Military Child Education Coalition lauds MCS Student to Student groups
MADISON – With proximity to Redstone Arsenal and defense-related jobs, Madison City Schools has a large percentage of families associated with the military. To acclimate children in military families to their new schools, MCS has founded student organizations that have received national attention.
These organizations, named Student to Student or S2S, have earned national awards from the Military Child Education Coalition or MCEC.
The Madison district strongly supports programs that help students from military families. Every school across the MCS district has an S2S group that helps newcomer children — both military and civilian – to transition to their new school. S2S members also engage in service projects.
Madison Board of Education recently recognized one elementary school and one middle school for national placement in Military Child Education Coalition competition.
Liberty Middle School won MCEC’s “2026 S2S Middle School Team of the Year” award. Liberty S2S members accepted their honors at the Global Military Child Education Coalition Conference in Washington D.C.
In addition, Liberty received the “LTG (ret.) H.G. ‘Pete’ Taylor Partnership of Excellence” award. The award encourages the sharing of lessons learned and acknowledges Taylor’s belief that “goodness starts at the local level.”
Liberty S2S has hosted programs for Veterans Day; played bingo monthly on Saturday mornings with retirees at Floyd E. ‘Tut’ Fann State Veterans Home; sponsored the Mardi Paws Parade to help an animal shelter; installed Free Little Libraries at multiple locations; and honored a child by raising funds for the University of Alabama at Birmingham or UAB Children’s Hospital.
Liberty also organized a unique activity: the annual Dandelion Gala, a school dance like a military ball for military families.
Heritage Elementary’s S2S group won the national “MCEC S2S Elite Team of the Year.”
This is a phenomenal honor to have a middle school and elementary school from the same district winning at the national level.
For an elementary school, Heritage S2S was selected as the Military Child Education Coalition’s “Student 2 Student Elite Team of the Year.” This national recognition honors the outstanding work of student leaders and sponsors who create a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment for all students, especially those experiencing school transitions due to military moves.
Through acts of kindness, peer support, leadership and service, S2S teams help students feel connected, valued and at home at Heritage Elementary.
In addition to the team awards, James Clemens High School senior Savannah Getter earned third place and a $300 prize in the Honoring Veteran Legacies “Eternal Salute Essay Contest.” In her essay, “Heroes Without a Welcome,” Savannah explored how the controversies of the Vietnam War impacted the treatment of returning veterans.
In another outreach effort, MCS has a newsletter, “Purple Post,” devoted to military-connected families and S2S. The newsletter is emailed to these families and other interested individuals.
