The Department of Defense Dependents Schools (usually shortened to just DoDDS) is a network of schools, both primary and secondary, that serve dependents of United States military- and other non-US - personnel. The schools themselves are operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA). The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Navy United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard Note: The United States Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement functions. ... The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a civilian agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. ...

While there are a few DoDDS schools that operate on military installations in the United States, the majority of the institutions operate overseas. There are superintendents for three districts across the globe: the United States DoDDS schools, the Europe DoDDS schools and the Asia DoDDS schools. The Asia DoDDS schools are, for the most part, in the Far East on installations in South Korea and Japan. Turkish DoDDS schools are served by the European branch. Far East is a term often used for East Asia and Southeast Asia combined, sometimes including also the easternmost territories of Russia, i. ...

Although the schools are primarily dependents of military personnel, U.S. government employees are allowed to enroll their children in the schools on a space-available basis. As most of these schools are situated overseas, a concerted effort is made to immerse the children in the local color. Language and culture courses are offered as early as elementary school, while advanced language courses and opportunities to intimately view the culture of the student's host nation are offered throughout high school. ...

DoDDS operates under the old American standard in terms of grade levels; elementary schools run from pre-Kindergarten to sixth grade while high school serves seventh through twelfth graders. In addition, many universities from around the United States have set up branches on military installations so both dependents and military service members can continue on with higher education without having to leave their respective posts. After graduation, however, many students not wishing to enroll in the military attend college in the States.

External link

• DoDEA official website (http://www.dodea.edu/)