Military Family Resources

Isle of Wight County Schools recognizes that military-connected students need guidance from understanding school administrators, staff, and teachers. Close to 1,000 of our students are connected to military families. IWCS is dedicated to providing a welcoming and engaging school environment for all families. For military-connected students, this means understanding the unique challenges that come with military life, including frequent moves, long-term deployments, and juggling varying graduation standards from state to state.

IWCS partners with the military School Liaison Officer program to help provide families with transitional aid during reassignments. In addition, several of our schools have been assigned Military and Family Life Counselors to help military-connected families throughout the school day and throughout the school year.   

Military Families:  Planning Your Arrival to Isle of Wight County Schools

• When enrolling a new student, please complete the new student pre-registration online and then contact the School Counseling Office at your child's school to complete the registration process.
  
• Registration Process and New Student Pre-Registration Information
• Required Documents for Enrollment: In addition to the documents listed in the link, it is helpful to provide a copy of your child’s most recent report card to assist us in choosing the courses that are the best fit for your child.
  
• Planning to provide Home Instruction?  Visit our Home Instruction page for more information.

Military Families:  Planning Your Move From Isle of Wight County Schools

• Contact the School Counseling Office at your child's school to inform them of your move and to request records.  Information for each IWCS can be found on the homepage at https://www.iwcs.k12.va.us/ under the heading Schools.

Academic Planning for Military Families

Both Smithfield High and Windsor High are accredited by the Virginia Department of Education.  In addition, both high schools offer industry certification opportunities that allow students to prepare for future careers and workplace success while still in high school. IWCS also partners with the Governor's School for the Arts and the Governor's School for Science and Technology.   Information on all available middle and high school courses is available in the IWCS Program of Studies (Course Catalog).   The Program of Studies also contains information on Graduation Requirements, Diploma Options, and Grading, among other topics.

Should you need assistance as you begin your academic planning for your child, please reach out to the school counseling office at your child's school, or contact the Director of Assessment and Accountability at 757.357.4393 or [email protected].

Additional IWCS Resources for Military Families

• Specialty Programs
• Special Education Resources 
• More Parent Resources

Special Needs Resources

• Navy Exceptional Family Member Program
• Guidance for Military Families with Students in Special Education
• Critical Decision Points for Families of Children with Disabilities
• I'm Determined
• Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center
• EFMP--Exceptional Family Member Program

Virginia and Military Resources for Military Families

• Military School Liaison Officer: available to answer all questions about local area schools for the transitioning military families who need assistance with a range of questions regarding the needs of their school age children, from kindergarten to entering college. As the Subject Matter Expert for the Installation Commander, the liaison will stay up-to-date on all local and state level educational issues by learning about the community strengths and concerns.
• Virginia Department of Education’s Military Families webpage
• Interstate Compact on Education Opportunities for Military Families: outlines key transition issues encountered by military families including enrollment, placement, attendance, eligibility and graduation.
• Virginia School Quality Profiles: Virginia’s School Quality Profiles provide information about student achievement, college and career readiness, program completion, school safety, teacher quality and other topics of interest to parents and the general public. Report cards are available for schools, school divisions and for the commonwealth.
• Military Child Education Coalition (militarychild.org): the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) is a non-profit organization that seeks to address transition and education issues that face military-connected children.