Module 1 Topic 6
FROM POINT OF CONTACT TO PROGRAM LEADER
Building Your AZPSS Action Plan
Knowing the requirements of the Arizona Purple Star School Program is only the beginning. Successful Points of Contact help transform those requirements into sustainable systems, shared responsibilities, and an intentional schoolwide commitment to military-connected students and families.
This topic brings Module 1 together by helping you identify what needs to happen next, who should be involved, and how to begin organizing the work at your school.
From a Person to a Program
The Arizona Purple Star School Point of Contact plays an important leadership role, but the success of a Purple Star School should never depend on one individual.
A strong Purple Star program becomes part of the school’s culture. Staff members understand the purpose of the designation, families know where to find support, students experience consistent welcoming practices, and community partners understand how they can contribute.
The goal is not to become the person who does everything.
The goal is to become the person who helps ensure the right people are connected, the right systems are established, and the work continues even when personnel change.
Your Role as a Program Leader
As the Point of Contact, you serve as a connector between your school, military families, district leadership, School Liaison Officers, community organizations, and other individuals who contribute to student success.
Effective Point of Contact leadership generally includes:
- Knowing the Arizona Purple Star School designation requirements.
- Helping school staff understand why supporting military-connected students matters.
- Identifying existing school practices that already support Purple Star goals.
- Recognizing gaps that may require additional attention.
- Connecting staff and families with appropriate resources.
- Building relationships with military and community partners.
- Keeping Purple Star responsibilities visible throughout the school year.
- Maintaining documentation that demonstrates implementation of required practices.
- Creating systems that can continue beyond one Point of Contact.
Begin With What Your School Already Does Well
Becoming a strong Purple Star School does not necessarily mean creating an entirely new collection of programs. Many schools already have structures that can support military-connected students.
Examples may include:
- New student orientation or welcome activities
- Student ambassador or peer mentorship programs
- Counseling and social-emotional supports
- Family engagement programs
- Attendance and transition teams
- Extracurricular activity fairs
- School websites and family resource pages
- Community partnerships
- Staff professional learning opportunities
- Recognition activities such as Purple Up! Day
The first leadership question is therefore not always, “What new program do we need?”
A better question may be:
How can we intentionally connect the systems we already have so military-connected students and families can access them more easily?
Step 1: Take Inventory
1Identify Current Practices
Look across your school and determine which current programs, procedures, and traditions already support the goals of the Purple Star School Program.
Consider asking:
- How are new students currently welcomed?
- Who helps families when they enroll?
- Who handles records, placement, attendance, and graduation questions?
- How are students connected to clubs, athletics, and extracurricular activities?
- What resources are available through counselors or social workers?
- How does the school communicate important information to families?
- What community or military partnerships already exist?
Step 2: Identify Your Purple Star Team
2Determine Who Needs to Be Connected
Your Purple Star network from Topic 5 becomes your working team. The individuals involved may vary depending on your school structure, but effective implementation often requires collaboration across multiple roles.
| School Role | Possible Contribution |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Provides leadership support, removes barriers, and helps integrate Purple Star practices into school systems. |
| Registrar / Enrollment Staff | May be among the first people to identify and welcome newly arriving military-connected families. |
| School Counselor | Supports transitions, relationships, academic planning, and student well-being. |
| Teachers | Help students establish classroom connections and recognize transition-related needs. |
| Student Leadership | Can contribute to welcoming activities, peer connections, and schoolwide recognition efforts. |
| Communications / Webmaster | Helps maintain visible and accessible Purple Star information for families. |
| School Liaison Officer | Provides military-connected family resources and strengthens the relationship between schools and installations. |
| Community Partners | May provide additional resources, recognition, programming, or family support. |
Step 3: Identify the Gaps
3Compare Current Practice With the Purple Star Expectations
Once you understand what already exists, identify areas that need to be strengthened, formalized, or made more visible.
A gap does not automatically mean your school is doing something wrong. In many cases, effective practices are already happening but have not yet been intentionally connected to the Purple Star framework.
Possible gaps might include:
- Families do not know who the designated Point of Contact is.
- Purple Star information is difficult to locate on the school website.
- Only one staff member understands military-connected student issues.
- There is no established relationship with the local School Liaison Officer.
- New student welcoming practices are informal or inconsistent.
- Military-connected students are not routinely identified during enrollment.
- Recognition activities occur but are not connected to broader student support efforts.
- Documentation is scattered among several staff members.
Step 4: Select Your Priorities
4Start With a Manageable Number of Actions
You do not need to solve every issue at once. Select a few high-impact priorities that strengthen the foundation of your Purple Star program.
For example, an initial action plan might include:
| Priority | Action | Partner |
|---|---|---|
| Increase visibility | Publish Point of Contact and Purple Star information on the school website. | School webmaster / communications staff |
| Strengthen partnerships | Introduce the Point of Contact to the installation School Liaison Officer. | School administration / School Liaison Officer |
| Build staff awareness | Provide a brief Purple Star overview during a staff meeting. | Administrator / instructional leadership |
| Improve sustainability | Create a shared digital folder for Purple Star documentation and resources. | Administrator / designated team members |
| Strengthen schoolwide ownership | Identify staff members who can assist with different Purple Star responsibilities. | Purple Star support network |
Your First 30 Days
If you are new to the Point of Contact role, the following framework can help you begin without becoming overwhelmed.
During Your First 30 Days:
- Review the current Arizona Purple Star School requirements.
- Confirm that administrators and key staff know you are the designated Point of Contact.
- Locate existing Purple Star documentation and resources.
- Review your school’s Purple Star webpage or online information.
- Connect with your district-level support, if applicable.
- Introduce yourself to the appropriate School Liaison Officer.
- Identify staff members who regularly interact with newly enrolling students and families.
- Determine what systems are already working well.
- Identify two or three priorities for improvement.
- Schedule a future check-in to review progress.
Create Systems, Not Just Events
Recognition events are valuable because they increase awareness, celebrate military-connected students, and strengthen community participation. However, Purple Star designation represents more than an annual celebration.
The strongest programs build practices that operate throughout the year.
Events create awareness. Systems create sustainability.
A Purple Up! celebration may last one day. A strong enrollment process, informed staff, an accessible resource page, a connected School Liaison Officer, and a coordinated school support network can benefit students every day.
Document the Work as You Go
Documentation should not become something you attempt to recreate immediately before designation or renewal.
Developing a simple documentation system throughout the year makes the process significantly easier and helps ensure continuity if the Point of Contact changes.
Consider maintaining a shared Purple Star folder that includes:
- Point of Contact information
- School Liaison Officer contact information
- Professional learning documentation
- Website links or screenshots
- Event flyers and photographs
- Meeting notes
- Family and student resources
- Community partnership information
- Examples of communication with staff or families
- Designation or renewal documentation
Build for Continuity
School staffing changes. Administrators change. Points of Contact may move to different positions. A sustainable Purple Star program should be able to continue through those transitions.
Consider whether another person could step into the role tomorrow and answer the following questions:
- Who are our key contacts?
- Where are our Purple Star resources?
- What activities occur throughout the year?
- What documentation do we maintain?
- Who are our military and community partners?
- What are our current priorities?
If those answers exist only in one person’s memory or email inbox, the program is vulnerable. Shared systems create organizational memory.
Pause and Plan
Before continuing, identify three actions you can take at your school.
- One connection to make: Who should become part of your Purple Star network?
- One system to strengthen: What existing school process could better support the Purple Star mission?
- One action to complete: What can you realistically accomplish within the next 30 days?
Module 1: Bringing It Together
Throughout Module 1, you have explored the military community, the people and organizations available to support your work, and the role you play as an Arizona Purple Star School Point of Contact.
You are not expected to have every answer. Effective Point of Contact leadership means knowing how to find the answer, who to involve, and how to build school systems that make support easier to access.
Your greatest resource is not a document, webpage, or checklist. It is the network you build around the work.
When administrators, educators, students, families, military partners, and community organizations understand their role, Purple Star becomes more than a designation. It becomes part of how a school welcomes, connects, and supports its community.
Next: Module 1 Review
You are now ready to complete the Module 1 review and check your understanding before continuing to Module 2.