MADISON – The diplomatic work of Student 2 Student or S2S at Liberty Middle School has been so impressive that the Military Child Education Coalition or MCEC presented two national awards.

S2S members accepted their awards in Washington, D.C. this summer. Sponsors accompanying the students were School Nurse Benita Tunstill, language teacher Anne ‘Kitty’ Mingus and Liberty Principal Shannon Brown.

S2S focuses on children in transferred military families and assists their adjustment to their new school’s environment. S2S’s work has qualified Madison City Schools for education grants with the statewide Purple Star program.

MCS qualified for state recognition as a Purple Star school district by having active S2S chapters in all schools in the district. Founded in 2021, the Purple Star School program supports military-connected children as they relocate to new schools because a parent in the military has a change in duty station. The Military Child Education Coalition is a national advocate for Purple Star schools.

Liberty S2S members include Gunnar Anacker, Aryana Baria, Makayla Byrd, Sawyer Carlson, Khloe Castillo, Izzy Clouod, Averell D’Ambrogio, Owen Davenport, Amaya Famadou, Thomas Freeman, Caden Frost, Adriana Gadomski, Aniyah Garcia, Lucy Herndon, Maryann Herndon, Jack House, John Allen Howard, Oliver Howard, Daniel Hwang, Grant Jauken, Braxton Johnson, Gabriella Johnson, Leah Jump, Matthew Korty, Addisyn Langford, Heidi Leonard, Georgia McInnis, Kate Miller, Savanna Nichols, Charlotte O’Donnell, Brendan Philpott, Chloe Powell, Dillon Raby, Antonella Rojas, Sophie Savant, Rebecca Simons, Zemirah Sprayberry, Savannah Valez, Garrett Walter, Abriella Weaver, Anna White, Eric Young and Natalia Zesinger.

“(Congratulations) to our Liberty Middle S2S group for its national award for advocacy to military families and other newcomers to the school,” MCS Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols said. “It was an honor to recognize these outstanding students at the Aug. 24 meeting of Madison Board of Education.” Nichols reminded the S2S students that their interaction with student newcomers can have a lifetime positive effect.

In their commitment, S2S students make a determined effort to sit with new students at lunch, approach them in class and find other ways to engender acceptance. Sponsors say this interaction is important particularly in schools if transferred students experience feelings of loneliness and isolation.

For more information, email bjtunstill@madisoncity.k12.al.us or acmingus@madisoncity.k12.al.us.