DoDEA Preparing for Universal Prekindergarten in FY2024

DoDEA is pleased to announce that, contingent upon approval of the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget, we will begin implementing full-day, universal prekindergarten in all Department of Defense Education Activities (DoDEA) schools over a five-year period starting in School Year 2024-2025.

Planning is underway for a three-phase implementation that, when completed, will add an estimated 6,000 prekindergarten students in the 60 military communities served by DoDEA schools world-wide.

Phase I will include installations with appropriate facilities currently available, while Phase II locations require minor facility adjustments (bathrooms, playgrounds, etc.). Schools identified for Phase III will need more extensive modifications or construction to support expanding PK classrooms. Planning is currently underway to identify installations for each phase.

DoDEA will begin early expansion of PK at one location in the Pacific Region during School Year 2023-2024. MC Perry Primary School, located on Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Iwakuni, Japan, will begin offering PK for all eligible DoDEA families this fall and provide the opportunity to test systems, procedures, and develop processes that will assist in an efficient transition to expanded PK across DoDEA schools, once funding has been approved by Congress.

Military-connected students are at the heart of everything we do in DoDEA and providing access to PK for all eligible DoDEA families will continue to build on a solid foundation for success in college and careers while supporting military and family readiness for the communities in which our schools are located. Children who go to preschool are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to higher education, no matter their background.

DoDEA plans, directs, coordinates, and manages PK through 12th grade education programs for school-aged children of Department of Defense personnel who would otherwise not have access to high-quality public education. DoDEA schools are located in Europe, the Pacific, Western Asia, the Middle East, Cuba, the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico. DoDEA also provides support and resources to Local Educational Activities throughout the United States that serve children of military families.