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Irving Middle School is giving military-connected students a special reminder of their time on campus as they prepare for another move: a challenge coin designed and produced at the school.

Challenge coins have a long place in military culture, where they can mark an achievement, commemorate a visit or strengthen connections to a branch or unit. Irving staff adapted that tradition to recognize students leaving for a new school.

Meg Gollinger, Irving’s director of student services, developed the idea after attending a Military Child Education Coalition conference and learning more about the challenges military families face. About 20% of Irving’s students are military-connected.

“We wanted to give them something to take with them to remember us by,” Gollinger said.

Technology and engineering teachers Peter Brown and Michael Kiernan worked with Gollinger and several students to create the coin and its production template. The acrylic coins are made with a laser cutter and feature the Washington Irving logo surrounded by symbols representing every military branch.

The coins are presented during brief classroom ceremonies in front of departing students’ peers. Staff members say the recognition sends a clear message: Irving remembers the students, appreciates their time at the school and understands the disruption that frequent moves can bring.

Principal Cindy Conley said some military-connected students spend only a short time at Irving before their families relocate again. The school wants them to see Irving as more than another stop on a map.

The public recognition also helps classmates understand what military families experience, including changes in curriculum, unfamiliar communities and the need to make new friends repeatedly.

Evelyn Olsen, whose family is connected to the Air Force, said receiving a coin like those awarded to service members made her feel included in her family’s military experience.

Irving has held Purple Star School status since 2022, recognizing its support for military-connected students. Because schools must reapply every three years, Gollinger was working on Irving’s renewal in 2025.

The school is also considering involving student ambassadors in future departure ceremonies and sharing the inexpensive, easily replicated coin project with other Fairfax County public schools.