TOKYO, JAPAN — August 14, 2009 — DoDEA Pacific school leaders from Guam, Japan, Korea and Okinawa gathered together this week for a joint conference focused on leadership and sustainability.

     Principals and assistant principals joined their district, area and headquarters colleagues to prepare for the new school year. The training was conducted over four days and covered topics on educational leadership, data analysis, accountability, administrator evaluation, working with military partners, and human resources.
DoDEA Director Dr. Shirley Miles outlined her vision and expectations for the new school year and challenged leaders to redouble their efforts, “Yes the bar has been raised, but I know you can all step up to it because that is what we need to do for children.”

     The conference was attended by over 120 educators including many new leaders to DoDEA Pacific: seven principals, seven assistant principals, Korea District Superintendent Dr. Irby Miller, Japan District Superintendent Clayton Fujie, Area Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Dr. Joyce Lutrey, and DoDEA Pacific Director Diana Ohman.

     Organizers chose the combined conference format to ensure consistency in the way schools are managed and led. Ohman ran similar conferences during her tenure as Director of DoDEA Europe and said equity and consistency of information are key factors to starting the school year off right.

    “There’s just so much change and so much transformation going on in DoDEA right now that we’re helping everyone get up to speed so that when school starts, we’re all on the same page and headed down the road for a good school year,” said Ohman, “I just expect it to be a great school year and I’m looking forward to it.”
Attendees also conducted strategic planning for the new school year and will now turn their focus to back-to-school activities. DoDEA Pacific welcomes students back to classrooms on Aug. 31.

     DoDEA Pacific provides a comprehensive preK-12 education to the children of military and eligible civilian personnel families serving throughout Asia. The 47 schools in DoDEA Pacific are comprised of approximately 23,000 students and 4,200 professional educators and support staff. The schools are geographically organized into four districts: Guam, Japan, Korea, and Okinawa.