Jeanie Alexander, NAS School Liaison Officer Kingsville educator Jeanie Alexander has taken on a new role in the education world as the School Liaison Officer (SLO) at Naval Air Station Kingsville.

This is a new position nationwide for the Navy. In this role, she will serve as the liaison between the installation commander, military agencies and local schools by providing assistance in matters pertaining to student education.

The School Liaison Officer also implements the Navy’s Strategic Planning for Education Advocacy K-12 recommendations in order to insure Navy families have access to quality educational opportunities.

“We are here as a resource to assist military families with educational issues,” she said.

Alexander speaks enthusiastically about her new post as the School Liaison Officer and the duties it encompasses. She will meet personally with principals and superintendents in all area schools, including private schools.

“When a military child comes to a school district from a different state or county, we must make sure the student is given every opportunity to enter that district on a level playing field, while we do not want a district to lower the bar for success,” she stated.

Alexander will host the first Home School Networking meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday.

The meeting will be held at the NAS Kingsville Base Library and is open to all active duty and civilian personnel and their families.

Alexander will be traveling to San Antonio this month along with sponsors and students from the Kingsville Independent School District for training to start the Student 2 Student Program (S2S). This program assists transitional students with immediate peer credibility, positive peer relationships and important information.

The KISD team will then return to their home school to recruit and train others in the methods to support students who are relocating to or from their school.

The focus is student centered and is student led with close supervision. She saw this initiative in action when she attended the Military Child Education Coalition in Philadelphia last year.

She noted that transitioning students have some needs. One need is to quickly receive and understand relevant information. There is also a need for immediate positive peer relationships and someone to trust and talk with who can relate, and a compelling need to feel welcomed, accepted and understood.

Alexander will also serve as host of a Transitional Counseling Institute (TCI) this March. This conference will be held in Kingsville and the target audience will be counselors and administrative personnel from all area schools.

The critical importance of the professional counselor in supporting and accommodating the military student in transition is without question, she said.

TCI is a three-phase professional development institute series based on solid research that prepares school guidance professionals and other educators to recognize and address school transition concerns that impact mobile military students.

A fun activity she is currently working on with the School Age Program (SAC) Coordinator is bringing the Harlem Ambassadors to Kingsville. The Ambassadors will be going to the schools and conducting a presentation to the students about “staying off drugs and staying in school”. This event will take place on February 10. The basketball team will be playing at the Steinke Physical Education Center Feb. 10 in the evening and the game will be free to the public.

“I am really excited about this event,” Alexander said.

She is working diligently on helping prepare for the “Wings Over South Texas” Air Show and is responsible for hosting an educational event with all the area school districts. TAMUK has agreed to host this event which will take place Friday, March 26 at the Stadium. More information will be available on this event very soon, according to Alexander.

“I do what I do because I love kids,” Alexander said referring to her new SLO post and future plans.

She has spent most of her life involved with children and education. Alexander is a lifetime member of the Parents Teachers Association, a former member of the Woman’s Club of Kingsville, served as a 4 H Club Leader and attends the Church of Christ.

She has taught both in private and public schools in this area. She holds a B.S. degree in elementary education/early childhood education from Texas A&M University in Kingsville and she received an M.S. degree in educational administration with principal certification in 2004. She has completed her doctoral studies and is currently working on her dissertation in the Educational Leadership Program at TAMUK and TAMUCC.

She has been married to Sandy Alexander for 37 plus years, and the couple have two grown children. They are Brad Alexander of Houston and Amy (Jon) Alexander Buchanan of College Station.