On a Mission to Serve Navy SEALs’ Kids With Learning Disabilities

Navy SEAL deployments are often long and grueling, and leaving school-age children behind only adds to the challenge, especially if the children are struggling in school. 

If a father is “getting ready to go on mission, and there’s Timmy failing in second grade, that’s all he’s going to think about,” says Gretchen McIntosh, the executive director of SEALKIDS. 

And for the mothers at home with a husband deployed and a child struggling academically, McIntosh says, Mom is often “stressed out” by the task of meeting the needs of a “child at home that has a learning disability.” 

Out of seeing an immense need for additional educational support for many Navy SEAL families, the organization SEALKIDS was born. 

“SEALKIDS steps in so that Dad can concentrate on his mission ahead, because we’re handling the mission at home,” McIntosh explains. 

SEALKIDS not only connects families to tutors and other education resources in their area, but also raises funds to help the families pay for those additional resources. 

SEALKIDS is active in 17 states and is serving 390 kids this year, with a focus on helping children with learning disabilities. 

McIntosh joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” during National School Choice Week to share the stories of the families the organization has helped and to explain how it hopes to expand its work to serve even more SEAL families. 

Listen to the podcast below: 

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email [email protected] and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.