Dr. Jennifer Sears, PhD

Vilseck Elementary School is proud to have Dr. Jennifer Sears as Principal for School Year 2024-2025. She is passionate about educating, engaging, and empowering the students, teachers, and staff she leads. Dr. Sears’ focus is to create a welcoming environment while fostering the academic, social, and emotional development of military-connected students to become lifelong learners and active problem solvers in our global 21^st century society. As the child of a retired and service-connected disabled Air Force member, she believes strongly in supporting the military mission.

Dr. Sears first joined DoDEA as a Reading/ESL Specialists in Hohenfels, Germany in 1999, where she then taught for 16 years. She has 25 years with DoDEA and 29 years in education overall. Before coming to DoDEA, she taught at Copperas Cove High School in Copperas Cove, Texas and at Central High School in San Angelo, Texas. In November 2015, Dr. Sears was promoted to Assistant Principal at E.C. Killin Elementary School in Okinawa, Japan, which received the 2017 National Blue Ribbon School for Exemplary High Performing Schools during her tenure. In 2018, Dr. Sears became Assistant Principal at Amelia Earhart Intermediate School, also in Okinawa. In 2019, she promoted to Principal at Stearley Heights Elementary School, where she served two years until the closure of the school in the summer of 2021. She moved immediately to Zukeran Elementary School to serve as Principal before being chosen as Principal at Spangdahlem Elementary School, Spangdahlem, Germany, for two years.

A Texas native, Dr. Sears proudly comes from a government/service-oriented family and learned from an early age to serve America proudly. Her father was in the US Air Force (retired). Her mother was a Navy nurse, working for the Veteran’s Administration, and then a University Professor for Nursing. Her brother retired recently from the Veteran’s Administration and Indian Health.   

Dr. Sears holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and German, and a master’s degree as a Reading Specialist from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. In addition, she holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education with a specialization in Literacy from Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her dissertation’s focus was “Teacher Perspectives of Instructing Struggling Readers Who are Children of Military Personnel.”

Dr. Sears is accompanied by her husband, who works at Vilseck High School, and daughter, who attends Netzaberg Middle School. They enjoy traveling and visiting friends/family. 

Dr. Sears is honored and enthusiastic about working together with the staff, students, and families of the Vilseck military-connected community. It is her honor to support DoDEA students as they achieve excellence every day in every way.