ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA — July 2, 2012 — The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Educational Partnership awarded a $1.6 million grant to the Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS), located in Goldsboro, North Carolina, through the Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) Grant Program.

There are over a million school age children from military families, with the majority attending public schools throughout our nation. DoDEA is committed to supporting educational outcomes for ALL children of military families. As the largest geographically dispersed school system in the nation, serving approximately 86,000 students worldwide, DoDEA shares its experience and resources with military-connected public school districts.

"Through outreach and partnerships DoDEA has the opportunity to support efforts to increase student success, provide professional development for teachers, implement practices that minimize the impact of transitions and deployment, and provide access to rigorous educational opportunities," said Kathleen Facon, Chief of the DoDEA's Educational Partnership Program.

Facon noted that DoDEA received many high-quality proposals for innovative programs and initiatives to support military connected students. This year's grant competition was focused on programs that:

1) infuse Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) principles throughout the curriculum;
2) establish or expand foreign language learning; and/or
3) programs that include ongoing, systemic strategies for parent and family engagement.

"We are most appreciative of the support DoDEA gives to schools with larger populations of military-connected students," said Dr. Steven Taylor, WCPS Superintendent.

"By allowing the district to expand and enhance efforts to integrate 21st century STEM learning tools and research-based teaching practices at the seven eligible target schools, this $1.6 million grant will be able to positively impact classroom engagement and student performance for over 4,900 military and non-military-connected students," Taylor said.

For the FY12 grant program, competitive priority points were awarded if the school district had not previously received a DoDEA grant award, and if one or more of the eligible schools has a military student enrollment of 50 percent or more.

WCPS will use the grant to build upon its current efforts to be a model STEM District by developing a Common Instructional Framework supported by relevant instructional technology and rigorous professional development at seven eligible target schools that include a concentration of military dependents with populations ranging from 15.02% to 45.09%. The schools impacted by the grant include: Greenwood Middle, Meadow Lane Elementary, Northeast Elementary, Northwest Elementary, Norwayne Middle, Tommy's Road Elementary, and Wayne School of Engineering.

DoDEA awarded more than $35 million in grants this year. The grants were awarded to 26 military-connected public school districts to strengthen family-school-community relationships and enhance student achievement for military connected students.

To be eligible for participation in the grant, the district must have an active military-connected student population of 5% or more, with a population of 15% or more military-connected students at the school level. Although funding levels are related to military student enrollment, the proposed programs will serve all students at the target schools.

DoDEA consists of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools located overseas, and the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools located in the U.S. and its territories and possessions. DoDEA provides education to eligible DoD military and civilian dependents from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. DoDEA also provides support and resources to Local Education Activities throughout the U.S. that serve children of military families.