BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Alabama Board of Education on Thursday recognized 76 schools as 2026 Purple Star Schools, honoring campuses that have committed to making school transitions easier for military-connected students and families.
The designation is awarded to schools that show they are doing more than just enrolling military-connected students. To earn it, schools must show that they have systems in place to help children from military families settle in, connect socially and navigate challenges that come with frequent moves, late transfers and parental deployments.
State Superintendent Eric Mackey said about 40,000 Alabama students, or roughly 7% of the state’s enrollment, are part of military families, with many concentrated near Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile and Fort Rucker, but there are others living throughout the state.
At Thursday’s meeting, he described Purple Star Schools as those that show they are a “military-friendly campus,” emphasizing that the designation is earned through the application and outside review process.
“It’s a good bit of work that they go through to be certified,” Mackey said. “It is more than just a piece of paper.”
Alabama launched the program in 2021 after the legislature established it as part of the national Purple Star School program. Mackey said that since the program has been in place, he has seen fewer complaints from military families about common transition problems.
“We know that military families come bearing all the same responsibilities and needs that everybody else does,” he said. “Plus some real anxiety as they’re entering new communities, and many times they get split because of deployments during the year.”
Those pressures can show up in practical ways, especially when students arrive after registration deadlines or after sports teams have already been selected, he said.
The improvements, he said, reflect schools making an intentional effort to remove barriers.
“Schools have stepped up and said, we realize we need to go an extra step for military families, and we’re going to do that and be welcoming,” Mackey said.
That commitment is important in Ozark City Schools, located near Fort Rucker, Sheila McLeod, the district’s student services coordinator said.
Three Ozark schools – Carroll High School, Lisenby Primary School and Mixon Intermediate School – were among those recognized Thursday.
“We have military students coming in and out of our school system,” McLeod said. “It’s very important, because they have transient students. So we wrap our arms around those students.”
McLeod said the district reaches out before students even arrive, including through a special event at Fort Rucker for rising sixth graders.
“We talk with all of the students, and we show them what we have,” she said. “We also have a day that we bring them in. They do a tour. Our kids take them around. We have our service dog. They love to work with our service dog.”
Ozark also uses a student-led transition group, S2S, or Student to Student, to help military-connected students feel at home.
Under Alabama’s Purple Star program, schools must apply each year and meet required criteria such as naming a staff liaison for military families, maintaining a Purple Star webpage and operating a student-led transition program.
The full list of 2026 Purple Star Schools is shown below and at this link.