| IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2002
Contact: Martha Deutscher
Voice: (703) 588-3265
Email:Martha.Deutscher@hq.dodea.edu
DoDEA Distributes Powerful Tool
to Assist Parents of Secondary School Students
ARLINGTON, VA—Joseph D. Tafoya, Director, Department of
Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), announced today that DoDEA will
distribute Chart Your Course: Planning a Successful Journey through
High School and Beyond materials to every student in grades 7 through
11 in all Department of Defense schools. Distribution will take place
during the next few weeks.
The Chart Your Course packet includes a two-sided poster for students
that provides tips and ideas for moving smoothly from middle school
through graduation, and an "academic passport" for parents
that provides recommendations and guidelines. Used in conjunction with
the school six-year plan for student study, Chart Your Course will help
students, parents, and counselors determine a consistent academic path
from middle school through high school graduation, and will help appropriately
prepare students for post secondary school experiences.
Chart Your Course was developed via a joint venture between DoDEA and
the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) as a result of the Army's
Secondary Education Transition Study (SETS). The study, conducted to
determine the effects that moving from one school system to another
during the high school years has on children of active duty military
parents, resulted in a set of guiding principles which reflect the key
issues and challenges facing 175,000 secondary school-age transitioning
students and their parents, and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to implement
those principles.
To date, 56 school districts have signed the SETS MOA. DoDEA is an active
partner in the implementation of SETS, and has been since the beginning.
DoDEA school counselors are being trained to facilitate the transition
of students and their families. DoDEA superintendents and principals
have participated in SETS implementation training sessions, and superintendents
at each institution are in the process of partnering with installation
commanders and post liaison personnel to implement the program. In addition,
one DoDEA superintendent has been released part-time to assist in the
implementation of SETS in all DoDEA districts and schools.
February 11, 2002 "DoDEA has always been aware of the challenges
that face the children of our military when they transition between
schools, especially when it comes to various state high school graduation
requirements, and we've always done everything possible to help our
families anticipate those challenges and ease the transitions,"
said Dr. Tafoya. "Chart Your Course is a culmination of DoDEA's
ongoing work and our active participation in SETS. We hope these materials
will prove an invaluable aid to our families as they 'chart the
course' for their children's academic journey through high
school and beyond."
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