Oak Harbor schools mark Purple Up! Day for military children

Oak Harbor city leaders, school district officials, staff members and volunteers met students at Olympic View Elementary in purple Wednesday morning, turning a school arrival into a public show of support for military children.

The gesture came as part of Purple Up! Day, which falls during the Month of the Military Child and is meant to recognize the strain military families carry through deployments, moves and repeated school changes. Sarah Foy, the district’s communications officer, said military-connected students made up 35% of the Oak Harbor School District’s population last year, a number that helps explain why the observance lands so close to daily life here.

Oak Harbor Public Schools says roughly 40% of its students are military connected and describes itself as a Purple Star School District. The district has also said it works closely with Naval Air Station Whidbey Island partners to provide education and resources for military families, a connection that reflects how closely the school system and the base are tied together in Oak Harbor.

That military identity is not just symbolic. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington Association of School Administrators presented Oak Harbor Public Schools with the Purple Star Award for military-friendly practices and its commitment to military-connected students and families. Washington’s Purple Star District Award Program was created by the Legislature in 2023, and districts can earn the award on a two-year cycle.

Oak Harbor school materials identified April 15, 2026, as Purple Up Day, while NAS Whidbey Island community listings also flagged Oak Harbor School District Spirit Week at Olympic View Elementary during the week of April 13-17. Together, those activities showed a coordinated effort by the school district, the city and the base community to make support visible, not just ceremonial.

For children who live with one parent leaving on deployment or a family packing up for another move, that visibility matters. In Oak Harbor, where military life shapes enrollment, classroom routines and community identity, purple became a simple signal that schools and civic leaders understand what military kids carry into the classroom.