COMPLETING THE APPLICATION

Schools with the Purple Star designation let military members know that they are dedicated to supporting military families. Here are some important tips for completing your application.

Documentation of the required and optional activities demonstrates your school's commitment to ongoing support and understanding of military-connected students. Recognizing the timing of school calendars and the award timeline, we currently accept plans for planned future events for a limited number of activities. Submitted plans should include topic, dates, delivery method, responsible parties, community partners, etc. 

You will select “Completed” if your school has implemented the activity, “In Progress” if your school plans to implement this school year, "On Hold" if your school is not selecting this activity this year, or "Not Planned" if your school has no plan to implement this in the future. "Completed" and "In Progress" selections must have the required documentation attached. 

Please note, the "in Progress" option and the submission of future plans is limited to specific activities.

Use your application and evidence to tell the story of how your school welcomes and supports military-connected students and their families.

Required Activities

Remember, you must submit evidence of completion for each required activity.  

• Photos are a great way to show evidence of activities that have been completed.

• Agendas from staff meetings can be evidence of providing professional development to staff.

• If you select an activity as "In Progress," provide a description of what is planned to include in your supporting documents. This should include possible dates, topics, outlines, etc.

• Flyers advertising past and future activities are also great evidence.

• The list of community members who will help implement the Purple Star School ideas. If this team includes at least one military-connected student, the Implementation Team can be the same members who will serve as the student-led transition program team for students and families.

• For items related to school board actions please provide a copy of or a link to the meeting agenda.

• Here are some school web pages to help you design yours. You may download and use any of the resources and links found in this course.

  • Gibson Leadership Academy 

  • Coronado High School 

  • Watson Elementary School 

  • Mojave Springs School

Optional Activities

• Only one optional activity is required to be completed annually. It can be a different activity each year if you'd like. You are welcome to do more than one.

• Photos are a great way to show evidence of activities that have been completed.

• If you select an activity as "In Progress," provide a description of what is planned to include in your supporting documents. This should include possible dates, topics, outline, etc.

• Flyers advertising past and future activities are also great evidence.

• You do not need to scan and send every staff member's course certificate. Indicating "course completion by other staff members" triggers the facilitators to confirm course completion from the course roster. Please instruct your staff members to complete the evaluation at the conclusion of the course and to provide the name of your school to assist the course facilitators in verifying their completion. You are also welcomed to send the facilitators a staff list and we will check staff off as they complete the course.

• You are not limited by the list provided. Develop your own support activity, just remember to provide the plans and evidence.

Submitting Documentation

It is recommended that all documentation be submitted in one PDF. You can combine multiple PDFs using the "Combine Files" option in Adobe Pro. 

The Purple Star Program facilitators have provided this form to assist you in gathering your documentation prior to beginning the electronic application. You are welcome to download this form to guide your application completion. 

 Required Evidence Guidance Form 

Required Documentation

Here are a few samples of supporting evidence to guide you in submitting your documentation of activities. Remember, you must include documentation of past events and plans for future events with your application. 

• Month of the Military Child Plans  

• Purple Star Plan of Events Sample.pdf  

• Evidence of Activities Sample 2.pdf  

• Churchill County Purple Star School PD Power Point 

• Month of the Military Child Celebration calendar

School Demographics

We are aware of the data gaps regarding our military-connected students. The next section includes a "hack" for pulling the number of military-connected students in your school. Please reach out to the facilitators with questions or for assistance with data.

Here are a few things to remember when collecting and reporting data on military-connected students:

• Military status is self-reported. It may take conversations with new enrollees and their parents to ensure the military connection is selected on the registration form.

• The Compact covers students in Kindergarten through grade 12. It does not cover PreK students.

  • PreK students can still be counted in your numbers of military-connected students.

• Currently, only National Guard and Reservists on Title 10 orders are covered under the Compact. 

  • Children of National Guard and Reservist parents on Title 5 or 32 orders can still be counted in your numbers of military-connected students. 

  • Nevada recognizes the data challenges associated with children of servicemembers who move from Title 5 or 32 to Title 10 often and encourages schools to extend Compact coverage to all Nevada's military-connected students regardless of their orders.

• Surveying your families is one way to gather the information. 

  • • See the sample survey questions below.

Please reach out to the facilitators with questions or for assistance with data.

Completing this Course

If any staff or community members have difficulty accessing this Google course, please email KellyLynn Charles at kcharles@doe.nv.gov with their name and email address. She will contact them to assist.

Application

• The Nevada Purple Star School Application has moved to an electronic platform. You can access it here: 2025 Purple Star School Application 

• The application will open in a new tab. Please use the above Required Evidence Guidance Form  to guide you through the application process and gathering the information. Once you being the application , you cannot save and return. 

• Please email KellyLynn Charles at kcharles@doe.nv.gov should you have difficulty accessing the form or the application.