NAS Fallon Welcomes New School Liaison Officer

Ron Wolfe moved back to Fallon three weeks ago and hit the ground running. He started his role as the NAS Fallon School Liaison Officer on July 28 and is already geared up for the new school year.

Wolfe, who was an educator for about 30 years, was most recently employed by the Department of Defense and assigned to South Korea. He and his wife were stationed in Fallon four years ago, and when the opportunity to choose a new duty station arose, they knew where to go.

“After returning from South Korea, we wanted to return to our favorite place in the United States, and here we are,” he said.

Wolfe says he sees his role as a bridge between military-affiliated school children and local schools. During his career, he has been a teacher, coach and principal, and says he understands the inner workings and challenges school districts face. He’s also been an education liaison for several years and understands the challenges military youth can face. He said a school liaison has a network of partnerships and resources to help military parents ease their children into a new school system.

“During a PCS (permanent change of station), we can also connect families with the school liaison at a family’s new duty station to make the transition as seamless as possible,” Wolfe said. “Military moves are already stressful, and our sailors are extremely concerned about the education of their children. The school liaison supports by helping reduce that worry so they can keep focused on their mission. I like to say that we take care of their kids’ education while they take care of our country.”

He explained that all states participate in the Military Interstate Compact, which provides a way to help protect military-affiliated students during a family’s move. Under the compact, school districts work to ensure a student can meet testing or graduation requirements that may be different from their previous location. The compact also guarantees military students with special medical or educational needs continue with their individualized education plan until the local district can perform its own assessment and plan. 

While his position is funded by the Navy, Wolfe said he works with all parties that need educational assistance or resources – that includes parents, students, school administrators, counselors, base command, and fleet and family services. He will work with the Churchill County School District, as well as Oasis Academy, Logos Academy, Veritas Preparatory School, and the homeschool network.

The Navy School Liaisons provide seven core services to families:

1. School transition services
2. Deployment support
3. Command, school, community communications
4. Homeschool linkage and support
5. Partnerships in Education
6. Post-secondary preparations
7. Special needs system navigation

For more information on the NAS Fallon School Liaison Office, please call 775-426-2649. Ron Wolfe’s office is located on base in Building 309.