PMSD receives Keystone Award of Excellence as a 2025 Purple Star School. The awards were presented at a conference in Hershey. Pictured here (left to right): Dr. Carrie Rowe, Deputy Secretary of Education; Dr. Catherine Sweeney, PMSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction and Military Family Liaison; Dr. Elizabeth Robison, PMSD Superintendent of Schools; and Amy Lena, Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Education.

PMSD earns coveted Keystone Award of Excellence as a 2025 Purple Star School

The Pennsylvania Department of Education presented the Keystone Award of Excellence designating Pocono Mountain School District (PMSD) as a 2025 Purple Star School to district leaders at a conference in Hershey, Pa. on December 10, 2024.

Dr. Catherine Sweeney, the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction and district’s Military Family Liaison, and Dr. Elizabeth Robison, the Superintendent of Schools, accepted the Keystone Award of Excellence on behalf of PMSD. The award was presented to them by Dr. Carrie Rowe, the Deputy Secretary of Education, and Amy Lena, the Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Education.

PMSD received The Purple Star Award for demonstrating a major commitment to serving the needs of active-duty military families and their school-aged children. Pennsylvania adopted The Purple Start School Program act in July 2022.

The application process for The Purple Star School Award was quite extensive, which included establishing a military family liaison for the district, maintaining a strong relationship with the local military installation to coordinate on military family-related issues, and ensuring the district has the necessary supports, services and access in place to help students of military families thrive at PMSD.

The Purple Star School Award covers a 3-year period at which time, PMSD will need to reapply and demonstrate its continued commitment to military families and students.