School Liaison office: The education experts

Corina Torres, assistant school liaison officer, assigned to the 48th Mission Support Group, answers questions on the phone at RAF Lakenheath, England, Feb. 1. The School Liaison office encourages families to reach out with any ideas or suggestions on possible workshops that can be implemented on base. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Christopher S. Sparks)

Corina Torres, Royal Air Force Lakenheath assistant school liaison officer, poses for a photo at RAF Lakenheath, England, Feb. 1. The School Liaison office serves as a conduit between military families and local schools near RAF Lakenheath. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Christopher S. Sparks)

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --

When Airmen with children go through a permanent change of station, there are certain boxes that need to be checked, even more so when moving overseas. Tasks such as finding a house, ensuring household goods are transported on time and finding child-care services can be overwhelming, to say the least.

For some parents, the most important box to check is ensuring their child is enrolled in an education system that has proper resources and support to help smooth the transition.

Luckily, there is an asset at RAF Lakenheath that serves as a conduit between military families and local schools—the School Liaison office.

The office provides assistance to military families around the tri-base area, which consists of RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell.

They use a variety of avenues to communicate information to families such as workshops, visiting the newcomer’s briefings and maintaining a social media presence.

“The information is always evolving,” said Jacquline Jaramillo, school liaison officer assigned to the 48th Mission Support Group. “There are always new activities, events and policies that might affect any school-age child in the area, and we make sure to get that information out to the parents.”

This year, one of their goals is to increase the volume of workshops for community outreach events.

For example, the School Liaison office recently hosted a college application night. At the workshop, their office provided college resources and tips for families and students who are about to begin the application process.

“We always want to do workshops because that’s our main goal,” said Corina Torres, assistant school liaison officer assigned to the 48th MSG. “If it’s something that’s really good for the community, we’re definitely open to taking any ideas.”

Recently, the school liaison officers branched out their community engagement by visiting U.K. schools in the area in effort to increase their experience and understanding of local school systems.

“The goal is to get a good frame of reference to share with our families what the environment is like in a U.K. school, what their processes are, what their class sizes are like and what their goals for education are,” Jaramillo said.

Keeping up with education needs that are continuously evolving requires constant effort and the school liaison officers step up to the challenge. The School Liaison office is dedicated to improving engagement events, providing quality services and serving as a one-stop-shop for school-related resources.

For more information, the School Liaison office is located in the Airman and Family Readiness Center, building 950, and the phone number is 226-5077/5078 or 06138 525077/5078. Their Facebook page can be found here.