Photo By Jaison Bloom | Dysart High School family outreach specialist Amely Lopez shares her vision with...... read more read more
Dysart High School in El Mirage, Arizona, stands out as a school that truly understands the unique challenges faced by military families. As a Purple Star School, Dysart Unified School District has made supporting military-connected students a priority. When service members’ families complete a permanent change of station to the area, the school ensures their children don’t feel alone.
Amely Lopez, family outreach specialist for Dysart High School, emphasizes this commitment.
“We support all of our military families on the campus,” Lopez said. “We have students that are their role models but also like their buddies. They show them the club opportunities. They’re able to truly support them from day one when they come to our campus so they purposely [have] students so when we have those families, students don’t feel alone.”
Lopez is passionate about expanding this support. She wants it to blossom and attract as many military families into the school community as possible. Her vision includes Soldiers participating in basketball and volleyball games instead of staff-versus-staff matchups, a “breakfast with the troops,” setting up a military information table during lunch and them attending various school events. She envisions creating opportunities not just for students, but for entire families.
Command Sgt. Maj. Joshua Holton of the Phoenix Recruiting Battalion understands exactly why this matters. Building relationships in high schools takes time — often a full year — for Recruiters who typically serve 36-month tours.
“That’s one of the hardest things for us to do is to get into our high schools,” Holton noted. “Military families … same with our Recruiters … it takes a year for them just build well-established, dynamic high school relationships.”
This is where the budding partnership between Dysart High School and the Army recruiting battalion becomes mutually beneficial. Lopez has an active club of 65 students and a class of 33, and she is eager to coordinate events that bring Soldiers onto campus. What she found at the 63rd Readiness Division’s "Meet Your Army Reserve" event was a partner in the Phoenix Recruiting Battalion.
Moving forward, Soldiers from the Army Recruiting Station in Surprise and the company responsible for Army recruiting in western Arizona will reliably show up with small groups of Soldiers — even just six to 10 at a time — to play basketball, speak to students and simply enjoy the day with the school community.
Importantly, both leaders stress that this partnership is about service and community first. The opportunity to support military families, volunteer and have fun precedes — and is far more important than — any recruiting goals.
Lopez makes this clear when describing her events. She wants Soldiers to “come out and have fun but also take the mic and present the opportunities that are provided in our community to our students.” The emphasis is on building genuine connections, easing the transition for military children, strengthening school spirit and showing appreciation for those who serve.
Lopez is working hard to create meaningful, family-friendly events that go beyond the traditional recruiting table. She has offered to regularly share the school calendar and is eager to connect the recruiting Soldiers and the Army JROTC program as reliable points of contact who can help coordinate these activities.
This collaboration represents a special opportunity for the Army and the Dysart community. Soldiers gain the chance to give back, interact with appreciative students and families, and serve in a way that feels rewarding and personal. Military students and their families receive visible support and role models. The broader student body gets to interact with service members in positive, fun settings.
As Holton and Lopez continue to strengthen this relationship, Dysart High School aims to prove that when schools and the military work together with the right spirit, everyone wins — especially the families who sacrifice so much to serve our nation. The partnership is still growing, but the foundation is strong: genuine care for military families, a desire to build community and a shared understanding that showing up, volunteering and having fun together matters most.
| Date Taken: | 08.24.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2026 17:28 |
| Story ID: | 573125 |
| Location: | ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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