All About Military K-12 Partners

DoDEA's Educational Partnership has the opportunity to champion quality educational opportunities for all military children.

The men and women who serve in our Nation's Armed Forces place a high value on education and the availability of quality educational opportunities for their children is a key quality of life measure for many military members.

While some active duty military families are stationed in overseas locations, the majority live on or near a military installation in the U.S. Approximately 60% of the children of military families in the U.S. are school age and the majority of them -- nearly 80% -- attend public schools throughout the nation.

Additionally, there are 625 thousand children of National Guard and 705 thousand children of Reserve Members and the majority of them are also attending public schools.

DoDEA's Partnership program provides information and support to increase understanding of the unique needs of military children as well as academic support to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for military children.

Children in military families face unique challenges that are unparalleled in the general student population. As military families transition from one duty station to another, children often attend many different schools. In fact, the average child in a military family will move six to nine times during a school career. That's an average of three times more frequently than non-military families.

Among the common stresses involved in relocating to a new school are the differences in achievement standards, school protocol, course offerings, extracurricular activities, and academic requirements.

DoDEA's Educational Partnership program works collaboratively with the Department of Education in efforts to ease the transition of military children and by providing resources to LEA's that educate military children.

Additionally, one of the greatest difficulties military children will face is being apart from one or both parents who have been deployed. These challenges can result in military children suffering in areas of school performance and educational attainment.

DoDEA recognizes that supporting military children takes a school-wide effort, and professional development programs can help to inform school staff of the academic challenges that these children face.

Through a variety of programs and partnership development the Educational Partnership promotes: Quality education, Seamless transitions, Deployment support.