A Washington task force studying the impact of military children often changing schools will have their final meeting Thursday.

The 16-member The Task Force on the Interstate Compact on Military Children – which includes representatives from the military, school districts, State Board of Education, educational service districts and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction – will meet from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Clover Park School District board room at 10904 Gravelly Lake Dr. SW in Lakewood.

The Department of Defense estimates that military children attend between six and nine schools before graduating high school. That constant change can have major impacts on a child’s education. Several agencies, including the DoD, developed an interstate compact that became active in 2008 to address the issues. A compact is essentially an agreement between states to create uniform rules.

Ten states have adopted it so far. Another 14, including Washington, are considering adopting it.

The task force was created by the 2007 state legislature to consider the compact’s adoption. According to a press release, Thursday’s meeting will “will discuss school transition issues encountered by dependents of Army personnel, take public comments on the task force’s preliminary recommendations, examine the state-by-state status of the compact and decide whether the task force should recommend whether the Legislature should adopt the compact.”

What: The Task Force on the Interstate Compact on Military Children
When: Thursday, 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Where: Clover Park School District Board Room, 10903 Gravelly Lake Dr. SW, Lakewood

There are plenty of opportunities to help out service members and their families year-round, and even more during the holiday season. But one program has been flying a bit under the radar. Christmas Decor, a residential and commercial decorating service, offers soldiers and their families a chance to win free holiday lighting.

But the owner of the Puyallup franchise hasn't had any applicants two of the past three years for the Decorated Family Program.

“We got to do a home last year, but we didn’t have anyone submit any essays the past two years,” Belinda Bowman said. “I didn’t get a chance to get my crew out there and decorate someone’s house.”

To submit an application, go to christmasdecor.net and click on the link in the lower right corner. (Or you could just click here to go directly to the page.) It's a simple form; just fill out essentials like name and contact information, a few questions about your service and a place for a 500-word essay to tell your story.

If selected, a Christmas Decor designer will contact the family and design a custom holiday display. Everything should be installed by Dec. 15. After the holiday season, crews will return to the home and take down the display.

Sounds easy enough.

“There’s no cost to the family,” Bowman said. “We just want to make it a special holiday season for a soldier and the family. It’s just something we can do to help out.”