Posts Tagged ‘military children’

Gov. Mike Beebe signed legislation this week making Arkansas the 44th state to adopt an interstate agreement intended to smooth the transition between school districts and states when military children move. The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children addresses key educational transition issues encountered by military families, including enrollment, placement, attendance, eligibility and graduation …

DOD Education Activity’s 194 schools, which serve 84,000 students, will attempt to ensure military dependents receive an accredited school year in the face of furloughs for teachers and support personnel, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said Monday. “We’re mindful that we need to protect the education of military children,” Little told reporters …

Local school districts serving substantial numbers of military children would face funding cuts immediately after sequestration is triggered Friday, confronting them with a dilemma as to how to make up a shortfall of tens of millions dollars before the school year ends in the spring, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters Wednesday at a White House briefing. Cuts to school systems that rely on the Impact Aid program — including those enrolling children of service members who live on or near military installations and children who live on Indian reservations — would total $60 million in the current fiscal year …

Teachers at DOD schools anticipate a shortened school year or four-day work weeks if sequestration is triggered and the DOD Education Activity is forced to furlough teachers and other school employees. So far, the DOD Education Activity has not said how it would cope with the fiscal crisis the department is facing, reported Stars and Stripes. Last month, officials said civilian employees would need to take up to 22 days of unpaid furlough between April and the end of the fiscal year if lawmakers fail to avert the $40-plus billion in defense cuts scheduled to go into effect Friday. One response under consideration is cutting 10 to 12 days from the current school year and additional days from the school year beginning next fall, according to the story. About 84,000 children are enrolled in DOD schools.

A local school board is considering establishing a K-8 charter school for the children of military personnel and civilian workers at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany to better improve local support for the installation in southwestern Georgia. “School systems are very important to military families, and I think a charter school with the Marine Base would be of benefit to the community, especially during the next round of BRAC hearings,” a member of the Dougherty County School Board said Monday. The school would be intended to stem the loss of children from the base to the school systems of surrounding counties, reported the Albany Herald. The school board endorsed the proposal to form an ad hoc committee to begin exploratory discussions with the base.

A video teleconference last week hosted by Army garrison leaders for community officials from across the country generated a plethora of ideas for partnering initiatives that could benefit the Army and its neighbors. Fort Hood Commander Col. Matthew Elledge highlighted the partnerships the post has with Texas A&M University and Central Texas College. Maj. Gen. John Uberti, Installation Management Command deputy commanding general for support, added that Army installations are establishing programs in science, technology, engineering and math in partnership with local institutions dedicated to fifth graders …

Children of service members at Fort Riley, Fort Polk and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake will attend class at new schools in a matter of years, following Tuesday’s announcement by the Defense Department that it is awarding $110.5 million to three public school districts to replace or renovate on-base facilities that are either in poor condition or overcrowded. Geary County Unified School District Number 475, Junction City, Kan., will receive $35.2 million to demolish and replace Fort Riley Middle School with a new 720-student school on the post to serve grades six through eight …

More than 100 colleges and universities have signed on to a Joining Forces initiative to better prepare educators instructing military-connected children, Jill Biden and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno announced Tuesday. “As a military mom and as second lady, I have heard over and over from military families just how important it is that school be a supportive environment for children …

The new Seitz Elementary School at Fort Riley, Kan., dedicated last month was funded through the Residential Communities Initiative program, the Army’s family housing privatization effort. Picerne Military Housing, the post’s RCI partner, was the project’s developer; the project’s other partner was Unified District 475 of Geary County Schools. This is the first time the partnership between Picerne and RCI has been used to build a school, which expedited the building process and allowed the school to open sooner …

Children at Fort Sill, Okla., will get a new elementary school courtesy of a $37.1 million grant from the Defense Department to Lawton Public Schools, officials announced last week. The grant will cover the cost of demolishing two existing elementary schools and replacing them with a single 1,400-student Freedom Elementary School on the installation …