Fort Jackson hosts DoDEA pilot program

The Department of Defense Education Activity approved Fort Jackson for a three-year pilot program to open enrollment to children of full-time, active-duty military personnel living off post.

“We are always looking for new ways to help our soldiers and their families,” Fort Jackson Garrison Commander Col. Ryan M. Hanson said. “The pilot program gives our families additional options for their children’s education.”

The pilot program, authorized by the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, allowed DoDEA to select four sites to gauge interest and expand options for military-affiliated children. To be eligible for the pilot program, students must be a dependent of a full-time, active-duty service member with orders to Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

“As part of our quality-of-life efforts, education options are one way we are making Fort Jackson a destination of choice for our Army families,” Hanson said.

“Between Pierce Terrace and Pinckney elementary schools, we expect to educate about 150 additional students,” said Brian Perry, the DoDEA community superintendent for South Carolina and Fort Stewart.

“The Department of Defense long has recognized the significance of family readiness and its impact on overall military readiness, performance, retention and recruitment. Quality education is both a stabilizing influence in the lives of children and their families and an overall element in the readiness, retention and morale of America’s Force,” said Perry.

Parents can learn more about the pilot program. For information on local school programs contact the School Liaison Office.

How to Apply

The application for off-base, active-duty military dependents opens May 2 at 7:30 a.m. EST and is available here. F; it needs to be accessed via a personal computer or personal wireless device due to security limitations with Department of Defense computers. The application will remain open, and administrators will periodically review applications as school enrollment changes. Decisions will be made based on space available at the school for each grade level. Administrators will contact parents directly if their child was selected for the program.