Irving Middle School has crafted a unique way to honor its military-connected students by creating a specially designed challenge coin. These coins are typically used within the military to mark special achievements and maintain ties among service members. At Irving, they serve a different purpose: recognizing military students who are moving to a new school due to their family’s service obligations.
Meg Gollinger, Irving’s director of student services, was inspired to start this initiative after attending a Military Child Education Coalition conference. She aimed to find a meaningful way to recognize students who have had to move frequently because of their parents’ military commitments. “Recognize these students who have sacrificed so much with all their moves that they’ve had to make for their family,” Gollinger stated, emphasizing the intention behind the initiative. “We wanted to give them something to take with them to remember us by.”
Gollinger collaborated with Irving’s technology and engineering teachers, Peter Brown and Michael Kiernan, along with some students, to design the coin and create a template. Brown explained the production process: “What [the printer is] doing right now is it’s going through and it’s engraving all of the solid, filled-in section. You can see it kind of going line by line all the way down. And then it’s going to go through and do some little detail edging just to make that logo stand out a little bit. And then it’ll take a pass around the entire outside and cut it all out for you.” The acrylic coin features the Washington Irving logo encircled by symbols of all the military branches.
Upon receiving the coins, Brown hopes students understand: “Hey, we appreciate you being here. We know you have to move every two years.” He added, “Here at Irving, we appreciate you. We remember you being here. Good luck. Remember us always.”
Principal Cindy Conley expressed the school’s excitement about the initiative: “Sometimes we were a very short stop on many travels. We want to make sure that they didn’t see Irving as just another stop on the map, but that we were really grateful that they were here. We don’t want our students to leave without something to show that we really appreciate their sacrifice, and we will remember them.” Conley noted the ease of replicating the coins and their low production cost, along with the benefits of having the ceremony in class, witnessed by peers.
Evelyn Olsen, a student with Air Force connections, shared her thoughts on receiving a coin: “I think it’s kind of cool that I get one, too. I’m part of the military, because my parents are.”
Gollinger also revealed plans to reapply for Irving’s Purple Star School status, a recognition they’ve held since 2022, with approximately 20% of their students coming from military backgrounds. Future plans include involving student ambassadors in the exit ceremonies and sharing the coin project with other FCPS schools.
