Did you know that over twenty-five percent of the student population at Monta Loma are military children? Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View has housing facilities on and off base which are zoned to send children to Monta Loma. Moffett is unique in that it does not house one branch of our armed services like most bases – Moffett houses any federal government employee who wants to live there. Moffett hosts families from the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, NASA, as well as many others. Each family has a unique reason why they are living in the Bay Area. Most families only stay two to three years at Moffett.
With such a large population of military kids on campus, it makes sense to have a “Military Liaison” position on our PTA. Our current Military Liaison, Katie Kirsch, has lived in the Bay Area for twelve years. Her husband is active duty Air National Guard stationed at Moffett Field. She has a second grader and a fourth grader at Monta Loma. Katie wants to serve as a voice for military kids and families. “Military kids need support in different ways than children living a normal, non-transitive life might. These kids have to constantly make new friends and say goodbye to them almost as quickly as they made them. They deal with the absence of a parent for months to a year at a time. They know their parents have dangerous jobs. Military families are, more often than not, living on one income because it’s hard for the military spouse to hold a job. Katie is an excellent resource if you’ve just moved to the area and need advice on schools or preschools. The Moffett community has a Facebook page to connect and share things – send her a message at montalomapta@gmail.com if you are a military family and live at Moffett Field.