Department of Defense Education Activity

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia,[1] responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behalf of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DoDEA is globally positioned, operating 163 accredited schools in 8 districts located in 11 foreign countries, 7 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico.[2]

Department of Defense Education Activity
Agency overview
Formed1992
Preceding agencies
  • Department of Defense Dependents Schools
  • Domestic Dependents Elementary and Secondary Schools
HeadquartersAlexandria, Virginia
Employees15,000
Annual budget$3.07B USD (2021)
Agency executives
  • Thomas M. Brady, Director
  • Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, Chief Academic Officer
  • Robert M. Brady, Chief Operating Officer
  • Jay Burcham, Chief of Staff
Parent departmentDepartment of Defense
Websitehttps://www.dodea.edu/
DoD schools and enrollment by region as of 2021
DoDEA logo

DoDEA employs 15,000 employees who serve 71,000 children of active duty military and DoD civilian families.[2]

DoDEA operates as a field activity of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness). It is headed by a director who oversees all agency functions from DoDEA headquarters in Alexandria. DoDEA's schools are divided into 3 geographic areas: Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas.[2]

It is one of two U.S. federal government school systems, along with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).[3]

History

Shortly after the end of World War II, the United States military established schools for the children of its service men and women stationed in Europe and the Pacific. Schools for children of military members stationed at various bases in the United States were already well-established. First administered by the military branches they served, the growing number of schools was soon transferred to civilian managers, then organized into two separate but parallel systems: the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (Pacific and Europe) overseas, and the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (Americas) in the United States. In 1994 the two systems were brought together under an umbrella agency, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).[2] Shortly thereafter, the official DoDEA logo was created by DoDEA Art Director, Calvin Bohner, in 1998.

Activities

The DoDEA instructional program provides a prekindergarten through 12th grade curriculum. Currently 100% of DoDEA schools are accredited and in good standing with their regional accrediting agency. Students consistently achieve high scores in the National Assessment of Educational Progress and above the national average on standardized assessments. Minority students have been especially successful, scoring at or near the highest in the United States in mathematics.[2]

DoDEA measures student progress with multiple performance-based assessments. The TerraNova standardized test provides DoDEA with results that it can compare to a nationwide sample. DoDEA students also take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which provides comparisons of student achievement in reading, writing, math, and science. All DoDEA schools are accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) or the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), which provide each school with an independent evaluation.[2]

Schools submit annual reports of data, and every five years they host an on-site validation visit led by education experts from the United States. Following the on-site visits, the experts send a report that includes recommendations for improvements to each of the schools visited. DoDEA conducts internal monitoring of educational programs to ensure high-quality implementation of new programs and overall effectiveness of existing programs. Monitoring activities may include, but are not limited to the following activities: surveys, interviews, focus groups, classroom observations and the analysis of achievement and training data. Currently 100% of DoDEA schools are accredited and in good standing.[2]

Operations

In 2008 the U.S. Congress published a study stating that decreased military budgets resulted in 70% of the DoDEA schools having campuses in less than ideal physical condition, with their conditions specifically noted as either "poor" or "failing".[4]

A 2015 editorial of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune noted that schools in the DoDEA, were well funded, partly due to post-September 11 attacks security concerns and partly because of the size of the DOD itself, as well as the leadership of Robert Gates, who served as the Secretary of Defense. The Star-Tribune contrasted this with the lesser-funded Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) network, also federal and serving Native American students.[5]

Academic achievement

In 2001 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote "The academic achievement of DOD students, as measured by their performance on standardized tests and their plans for enrolling in college, generally exceeds that of elementary and secondary students nationwide. On college admission tests, DOD students score at or near national averages."[6]

DoDEA Americas Region

Headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area, DoDEA Americas is divided into 2 school districts (Americas Mid-Atlantic and Americas Southeast) and operates 51 schools at 16 military communities on the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. As of May 2019, it educates approximately 22,000 students of U.S. military and eligible DoD civilian personnel families.[7]

Camp Lejeune, NC
  • Bitz IS
  • Brewster MS
  • Heroes ES
  • Johnson PS
  • Lejeune HS
  • Tarawa Terrace ES

(note DeLalio ES is at MCAS New River)

Fort Bragg, NC
  • Albritton MS
  • Bowley ES
  • Devers ES
  • Gary Ivan Gordon ES - In the Linden Oaks area[8]
  • Hampton PS
  • Irwin IS
  • Poole ES
  • Randall David Shughart ES - In Linden Oaks[9]
  • Shughart MS - In Linden Oaks[10]

High school students attend local public schools based on what county they reside in:[11] Cumberland County Schools for Cumberland County residents,[12] and Hoke County Schools for Hoke County residents.[13] The Cumberland County parts are assigned to EE Smith High School.[14]

The Linden Oaks area is in Harnett County Schools, and is assigned to Overhills High School.[14]

Marine Corps Air Station New River, NC
  • DeLalio ES

Brewster Middle School and Lejeune High School in Camp Lejeune serve the community for secondary school.[15]

  • Dahlgren ES/MS
    • The school first opened in 1921.[16] The school's principal facility was built during World War II. In 2011 a review of the building found that it was in "poor" shape.[4]

King George County Public Schools operates non-DoDEA public schools in King George County. Most off-post persons associated with NSF Dahlgren send their children to King George County schools.[17] King George High School is the local county high school.

Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA
  • Crossroads ES
    • The 129,577-square-foot (12,038.1 m2) facility was scheduled to open in Spring 2016. It had a cost of $47 million. It has a two-story media center and a rooftop environmental science center, patio, and garden. The facility uses natural light and heating from geothermal sources. In 2015 the Star-Tribune described it as "state-of-the-art school design".[5] It replaced Ashurst, Burrows, and Russell elementary schools in Quantico.[4]
  • Quantico MS/HS

USMA West Point, NY
  • West Point ES
  • West Point MS

The academy is physically in the Highland Falls Central School District.[18] The military installation sends students to James I. O'Neill High School of Highland Falls for high School, under contract. Pre-school through 8th grade attend school on the military academy grounds. The elementary school and the middle school are part of the DoDEA system, not in the Highland Falls School District. In 2021, 190 high school children living on post attended James I O'Neill High School. In 2021 the agency at West Point announced that the bid to educate West Point High School students would be competitive.[19] In March 2022 the O'Neill contract was renewed.[20]

Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba

Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, PR
  • Ramey Unit School

Fort Buchanan, PR
  • Antilles ES
  • Antilles MS
  • Antilles HS

Fort Moore, GA
  • Dexter ES
  • Faith MS
  • McBride ES
  • Stowers ES
  • White ES

High school students attend local public high schools operated by county governments.[21] The portion in Muscogee County is zoned to high schools of Muscogee County Schools.[22] The portion in Chattahoochie County is zoned to Chattahoochee County Schools.[23] Off-base families attend county school systems, with residents of Georgia attending those systems, and Alabama residents being in Lee County Schools and Russell County Schools.[21]

Fort Campbell, KY
  • Barkley ES
  • Barsanti ES
  • Fort Campbell HS
  • Lucas ES
  • Mahaffey MS
  • Marshall ES

The high school first opened in 1962.[24] The current high school building was dedicated in 2018.[25] Of the students, the percentage who attend for all four years total at FCHS is 10.[24]

There were plans for a new middle school, but in 2019 the funds were instead designated for a wall along the Mexico-United States border.[26]

Fort Jackson, SC

The DoDEA schools on-post for Fort Jackson are Pierce Terrace Elementary School (Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 1) and C.C. Pinckney Elementary School (grades 2–6).[27] Students are zoned to non-DoDEA schools for secondary school: Dent Middle School and Richland Northeast High School, which are operated by Richland County School District Two.[28]

Fort Knox, KY

Fort Rucker, AL
  • Ellis D. Parker Elementary School

Students beyond the elementary level may attend non-DoDEA schools for secondary levels, with an on-post family choosing one of the following three options: Daleville City School System, Enterprise City School System, or Ozark City Schools.[29] Enterprise operates Enterprise High School and Ozark operates Carroll High School.

Fort Stewart, GA
  • Diamond ES
  • Kessler ES
  • Murray ES

Students at the secondary level on Fort Stewart attend public schools operated by county school districts. Liberty County School District operates the public schools in Liberty County.[30]

Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
  • Maxwell AFB ES/MS Magnet

For high school residents are zoned to Montgomery Public Schools facilities: residents of the main base are zoned to George Washington Carver High School, while residents of the Gunner Annex are zoned to Dr. Percy L. Julian High School. Residents may attend magnet schools.[31]

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, SC
  • Bolden ES/MS
  • Elliott ES

Beaufort County School District operates public high schools serving MCAS Beaufort,[32] and in sum has the highest number of students, of any school system, affiliated with MCAS Beaufort.[33]

DoDEA Europe Region

Headquartered in Kapaun AS, Kaiserslautern, Germany, DoDEA Europe is organized into 3 districts (EU East, EU South, and EU West) and operates 65 schools within 27 U.S. military communities across Europe. As of May 2019, the DoDEA European region educates approximately 27,000 children of U.S. military and eligible DoD civilian personnel families.[34]

DoDEA Europe East District
Further information: Bavaria District (DoDDS-Europe)

USAG Ansbach, Germany

Baumholder Military Community, Germany (USAG Rheinland-Pfalz)
  • Baumholder MS/HS
  • Smith ES

Garmisch Military Community, Germany USAG Bavaria
  • Garmisch ES/MS

Grafenwohr/Vilseck Military Community, USAG Bavaria, Germany
  • Grafenwoehr ES
  • Netzaberg ES
  • Netzaberg MS
  • Vilseck ES
  • Vilseck HS

Hohenfels Military Community, Germany USAG Bavaria, Germany
  • Hohenfels ES
  • Hohenfels HS

Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC), Germany
  • Kaiserslautern ES
  • Kaiserslautern MS
  • Kaiserslautern HS
  • Landstuhl ES/MS
  • Sembach ES
  • Sembach MS
  • Vogelweh ES

Ramstein AB, Germany (Part of KMC)

USAG Stuttgart, Germany
  • Patch ES
  • Patch MS
  • Robinson Barracks ES
  • Stuttgart ES
  • Stuttgart HS

USAG Wiesbaden, Germany

Ankara American Community, Turkey

Aviano AB, Italy

Camp Darby Military Community, USAG Italy
  • Livorno ES/MS
  • Rota ES
  • Rota MS/HS

Moron AB, Seville, Spain
  • Sevilla ES/MS

Sigonella Air Station, Sicily (IT)
  • Sigonella ES
  • Sigonella MS/HS

Vicenza Military Community, USAG Italy
  • Vicenza ES
  • Vicenza MS
  • Vicenza HS

Schinnen Military Community, USAG Benelux, Brunssum, The Netherlands
  • AFNORTH ES
  • AFNORTH MS/HS

RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom

Brussels Military Community, USAG Benelux, Belgium

RAF Croughton, United Kingdom
  • Croughton ES

Kleine Brogel Air Base, USAG Benelux Belgium
  • Kleine Brogel ES

RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom
  • Feltwell ES
  • Lakenheath ES
  • Lakenheath HS
  • Liberty IS

SHAPE Military Community, US Army Garrison Benelux, Mons, Belgium

Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany
  • Spangdahlem ES
  • Spangdahlem MS
  • Spangdahlem HS

DoDEA Pacific Region

Headquartered in Yokota AB, Japan, the DoDEA Pacific region is organized into 3 districts (Pacific East, Pacific South, and Pacific West) and operates 47 schools on 21 U.S. military installations in Guam, Japan, Okinawa and South Korea. As of May 2019, the DoDEA Pacific Region educates over 22,000 children of U.S. military and eligible DoD civilian personnel families.[35]

Camp Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
  • Arnn American ES
  • Zama American MS/HS

Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo

Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka

Marine Corp Air Station Iwakuni
  • Iwakuni ES
  • Iwakuni MS
  • M.C. Perry ES
  • M.B. Perry HS

Misawa Air Base
  • Edgren HS
  • Sollars ES

NAF Atsugi
  • Lanham ES

Yokota Air Base

Andersen AFB (Guam)
  • Andersen ES
  • Andersen MS

Camp Foster, Okinawa

Camp Kinser, Okinawa
  • Kinser ES

Camp Lester, Okinawa
  • Lester MS

Camp McTureous, Okinawa
  • Bechtel ES

Kadena Airforce Base, Okinawa
  • Amelia Earhart IS
  • Bob Hope PS
  • Kadena ES
  • Kadena HS
  • Kadena MS
  • Ryukyu MS
  • Stearley Heights ES
  • McCool ES/MS

U.S. Naval Hospital (Guam)

Osan Air Base
  • Osan American ES
  • Osan American MS/HS

Osan American Middle High School formed in 2017 with the consolidation of the middle and high schools. In September 2017 it had 320 students.[36]

US Army Garrison Daegu – Camp George
  • Daegu American ES

US Army Garrison Daegu – Camp Walker
  • Daegu MS/HS

Daegu Middle High School formed in 2017 with the consolidation of the middle and high schools. In September 2017 it had 299 students.[36]

US Army Garrison Humphreys
  • Humphreys Central ES
  • Humphreys West ES
  • Humphreys MS
  • Humphreys HS

Former schools
Iceland[37]
  • AT Mahan High School (Keflavik)
  • AT Mahan Elementary School (Keflavik)
Panama[38]
Philippines
United Kingdom[37]

See also

References
  1. "Contact Us". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05. DoDEA Headquarters Department of Defense Education Activity 4800 Mark Center Drive Alexandria, VA 22350-1400
  2. "About DoDEA". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 15 June 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. "Education, Public Safety, And Restoration Of The Environment". Bureau of Indian Affairs. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  4. Hester, Wesley P. (2011-10-02). "Military schools 'make do'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  5. "While tribal schools suffer, military schools prosper". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  6. "BIA and DOD Schools: Student Achievement and Other Characteristics Often Differ from Public Schools'". Government Accountability Office. 2001-09-28. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  7. "DoDEA Americas Region Web Pages.
  8. "Gordon ES: About Our School". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  9. "Shughart ES: About Our School". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  10. "Albritton MS: About Our School". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05. With the addition of Shughart Middle School in the Linden Oaks community,[...]
  11. "Fort Bragg/Cuba Community". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  12. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cumberland County, NC" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-04. - Text list
  13. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Hoke County, NC" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-05. - Text list - "Fort Bragg Schools" refers to the DoDEA schools.
  14. "Finding A School Local School Districts" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  15. "Camp Lejeune Community Schools Attendance Areas" (PDF). Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  16. "Dahlgren Community". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  17. "Naval Support Activity South Potomac (NSF Dahlgren) Education". Military One Source. Retrieved 2022-07-05. - This is from a .mil site.
  18. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Orange County, NY" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  19. Wang, Helu (2021-09-27). "Could Highland Falls lose its West Point students?". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  20. Randall, Mike (2022-03-21). "Highland Falls' contract to educate West Point high school students is renewed". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  21. "Fort Benning Schools". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-04. - The document states that the county schools have high school zoning.
  22. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Muscogee County, GA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-04. - Text list - "Fort Benning Schools" refers to the DoDEA schools on Fort Benning. The document states that the county schools have high school zoning.
  23. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Chattahoochee County, GA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-04. - Text list - "Fort Benning Schools" refers to the DoDEA schools on Fort Benning. The document states that the county schools have high school zoning.
  24. "Ft. Campbell HS: About Our School". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  25. Jasper, Mari-Alice (2018-11-27). "DoDEA: Officials celebrate new Fort Campbell High School". US Army Corps of Engineers. Fort Campbell Courier. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  26. Kennedy, Mike (2019-09-06). "Funds for new school on army base diverted to border wall constructon [sic]". American School and University. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  27. "Fort Jackson Schools". U.S. Army. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  28. "Fort Jackson Schools". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  29. "Fort Rucker Education". Military One Source. Retrieved 2022-07-05. - From a .mil site.
  30. "Fort Stewart Education". Military One Source. Retrieved 2022-07-05. - This is from a .mil website.
  31. "Maxwell AFB Community". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  32. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Beaufort County, SC" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-05. - Text list - "Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station School District" refers to the DoDEA schools
  33. "Base Schools". Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  34. "DoDEA Europe Homepage". US Department of Defense. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  35. "DoDEA Pacific Region Web Pages.
  36. Fichtl, Marcus (2017-09-01). "Middle, high schools merge at 2 US bases in South Korea". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  37. "Europe.html". Department of Defense Education Activity. 1990-02-02. Archived from the original on 1999-02-02. Retrieved 2022-07-11. - Iceland and UK school details
  38. "Americas.html". Department of Defense Education Activity. 1998-12-06. Archived from the original on 1998-12-06. Retrieved 2022-07-11. - Detail of Panama schools
  39. "Home". Curundu Elementary School. 1999-04-29. Archived from the original on 29 April 1999. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
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