Photo By Sgt. Dana Moen | Lacee Sell (center), Unified School District 473 superintendent, signs her name to a...... read more read more
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CHAPMAN, Kan. - When people come together to make things happen, the results can be remarkable. The partnership between “Longknife” Soldiers and Chapman has been chartered since at least the early 2000s, and although there are currently over 70 school partnerships throughout the division, one partnership stands out because of the dedication and teamwork involved.
“It’s like everything in life or in the Army,” said Lt. Col. Brad Duplessis, 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. “It’s about people and you have to form a relationship and what we did is we tried to say, ‘Hey, we are on your team.’"
Lacee Sell, the Unified School District 473 superintendent, said she was amazed at the time and service the Soldiers provided to the three schools in the district.
“It’s not just a one time a month, on this specific day, at this time,” Sell said. “It’s just a given in that there's going to be folks hanging out with kids or in the lunchroom, on the playground, helping with sporting events or going on field trips.”
Sell said there were differences between various commanders involved with the partnership, but Duplessis’ leadership really stood out in her mind.
“He was bringing more and more of an emphasis on the importance of it being a community partnership,” Sell said.
“And when I say community – here in Chapman, the community is the school because we are just so small and if one is doing something, the other is joining,” Sell said. “That’s just how it happens in these small communities.”
Duplessis said there was a great benefit with partnerships between Fort Riley and the surrounding communities because the values such as dedication, leadership and teamwork that Soldiers exemplify everyday were values schools could readily embrace.
Duplessis said, “We know in order to get inroads, you have to form a relationship with people.”
Duplessis said people in Chapman, and particularly administrators in the school, could see the impact a young man or woman in uniform brought. He said the students could see the things that make a Soldier great.
Duplessis said, “They embody that when they come into a classroom and it’s a lot of the same values that teachers are trying to impart upon kids while they are educating them.”
Sell said the partnership went beyond Soldiers visiting the students. The students have even chosen to use their field trips to visit the Soldiers’ units on Fort Riley.
Sell said, “We have 1,100 students and approximately 40 percent have a mom or a dad that is in is in the Army.”
Sell said this demographic impacted the way in which Chapman schools relate to the students.
Sell said, “If we were to turn a blind eye and not complement that or try to understand, our school district wouldn't be what it is.”
Duplessis said one event greatly impacted the way he viewed the importance of the partnership. He was riding with another Soldier who was preparing to transition from the Army. When Duplessis asked him what his future plans were, the Soldier responded he wanted to teach and was already accepted to a university.
“He told me that going out to Chapman and interfacing with kids really showed him what his passion in life was,” Duplessis said. “I thought that was probably the biggest endorsement for the impact it has, not only on Chapman, but also on our Soldiers.”
Although Chapman is 30 minutes from Fort Riley, Sell never thought of the impact Fort Riley as a community could have on the surrounding towns. Sell grew up in Abilene and would drive past Fort Riley on occasion.
“I knew it was an Army base and that there were Soldiers and they fought for our freedom,” Sell said. “It wasn't until I took this position did I make the connection that students and families there can somehow be in our community.”
Sell said now she couldn’t imagine living in a town so close to Fort Riley and not being a part of the community and helping to give thanks and celebrating the Army, the Soldiers and the sacrifices they make.
Sell said, “People think that it’s maybe just the parents that sacrifice, but they don't understand the sacrifices that the kids make, too, during those times.”
Duplessis said to say Fort Riley is the best place to train, the best place to live, deploy from and come home to, one must be connected to the community to which they and their families live.
“We are connecting to our own and we are also going out there and we are showing the community what our Soldiers are doing every day and who we are,” Duplessis said. “Whenever you can do that and you can communicate, I think it just shows that we are just like everybody else and we are a member of the community here.”
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.03.2015 15:02 |
| Story ID: | 180759 |
| Location: | CHAPMAN, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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