More than half a century ago, the United States military established schools
for the children of occupying forces in Europe and the Pacific. Schools for
military dependents on military bases in the United States were already well
established. First administered by the Military Services, administration for
the growing number of schools was soon transferred to civilian managers, then
organized into two separate but parallel systems: the Department of Defense
Dependents Schools (DoDDS) overseas, and the Department of Defense Domestic
Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS) in the United States. In
1994, the two systems united under the Department of Defense Education Activity
(DoDEA).
In 1999-2000, DoDEA operated 224 public schools to serve the 106,430 children
of military and civilian Department of Defense personnel in seven states, Puerto
Rico, Guam, and 13 foreign countries. The students in DoDDS and DDESS represent
every state and territory in the United States, and are as ethnically diverse
as the country itself.
Throughout its history, Department of Defense schools have made excellence in
education their priority. Graduation requirements have been raised, academic
programs have become more rigorous, and school success is now measured via an
array of quality indicators identified by thousands of school systems as critical
to student progress. These include teacher preparation, use of technology, school
readiness, and parental participation. This report provides an overview of DoDEA
schools for the school year 1999-2000. 
