Despite sitting in front of a computer screen in Afghanistan on his yearlong deployment, Capt. Eric Livengood didn't have to miss a special moment in his daughter's education.

The Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier listened and watched via Skype, the free service that allows users to make calls over the Internet, as his daughter, Alison, read aloud a story she wrote in her third-grade class at Chambers Prairie Elementary in Lacey.

"It was nice because we hadn't heard the story before," said Livengood's wife, Carrie. "We were both hearing it for the first time at the same time."

The experience was part of an effort by teacher Tom Jones to better incorporate deployed parents into their child's parent/teacher conference. With a class of 25 students, at times nearly one-third of the students in the class have a deployed parent, he said.

"It was an idea we had been kicking around about how we can get them involved," Jones said.

The Livengood family had been debating whether or not to start using Skype, and the proposal to make it a key ingredient in the parent/teacher conference made the decision an easy one, Carrie said.

"That was our first time ever Skyping," she said. "It was really fun to see (Eric) talking."

During the conference, the group discussed Alison's science fair project in addition to listening to her read the story she wrote.

"It was enjoyable because we had a visual of dad," Jones said. "(Eric) got to ask questions and got to be active in his daughter's education. It brings them to the point they have a more direct role, and they can continue to work with their child on anything they're studying."

While Alison was a little star-struck seeing her father on a computer screen and was not quite used to the new format, after a day or two to reflect Carrie said her daughter couldn't stop talking about the experience. The conference will also likely pay dividends for Eric's relationship with Alison as the months on his deployment go by.

"It gives them a common ground as far as something to talk about that they both experienced," Carrie said.

Although Jones had to work a bit harder on the scheduling end to find a time where everyone could get together (to account for the time difference) and make sure his classroom had the proper Web equipment in place, he was thrilled with how everything turned out.

In just the first year of the idea - and with little advance notification on the soldier's end - Jones hosted two conferences in March with deployed parents.

"It exceeded my expectations," he said.

The success gives Jones hope for greater participation next year. He plans on e-mailing documents and/or copies of the student's work to the soldier to view during the conference, as well as perhaps adding more microphones in the room for better communication.

"We'd also like to have (the deployed parent) know the (scheduling) window we're looking at for the conferences," he said. "That would make things easier."

There are also plans to grow the program at other elementary schools within the district, as well as Timberline High School.

"As a district they are looking at embracing it," Jones said. 

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