Military Connected Students and Families
Welcome to Orange Hunt Elementary School!
Orange Hunt Elementary School (OHES) is proud to be a Purple Star School and home to one of the highest military family populations in the school district. We are located just minutes from Fort Belvoir and with easy access to the Pentagon, Orange Hunt has always been a landing place and forever home to many military families.
With a large population of military-connected youth and we are lucky to have a Military Family LIfe Counselor (MFLC) working with the active-duty student population. Our MFLC offers a myriad of services and is available to parents and students.
Students with Special Education Accommodations
Orange Hunt and FCPS follow federal guidelines with respect to the IDEA and the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and 504 process and eligibility. For more information on our Special education department, please contact our Special Education Chair Theresa Allen at @[email protected]
Student Ambassador Program (Anchored For Life)
The student-led Anchored For Life (A4L) program helps to transition all new Orange Hunt students into the OHES culture and navigate a new school environment. A4L students are called themselves Crew Members and serve to connect new OHES students with peers, activities, and opportunities. The student-led transition program is for all students who experience school transition and is modeled after best practices of schools across the country and non-profit organizations that have helped military-connected youth who live a highly mobile lifestyle.
Orange Hunt’s Family Liaison
OHES has a Family Liaison dedicated to supporting military-connected families through school transition, resources for military installations and FCPS, and can provide helpful information about our surrounding community. If you are new to area or planning an upcoming move, contact Anne Marie Balmacdea at @email.
Military and Family Life Counselor
Phone: 571-599-0639
Consent Forms
Please complete the form below and return to your student's sub-school or email the form to your student's counselor. OPT IN FORM
Issues addressed
- School Adjustment
- Deployment and separation
- Reunion adjustment
- Sibling and parent-child communication
- Behavioral concerns
- Fear, grief, and loss
How do we make a difference?
- Engaging in activities with children and youth through individual, group and lunch bunches.
- Providing short term, non-medical counseling support
- Available at no cost to assist children and youth, parents, family members, and staff of child and youth programs
- Providing behavioral interventions in classrooms, at camps, and in Child Development Centers to assist staff in setting and managing boundaries
- Modeling behavioral techniques and providing feedback to staff
- Being available to parents and staff to discuss interactions with children and other concerns
- Facilitating psycho-educational groups
Services are private and confidential except for child abuse or neglect, domestic abuse, illegal activity, or any other duty-to-warn situations.
Presentation Topics:
- Anger Management
- Building Resiliency
- Deployment
- Children and Moving
- Communication
- Conflict Resolution
- Coping Strategies
- Divorce and Separation
- Relationship Skills
- Reintegration
- Stress Management
Links and Resources
Military Families - Below are a few links for policies and resources for military families new to FCPS and Orange Hunt Elementary School:
School Liaison Officers
School Support Services provides Army school-aged youth with educational opportunities, resources and information necessary to achieve academic success. A branch of Child & Youth Services (CYS), School Support Services features School Liaison Officers (SLOs), who help schools, installations and Families work together for student achievement.
SLOs are your best support in the area of education, schools and military transitions. SLOs are knowledgeable in current education news and policies. They act as the conduit between the school community – including local public school districts, private schools and home school Families – and the installation.
Fort Belvoir
9800 Belvoir Road
BLDG 200
Fort Belvoir, VA, Virginia 22060
United States
+1 (703)805-1350
+1 (703)805-3436
Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall
102 Custer Road
BLDG 203
Fort Myer, Virginia 22211
United States
+1(703)965-4950
Virginia Purple Star School Program
The Virginia Purple Star Designation is awarded to military-friendly schools that have demonstrated a major commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military. Schools that earn the award will receive a special Purple Star recognition to display onsite.
A school will be honored with the Purple Star Award if it completes all the required activities, plus one optional activity. The Virginia Department of Education’s Military Student Support Process Action Team, (MSSPAT) formed by the Virginia Department of Education, will review all school applications for the award. Final approval on awards will be made by members of the Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on the Educational Opportunity for Military Children.