Carroll High School designated a ‘military friendly’ school

Carroll High School honored U.S. military veterans with a special ceremony at the boys basketball game on Jan. 17. Carroll also announced it had received the Ohio Department of Education s Purple Star designation for being a military-friendly school as part of the ceremony. Easterling Studios photo

Carroll High School honored U.S. military veterans with a special ceremony at the boys basketball game on Jan. 17. Carroll also announced it had received the Ohio Department of Education s Purple Star designation for being a military-friendly school as part of the ceremony. Easterling Studios photo

Carroll High School became the first Catholic high school in the Dayton area to earn the Ohio Department of Education’s Purple Star Designation as a military friendly school.

“The Purple Star Award for military-friendly schools recognizes schools that show a major commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military,” the ODE website states.

2019 is the first year Carroll High School met all ODE criteria for the designation, including employing a staff point of contact for military students and families to serve as the primary liaison between military families and the school and maintaining a dedicated page on the school website featuring resources for military families. Carroll also met the additional criteria of hosting an event to showcase its commitment to honoring military families on Veterans’ Day.

“Given our close proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, it is only natural that we meet the educational needs of children whose parents are serving our country,” said Principal Matt Sableski. “We want all of our families to feel welcome and we work hard to make sure that integration into our community is seamless, regardless of where they are coming from or how long they’ll be with us.”

“Our family chose Carroll High School because of its strong service ethic for military families,” said Col. (Ret.) Cassie Barlow, Carroll High School board president, parent of alumni, and former commander of Wright-Patterson AFB. “We were immediately welcomed into the Carroll family and still feel part of the family after our daughter graduated. Carroll has built a culture of service that permeates through everything they do, and we are very proud to be part of this amazing community.”

Located two miles from Wright-Patterson AFB, Carroll High School has a long history of welcoming active-duty military members into the Patriot community. For years, Carroll has provided many of its students opportunities to work on the grounds of the base through STEM education initiatives like the Wright Scholars and iGEM programs.

About the Author