As if handing all of your household goods over to strangers and hoping their safe passage isn’t stressful enough! When you're preparing for a PCS move, choosing an education plan for your military kids can be unnerving for even the most prepared parents.
Questions like, How do I choose a school? How do I find the best fit for my kids? and How can I prepare? are all too common, and rightly so.
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What to Choose: Public, Private, or Homeschool Education?
It's a tough question, and many parents struggle to find the right answer. Since the decision is unique to each military family, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. Parents' main concerns about their children's education usually center around several topics while evaluating schools in their next city: quality of education, financial impact, continuity, and the school's alignment with the family’s values.
Public vs. Private Schools
Focusing on your child’s strengths and weaknesses is a good place to start assessing what type of education is best for them. Class size, student-to-teacher ratios, academic programs, and available support vary widely among both public and private schools. Some children thrive in a larger school with a wide variety of programs and activities, while others benefit from the environment and individual attention a smaller school may provide.
Affordability also affects which private schools are viable options for your family. Although some are cost-effective and provide quality instruction, small private schools may not be able to provide the educational benefits, such as special education services or after-school activities, that a well-funded, large public school system can.
(Pssst... did you know MilitaryByOwner has a Pinterest board dedicated to military kids?)
Schedule tours of public and private schools to meet the principal, guidance counselors, and teachers. This is one way to determine whether a school feels like a good fit for your child. Face-to-face meetings might not be in the travel budget, but phone calls or virtual meetings and tours give parents an excellent opportunity to ask questions.
Meeting families whose children attend these schools is also enlightening. Reach out to your new community to find more details that might be missed during your interviews. They will probably be able to offer answers to questions you forgot to ask the school administration regarding transportation and before and after school care (or anything else!). Their advice could make your decision much simpler.
Take a look at our Back-to-School Guide for Military Families.
What About DoWEA Schools?
Depending on where you’re stationed, Department of War Education Activity (DoWEA) schools may be another option for your military children. Known for decades as the Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, these schools are still commonly referred to by military families as DoDEA schools.
DoWEA operates schools in certain locations in the United States and overseas. Eligibility varies according to factors such as location, sponsor status, and, for some stateside schools, whether the family lives on the installation. Not every duty station has access to a DoWEA school, so check current eligibility requirements for your gaining installation.
A DoWEA school offers familiarity with the military lifestyle and the needs of highly mobile students. However, as with any school choice, parents should look at the individual school rather than assuming one type of education is automatically the best fit. Compare course offerings, special education and academic support, extracurricular activities, transportation, school calendars, and your child’s individual needs.
Homeschooling Help for Military Families
MilitaryByOwner’s Content Editor, Jen McDonald, had over 20 years of personal experience in homeschooling. Ultimately, her spouse’s unpredictable moving schedule led them to decide homeschooling was the best choice for their four children. As military families, you may also find that the predictability of learning at home beats private or public education and provides continuity from one duty station to the next.
Some families find the flexibility of homeschooling is the best way to marry time well spent with the service member. If frequent deployments and/or TDY trips are a part of your family’s military norm, homeschooling could take the pressure off to spend as much time with mom or dad as possible within the parameters of a traditional public school calendar.
If you're considering homeschooling, check out the nearest military base to network with other families. You'll often find homeschooling support groups or learning co-ops. Established parent-teachers will be eager to share their advice and sources of information. As the homeschool industry continues to grow, more and more choices are available for kids of all grade levels. Finding a curriculum suited to your child is easier than ever. Your installation School Liaison Officer (SLO) can also point you toward current homeschool requirements and resources for your location.
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How Do I Find the Best School Before a PCS Move?
Once you have orders, one of your first education-related calls can be to the School Liaison Officer (SLO) at your current or gaining installation. The SLO can provide information about school districts and boundaries, registration, course and credit transfers, homeschooling, special education resources, extracurricular programs, and other education concerns. Your current School Liaison Officer can also help connect you with the liaison at your new installation.
If you’ve made the decision to send the kids out of the house for schooling, the next step is to choose a school that meets the majority of your standards. The techniques for narrowing down choices are similar for both public and private schools, but it's common to find that public schools have much more information online. Investigating a private school could take a little more effort, because not all of its stats are required to be reported. If DoWEA schools are available at your next duty station, include those in your research as well.
As parents, it's a normal instinct to want to find the "best" school for your kids. But today, best means so much more than earning the highest test scores. Many school data aggregators use high test scores as a key component for their overall grade system, but test scores don't make up the whole face of the school. There are amazing schools out there that only have "good" test scores, but have so much more in the way of a well-rounded education. These days, it's up to parents to dig into multiple sources to truly reveal which characteristics are most important to their family.
It's becoming more and more common for parents to start with their new state's education agency and local school district they’ll be moving to. There are many factors, not just scores, that are published. Class sizes, money spent per pupil, graduation and performance data, demographics, and much more are available. The same is true for the local system. Spend time unearthing details about each potential school for specifics such as after-school clubs, special education options, and the education levels of instructors.
If you don’t yet know exactly where you’ll live, pay particular attention to school attendance boundaries before signing a lease or buying a home. Ask the district or School Liaison Officer to confirm which schools serve an address rather than relying solely on real estate listings or third-party websites.
Online opinions are prolific when it comes to ranking or rating school experiences. Well-intentioned and truthful reviews can be overrun by specific negative instances or exaggerated good experiences. It's certainly tricky to decipher the level of accuracy of each entry. If possible, start with local social media and neighborhood groups or even join a PTA meeting to see if you can find common themes regarding the school, whether positive or negative.
It's best to take the following resources and use them collectively. No single source is the ticket to a perfect education.
We've already mentioned School Liaison Officers (SLO). They're an important resource for military families navigating local schools and education options. Located at military installations, they serve as a primary connection among military families, school systems, and installation leadership.
SLOs should also be knowledgeable and helpful in navigating the Military Interstate Children's Compact (MIC3), which addresses common school-transition issues for military-connected students. All 50 states and the District of Columbia participate in the compact, though procedures for implementing its provisions vary.
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How Do I Prepare My Military Children for a Smooth School Transition?
One of the challenges that military families who change schools often face is adapting to the new rules and procedures of each state and school district. The variation in what documentation is needed is significant. If you take into consideration that each child likely has their own set of circumstances (in education, medical, or both), the paperwork piles up quickly.
But preparing for a school transition involves more than paperwork. Give your children as much information as you reasonably can about their new school before the move. Look through the school website together, talk about activities they may want to join, and give them opportunities to ask questions and express concerns. Maintaining familiar routines during the move can also help ease some of the uncertainty.
Military kids may also be able to connect with a Youth Sponsorship Program before arriving. These programs pair transitioning youth with a peer at the gaining location who can answer questions about the installation, school, and community and help make those first introductions a little easier.
It's imperative for parents to communicate directly with their incoming school early and well ahead of arrival. There are many factors that are time-sensitive, such as registration requirements, placement testing, immunizations required, and more. Always document advice and instructions that administrators offer.
Requirements vary by school and location, so confirm exactly what you'll need with the incoming school. Common documents and information may include:
- Birth certificate, passport, or other proof of age or identity
- PCS orders and proof of residency or housing
- Vaccination records
- Contact information for doctors
- Emergency contact information
- Medical directives and alerts, including allergy requirements
- Academic histories: report cards, IEPs, 504 plans, test results, and previous teachers’ recommendations
- A copy of current course schedules, transcripts, or graduation information for older students
- Unofficial school records to hand-carry during the move, particularly if official records have not yet arrived at the new school
The Interstate Compact allows covered military students to use unofficial records for initial placement while the new school waits for official records, one of several provisions designed to reduce disruptions during school changes.
Parents, take note: it's advantageous to be aware of the rights military children have when it comes to their education. The Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) and MIC3 mentioned above are great places to start. Both offer plenty of guidance to families who need help finding their way through any special education circumstances.
Finding the Right Support for Your Military Child
There are many excellent resources to assist parents in finding the best school and creating a seamless transition. Tailoring those resources to your child’s needs, however, becomes a challenge since support is so widespread over local, federal, and private agencies.
Parents often find that tapping into one or two resources reveals opportunities previously unknown. Advocacy is hard work! Give your family as much time as possible to research and prepare for the next school transition. The prep work alleviates some of the anxiety that comes from the “How Do I?” unknowns and can help military children feel more prepared for their new school and community.
MilitaryByOwner has an entire resource catalog of information and advice for your PCS move. We cover military family topics, in addition to all subjects related to buying, selling, and renting. Click below to subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss a thing!
