Good Schools in the Department of Defense

 The article goes on to list some positive characteristics of Defense Department schools that might point the way for policymakers:

• All military families have access to housing and health care.

• In all families, at least one parent has a job.

• Students are racially integrated – 42 percent white, 24 percent Latin, 10 percent African-American, 9 percent Asian-American, and 15 percent multi-racial. 

• Students are economically diverse, with the children of lower-rank and lower-paid parents in classrooms with children of high-ranking officers.

• The schools are well funded, spending about $25,000 per student, with a predictable budget each year.

• Schools are well supplied so teachers have less need to spend their own money on basics.

• Teachers are well paid and generally have a decade or more of experience.

• All Defense Department schools are run by a headquarters in the Pentagon.

• A curriculum revision starting in 2015 phased in Common Core-aligned expectations to all schools, including higher expectations and more emphasis on non-fiction reading.

• The curriculum reforms were phased in one subject at a time over a six-year period, accompanied by teacher training.

• Students in DoD schools are using similar curriculum materials at each grade level across all the schools.

• Collaboration among teachers is required, with team meetings built into the schedule.

• Teachers receive detailed feedback from instructional coaches and administrators.

• DoD schools are philosophically committed to raising the floor of teaching effectiveness for all classrooms, compared to a “pockets of excellence” approach implicitly embraced by many other schools. 

“Who Runs the Best U.S. Schools? It May Be the Defense Department” by Sarah Mervosh in The New York Times, October 12, 2023