Chris Reykdal Superintendent | Washington Office Of Superintendent Of Public Instruction
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in partnership with the Washington Association of School Administrators, has announced the 2025 recipients of the Purple Star Award. This recognition program, now in its second year, acknowledges school districts that have shown dedication to supporting military families and students through the implementation of military-friendly practices. The awarded districts have met the criteria to receive a two-year designation for their efforts.
These Purple Star school districts focus on addressing the unique educational, social, and emotional challenges that children of military parents face, such as frequent school transfers and parental deployments. By earning this designation, districts demonstrate their commitment to equipping military students and their families with the necessary support and resources for educational success, preparing them for future paths in higher education, the military, or technical careers.
“Serving the dependents of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is a source of pride for Oak Harbor Public Schools. We embrace the rich diversity of our student population, drawn from military families stationed worldwide and nationally. Recognizing our responsibility to provide an excellent education, we work collaboratively to ensure each student, regardless of their duration with us, has a memorable and enriching learning experience with Oak Harbor Schools,” said Dwight Lundstrom, Assistant Superintendent, Oak Harbor School District, 2024 Purple Star Award recipient.
The establishment of the Washington State Purple Star Award comes through Senate House Bill 1346, qualifying districts that meet specific eligibility requirements. State Superintendent Chris Reykdal expressed his pride and gratitude for military service members: "I am deeply proud of and thankful for members of our communities that serve in the military, protecting and supporting our country each and every day. Many of these service members are also dedicated parents, guardians, or family members to K–12 students. Our military-connected students and their families are strong and resilient—even more so when they have their school community behind them. At OSPI, we're honored to recognize the school districts that foster an environment that is inclusive and welcoming for these students and their families!"
OSPI and WASA have formally announced and congratulated the recipients of the 2025 Purple Star Award. This honor is given for two years, and the recipients for 2024 can be viewed online. Applications for the 2026 awards will open in the summer.
The announcement coincides with current intermittent outages across all EDS applications, including CEDARS, SAFS, Report Card, and eVAL, due to a hardware failure in OSPI’s server infrastructure. Technical teams are reportedly addressing the issue, with expectations for full operational status by April 24, 2025.
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