiness Center
Marc Derosier, (907) 552-7545, Marc.derosier@elmendorf.af.mil, Chief of the Military and Family Readiness Center
The CARE team coordinates and collaborates on all preventive, educational programs aimed at individual/family well-being and readiness. It ensures there are no redundancies or gaps in available programs/services by using information and referral as its foundation.

• Health and wellness 552-2361
• Youth Activities – 552-5437
• Military and Family Readiness – 552-4943
• Life Skills Support Center – 580-2181
• Family Advocacy – 580-5858
• Chaplain – 552-4422
• School Liaison Program – 552-4521

Photos Courtesy of Elmendorf AFB, U.S. Dept of Defense

School liaisons

Brian Griggs

(907) 240-3265

Fax (907) 384-1013

brian.w.griggs@us.army.mil

Jena L. Bienia

Elmendorf AFB School Liaison

(907) 552-4521

Fax (907) 552-8499

Jena.bienia@elmendorf.af.mil

Don Cole

Ft. Rich School Liaison Officer

907-384-7500

donald.r.cole@us.army.mil

Ramona Dixon

Ft. Rich School Liaison Officer

907-384-1505

Ramona.Dixon@us.army.mil

School principals

(Schools serving main military areas)

Ursa Major
Bobby Hinderliter, 742-1600

Ursa Minor
Wendy Brons, 428-1311

Aurora
Gary Webb, 753-6223

Mount Spurr
Helen Mullings, 742-0200

Orion
Ruth Tweto, 742-0250

Gruening Middle School
Bobby Jefts, 742-3600

Clark Middle School

Cessilye Williams, 742-4700

Central Middle School
Lisa Prince-Smith, 742-5100

Begich Middle School
Jeanne Fischer, 742-0500

Mirror Lake Middle School
Scott Batchelder, 742-3500

Eagle River High School
Natalie Burnett, 742-2700

Bartlett High School
Dan Gallego, 742-1820

Chugiak High School
Rick Volk, 742-3050

Get involved
• Time spent in the school, on field trips, doing homework, or engaged in other educational activities demonstrates parent’s belief in the importance of education.

Be prepared
• Students need to be equipped with the materials and clothing necessary for travel to and from school and activities in and out of the classroom. Warm winter coat, snowpants, hat, gloves, and boots are required winter-wear for elementary students, who attend recess in weather to -10 degrees. Secondary students should also dress to stay warm and safe for school (buses run late, fire alarms require being outside of the building for 10-30 minutes).

Get information
• Read school newsletters, frequently visit the district website, attend open houses and parent teacher conferences, and take advantage of teacher / class websites and e-mail communication accommodations.

Network
• Get acquainted with teachers, principal, front desk staff, school nurse, PTA representatives, and other parents in your child’s class. Make a concerted effort to establish these connections early on and under positive circumstances.

Volunteer (serve)
• Look for opportunities to participate and volunteer in school and extracurricular activities. Encourage students to participate in programs that serve others.

Read
• Encourage frequent required and extracurricular reading. Familiarize yourself with the material your child is reading and discuss it with them. Limit student television and computer consumption. Make books available in the home.

Communicate
• Talk regularly with your student and their teacher /teachers

Healthy diet / active lifestyle
• Students perform much better in school when they start the day with a healthy breakfast and get regular adequate exercise.

Bus behavior
• Strategize with your student how to occupy their time on the bus and avoid improper behavior. Inappropriate behavior on the bus can risk safety and lives of other students, is not tolerated, and bus suspension is often inconvenient for parents.

Strive for academic excellence
• Work together with your student to set goals and strive for excellence in school. Become familiar with the 40 developmental assets. Students will increase their academic and emotional success in proportion to the number of assets they attain.

Source: Brian Griggs, school liaison

Parents interested in supporting their child’s development in math, reading and language arts skills can access the Student Online Achievement Resources (SOAR). SOAR is a free Web-based program designed for military families, but can be used by others as well. It allows parents to identify areas where students may need improvement and select instructional or remediation activities to meet those specific needs. See this brochure for more details, contact the district's SOAR coordinator, Joe Hackenmueller or check out the SOAR Web site.

Free SAT/ACT preparation software available to all students in military communities
All ASD students and staff may request a DVD or CD of the PowerPrep software for free. Shipping and handling charges will still need to be paid. More information can be found here or order the software from eKnowledge's Web site.