Georgette Price knows firsthand what it’s like to be a military family transitioning into a new community.
Now, she will be able to share her knowledge and experience through a position that will allow her to serve the needs of all military families joining the Bossier Parish schools family.
The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) announced Price as the latest addition to the Military Student Transition Consultant (MSTC) program earlier this month. According to a press release from the MCEC, the program is funded through a partnership, which includes the Bossier Chamber of Commerce, the Military Affairs Council, Cyber Innovation Center, Barksdale Forward, and the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation, to embed a carefully trained person within the school system to help
Georgette is the eighth person in the nation to be a Military Student Transition Consultant and the first for Bossier Parish.
Transition consultants address both school and deployment related concerns and provide assistance with transfer of credit, state-to-state testing requirements, magnet programs, transportation guidelines and school policies.
Consultants also educate teachers and school personnel about issues unique to their military students and must have in-depth knowledge of the district’s schools, personnel and programs as well as the local military installation and community.
Georgette said her role in the public education system is not only vital from a business aspect, but on a personal level too. She is the wife of B-52 pilot Adam Price, a Bossier High graduate and 15 year Air Force veteran currently stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, and the mother of three children, ages 8, 4 and 3.
This year, her oldest child will be attending Apollo Elementary. Georgette said she knows the value of education in the Louisiana public school system because she grew up in south Louisiana and attended public schools herself.
After graduating high school, she went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in communications at the Mississippi University for Women, a Masters in school counseling from Louisiana Tech at Barksdale, an Educational Specialist (Ed.S) in community agency counseling at Hampton University in Virginia, where the family was last stationed.
Two weeks before her family returned to Bossier City, Georgette said she had a phone interview with the Military Child Education Coalition for the position.
“I was still in Virginia when I got the job,” she said with a laugh.
Georgette said she is taking a hands-on approach to her new job.
“One of the most important things I will do is be that first person of contact for a military family,” she said. “Even before they move here, they will have someone who has experienced a life in the military and I’m in the process of learning everything there is to know about Bossier Parish.”
She also plans to be in the schools and available to parents as they transition into their new community.
“I’ll be available to sit in meetings for special ed. or gifted and talented or families on base who need help deciding their school of choice,” she said. “I want to be in the schools every day and concentrate on what each individual school needs from me.”
With her new career, Georgette is also working with a licensed Louisiana supervisor to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). In turn, she hopes to share her knowledge with Bossier school counselors on how military life affects a student.
“I’d like to start groups specifically designed for children whose parents are deployed or who have newly transitioned,” she said. “I’ll be at the schools talking to students in order to give them an outlet to talk about all of these feelings they have or what it has been like for them to live as a military child.”
A major goal she has is to get the men and women at Barksdale more involved in schools, whether it be eating lunch with the students or participating in field day activities.
“I would like to see all of the airmen, not just parents, in the schools mentoring students and volunteering at events,” she said. “I think it would benefit both Barksdale and the schools. This would give young airmen, especially, an opportunity to learn more about Bossier City and their community.”
While there’s much to be done, Georgette said she’s focused on listening first in order to see what the needs are in the community. She has been working closely with key school and community officials, including Bossier Superintendent D.C. Machen, the Bossier Chamber of Commerce and officials at Barksdale AFB, in the week since starting her new job.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Price to our Bossier Schools family and offer this additional tier of support to our students from military families,” said Sonja Bailes, Public Relations Liaison for Bossier Schools, in the MCEC statement. “We recognize these students and their families face unique challenges and feel Ms. Price’s firsthand experience in both education and the Air Force will be invaluable in her role as Bossier’s MSTC.”
