Central Arizona - AZPSS

Central Arizona

Welcome to the Valley of the Sun

Central Arizona offers military-connected families an exceptional combination of community, opportunity, education, recreation, and military support. From the West Valley communities surrounding Luke Air Force Base to Phoenix and the communities surrounding Papago Park Military Reservation, families can find welcoming neighborhoods, strong schools, career opportunities, healthcare resources, cultural attractions, and year-round activities.

Families arriving in Central Arizona quickly discover that there is much more to the region than sunshine. The Phoenix metropolitan area offers professional sports, museums, performing arts, universities and community colleges, family attractions, desert preserves, mountain trails, lakes, golf, dining, shopping, and easy access to destinations throughout Arizona.

Within a few hours, families can experience the red rocks of Sedona, the forests and mountains of northern Arizona, the Grand Canyon, historic communities, desert lakes, and high-country recreation. Central Arizona provides the advantages of a major metropolitan area while still offering communities with their own distinct identities and strong connections to military families.

Why Military Families Enjoy Living in Central Arizona

Luke Air Force Base is a defining part of Central Arizona and the West Valley. Home to the 56th Fighter Wing, Luke plays an important role in preparing fighter pilots and combat-ready Airmen while maintaining deep connections with the surrounding communities.

For military families, the communities surrounding Luke provide access to schools, parks, youth sports, shopping, healthcare, entertainment, higher education, and employment opportunities. Communities including Glendale, Goodyear, Avondale, Litchfield Park, Surprise, Buckeye, Peoria, and other West Valley areas provide a wide range of housing and school options.

Luke AFB School Liaison Support

Military families relocating to Luke do not have to navigate Arizona’s education system alone. The Luke Air Force Base School Liaison Program provides a connection among military families, schools, commanders, and community partners for Preschool-12 education matters.

School Liaisons can assist families with:

• Local school navigation and school-choice questions
• Student transition support during Permanent Change of Station moves
• Military Interstate Children’s Compact considerations
• Special education navigation
• Connections among families, schools, and military partners
• College, career, and military readiness resources
• Parent workshops and resources for military-connected students
• Deployment and separation support
• Educational concerns affecting military-connected students
• Resources for Guard and Reserve families

Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)

For families with medical, developmental, behavioral, or educational needs, relocating to a new duty station often involves more than finding a home and enrolling in school. The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) helps eligible military families coordinate support throughout a service member’s career and during assignment transitions.

EFMP is designed to help ensure that the medical and educational needs of eligible family members are considered during the assignment process and that families can connect with appropriate services at their new location.

Three Areas of EFMP Support

• Identification and Enrollment: Identifying eligible family members who have qualifying medical or educational needs.
• Assignment Coordination: Considering documented family needs when evaluating military assignments.
• Family Support: Connecting families with information, resources, advocacy, relocation assistance, and community services.

EFMP Family Support at Luke

Luke Air Force Base’s Military & Family Readiness Center provides EFMP Family Support and helps families connect with military and community resources. Families may receive assistance with information and referral, relocation planning, advocacy resources, educational navigation, and community-based services.

The Luke School Liaison Program also identifies special education navigation as part of its support for military families. This can be especially helpful for students with Individualized Education Programs, Section 504 Plans, specialized services, or other educational needs when transitioning between school systems.

Luke Air Force Base also works with Raising Special Kids, an Arizona organization that provides support, training, information, and individual assistance to families of children with disabilities and special healthcare needs.

More Support for New Luke Families

The Luke Military & Family Readiness Center provides programs and services designed to support military members and families throughout the military life cycle.

Resources may include:

• Relocation and sponsorship assistance
• Newcomer information
• Deployment and family-readiness support
• Employment and career assistance
• Personal financial readiness
• Military & Family Life Counseling
• EFMP Family Support
• Transition assistance
• Information and referral services

Military & Family Readiness Center

Located in the heart of the Phoenix metropolitan area, Papago Park Military Reservation (PPMR) has supported Arizona’s military community for generations. Established in 1930, the reservation remains an active military facility supporting the Arizona National Guard and the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.

Papago Park’s central location provides military and Guard families access to many of the region’s educational, cultural, recreational, medical, and employment opportunities.

Nearby destinations include Papago Park, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix Zoo, Arizona State University, downtown Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, and communities throughout the East Valley.

Supporting Arizona National Guard Families

National Guard families may experience military life differently than active-duty families, but deployments, activations, training requirements, changes in duty status, and extended separations can still have a significant impact on students.

Arizona Purple Star Schools recognize these experiences and work to ensure National Guard and Reserve students are included in military-connected student support programs.

Students connected to the National Guard may benefit from the same types of intentional transition and deployment support offered to other military-connected students, including:

• Student-led peer transition programs
• Military family resource information
• Staff awareness of military-connected student experiences
• Support during deployments and family separations
• Recognition of military-connected students and families
• Connections to school counselors and community resources

Arizona National Guard Family Resources

Official Arizona National Guard resources available through the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs include programs supporting service members and their families throughout Arizona.

Resources may include:

• Family Readiness assistance
• Education and incentive services
• Chaplain support
• ID Cards and DEERS information
• Financial counseling and readiness resources
• Behavioral health and resiliency resources
• Retirement services
• Employment resources
• Service member and family support programs

Education Support for Papago-Area Families

Families connected to Papago Park Military Reservation live throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area and may enroll their children in many different school systems. Unlike families living near a single installation boundary, Arizona National Guard families may reside in communities throughout Central Arizona.

This makes local school support especially important. Arizona Purple Star Schools provide an identifiable network of schools that understand military-connected students and recognize how deployments, activations, mobility, and family separation can affect children.

Luke Air Force Base School Liaisons also serve eligible active-duty, Guard, Reserve, retiree, and military-connected families who need assistance navigating Preschool-12 educational concerns in the area.

Connect With a School Liaison

Finding Your Community in Central Arizona

A military move is more than a change of address. It means finding a school, building new friendships, locating healthcare and childcare, learning a new community, and helping every member of the family develop a sense of belonging.

Central Arizona offers military families a combination of installation support, diverse school options, growing communities, outdoor recreation, cultural opportunities, higher education, employment opportunities, and a strong network of military and veteran connections.

Explore the Valley

Purple Star Schools Make a Difference

Arizona Purple Star Schools add another layer of support by intentionally welcoming military-connected students, recognizing the challenges associated with mobility and deployment, and helping families connect with their new school community.

A Purple Star designation signals that a school has made a purposeful commitment to building systems that support military-connected students and families rather than expecting families to navigate every transition on their own.

Military Families Strengthen Arizona

Military-connected students bring resilience, adaptability, leadership, diverse experiences, and a unique perspective to Arizona schools. Their families contribute to the communities where they live, work, volunteer, serve, and build connections.

Arizona Purple Star Schools are committed to ensuring those students are not simply enrolled in a new school — they are welcomed into a community.

Resource Note: Military contacts, programs, office hours, telephone numbers, and links may change. Families should confirm current information directly with the installation or agency before visiting.