Meet Julia Aldrich: NSAB’s New School Liaison Officer

BETHESDA, MD, UNITED STATES

05.19.2016

Story by Andrew Damstedt 

Naval Support Activity Bethesda

Naval Support Activity Bethesda’s (NSAB) new school liaison officer has set a lot of goals as she’s getting settled into her new position.

She wants to focus her help on military children, especially teens whose lives have been interrupted by moving to several different locations because of their parent’s military career.

“Instead of just saying the military child is resilient, we want to make sure that we really support and allow them to know that the military base is their family and we’re here to support all aspects of their social, emotional and educational welfare,” said Julia Aldrich, who began her position in March.

She said she has an open-door policy and is available to help teens who may be experiencing challenges such as bullying, feeling like they’re different from everybody else, and integrating them into a new community.

For example, she said a student might have come from an area where they went horseback riding frequently, but now, moving into a more urban area, the goal for Aldrich is to help that student find how to do that activity here or get involved in a similar program.

Another goal of hers is to make sure military families know of the services her office can provide. She’s gearing up for a Back to School fair in late summer and has been reaching out to several schools in the region to make them aware of the event as well as to continue to foster positive relationships between the schools, military families and NSAB.

“I’m available for families whenever they have questions, problems or concerns or want to share success stories,” Aldrich said. “I want to be available for them.”

Aldrich replaced Horace Franklin, who recently became Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling’s school liaison officer.

Before coming to NSAB, Aldrich worked at Catholic University as a learning specialist where she counseled college students with disabilities, such as ADHD or traumatic brain injury, on ways to perform well at school. Previous to that position, she worked as an elementary school counselor at a school outside of Albany, New York. She received a master’s degree in school counseling and a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

She came to the position at NSAB because she wanted a change but still wanted to be involved in education.

“I saw the job and said, ‘Hey, this is right up my alley in education, and so I applied and was very lucky to get this opportunity,” Aldrich said.

One of her major responsibilities as the installation’s school liaison officer is to make sure when military families with children move into the area that their children are enrolled in the right classroom, she said.

“States have different standards – even within Montgomery County, schools differ, so [my role] is to make sure that when a student comes in that they are being placed appropriately,” she said. “So, for example, if they are coming from Florida to Montgomery County, and if there’s a senior, we want to make sure they continue as a senior and graduate on time with the right requirements.”

She said she wants to make sure the military child receives the best service and there is no break in their education, whether the student receives public, private or home-school education. Her background working on a college campus also gives her insight on ways to help high school seniors who are looking to apply to college, such as helping them write essays or navigating the financial aid application.

She’s also a resource for when families are moving from NSAB to other locations and can help put them in contact with other school liaison officers.

One worry she had coming into the job was not having a military background, but she’s said that everyone has welcomed her on the installation and wants her to succeed in her new job.

“Everyone is offering support and asking, ‘What do you need for families? What do you need for supplies?’ Everyone has had a warm heart and open hands,” Aldrich said.

• Date Taken: 05.19.2016
• Date Posted: 05.24.2016 09:39
• Story ID: 198884
• Location: BETHESDA, MD, US