DoDEA

ARLINGTON, VA — May 6, 2010 — The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) will add 54 kindergarten classrooms to its system worldwide for School Year 2010-2011. The addition of these 54 classrooms will reduce the Kindergarten Pupil-to-Teacher Ratios (PTRs) in 44 DoDEA schools.
DoDEA will add 54 Kindergarten teachers and 54 full-time educational aides to accommodate this change. The additional classes are part of the second phase of DoDEA’s Reduced Kindergarten PTR initiative for School Year 2010-2011.
“We are very excited to implement Phase II of our plan to add teachers and educational aides to reduce the Pupil-to-Student ratio at the kindergarten level,” said Dr. Shirley A. Miles, Director of DoDEA. “In our efforts to continually improve our academic programs, there is no more important place to start than at the beginning and this change will allow our youngest students more one-on-one contact with their teachers.”
In 2009 DoDEA conducted a feasibility study to reduce its Kindergarten PTR from 29:1 to 18:1. Principals evaluated space availability, facility adequacy, and input from their staffs to provide feedback to DoDEA officials as to whether they could implement the new PTR in their kindergarten classes for School Year 2009-2010. After compiling and analyzing the data, DODEA was able to implement the 18:1 PTR in 19 schools.
DoDEA also determined that every kindergarten teacher, regardless of the PTR, would have a full-time educational aide beginning in the 2009-2010 School Year. As a result, 19 teachers and 19 full-time educational aides were added.
The schools affected are provided in an attached graph.
DoDEA’s Curriculum Department is in the process of procuring consistent curriculum materials and classroom furnishings for a complete kindergarten environment, funded by headquarters and sent to the identified schools. Inventories will be provided to schools when procurements are finalized. The final purchases will be coordinated through logistics.
DoDEA plans, directs, coordinates, and manages pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education programs for Department of Defense (DoD) dependents who would otherwise not have access to a high-quality, public education. DoDEA schools are located in Europe, the Pacific, the United States, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. DoDEA also provides support and resources to Local Education Activities throughout the U.S. that serve children of military families.
The following is a list of schools implementing Phase 2 of the Kindergarten PTR of 18:1 for School Year 2010-2011:

District  School  Number of Additional KDG Classrooms for SY 10/11
Bavaria  Bamberg ES  1
Bavaria  Schweinfurt ES  1
Heidelberg  Hainerberg Elementary School  1
Heidelberg  Mannheim Elementary School  2
Heidelberg  Robinson Barracks Elementary School  1
Isles  Geilenkirchen Elementary School  1
Isles  Lakenheath Elementary School  1
Mediterranean  Lajes Elementary School  1
Mediterranean  Naples Elementary School  1
Mediterranean  Rota Elementary School  1
Mediterranean  Vicenza Elementary School  1
Guam  Andersen Elementary School  2
Guam  CDR William C. McCool Elementary School  1
Japan  Joan K. Mendel Elementary School  1
Japan  Shirley Lanham Elementary School  1
Korea  Humphreys American Elementary School  1
Okinawa  Bechtel Elementary School  2
Okinawa  Bob Hope Primary School  3
Okinawa  Kadena Elementary School  3
Okinawa  Killin Elementary School  1
Okinawa  Kinser Elementary School  1
Okinawa  Stearley Heights Elementary School  1
Okinawa  Zukeran Elementary School  2
Georgia/Alabama  Fort Rucker Primary School  1
Georgia/Alabama  Freddie Stowers Elementary School  1
Georgia/Alabama  Maxwell ES  1
Kentucky  Marshall Elementary School  1
Kentucky  Pierce Elementary School  1
North Carolina  Bowley Elementary School  1
North Carolina  Butner Elementary School  1
North Carolina  Devers ES  1
North Carolina  Gordon Elementary School  1
North Carolina  Holbrook Elementary School  1
North Carolina  Johnson Primary School  2
North Carolina  Murray Elementary School  1
North Carolina  Tarawa Terrace I Elementary School  1
North Carolina  Tarawa Terrace II Elementary School  2
SC/Fort Stewart/Cuba  Diamond Elementary School  1
SC/Fort Stewart/Cuba  Middleton S. Elliott Elementary School  1
SC/Fort Stewart/Cuba  Pierce Terrace Elementary School  1
SC/Fort Stewart/Cuba  Robert E. Galer Elementary School  1
VA/NY/PR  West Point Elementary School  1
VA/NY/PR  Antilles Elementary School  1
VA/NY/PR  Ramey Elementary School  1