School Support Services

Getting ready to move:

• Information about your upcoming duty station and educational options in your new community
• Connection to a youth sponsor who can answer your child’s questions from a youth’s perspective
• Assistance with the steps to prepare for your children’s departure from their current schools

Once you arrive:

• Assistance with school registration and transition
• Help with questions about compliance and solutions regarding the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children
• Two way communication between the school and parent
• Connection with homeschool co-ops or support groups

During your assignment:

• Answers to your questions about schools, homeschooling, special education, scholarships, transitions and more.
• Parent education opportunities about college and career readiness, preparing for transition and the Interstate Compact 

To ease the transition, contact your SLO as soon as you get orders.

Age Requirements

• PreKindergarten (Students must be four years old on or before September 1)
• Kindergarten (Students must be five years old on or before September 1)
• First Grade (Students must be six years old on or before September 1)
• Grades 2, 3, 4, 5, 6**, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 **Grade 6 – Proof of second MMR and second Varicella Vaccine/Immunity
• Fort Stewart (DDESS) Schools Kindergarten enrollment: Must be five by September 1
• All students born on or after January 1, 2002 & entering or transferring into 7th grade need proof of an adolescent pertussis (Whooping Cough) booster immunization (Tdap). Proof of Tdap immunization must be documented on the Georgia Immunization Certificate (Form 3231)

Immunization Requirements

Immunization Records: An adequate and up-to-date Immunization record (GA Form 3231)  30 day grace period

GA Certificate of Ear, Eye, Dental, and Nutrition Record. (GA Form 3300)

 ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS

(All students must be enrolled by a natural parent or custodian.)

1. Birth Certificate (Evidence of Date of Birth)

2. Immunization Record (GA Form 3231)

3. Social Security Card

4. Ear-Eye-Dental & Nutrition Record (GA Form 3300)

5. 2 Proofs of Parent/Custodian Address

FORT STEWART SCHOOL DISTRICT

1. Sponsor's Military Orders

2. Birth Certificate (Evidence of Date of Birth)

3. Immunization Record (GA Form 3231

4. Ear-Eye-Dental & Nutrition Record (GA Form 3300)

5. Social Security number

6. Lease or Memorandum of Housing

When does school start?

Start dates vary among school systems because it is a local decision. You will need to contact the school system directly.

If you live on the Fort Stewart installation:

• All students K-6th grade will attend school in Fort Stewart Schools. This is a Department of Defense Education Activity School District. It is not public schools. 
• To attend Fort Stewart Schools, you MUST be living on the installation, or be on the waitlist for on post housing within 90-days. 
• To determine which school you attend based on your on post address, please view the Fort Stewart Schools Attendance Areas Chart. 
• You cannot attend Fort Stewart Schools if your permanent residence is off post.
• Grades 7-12 attend middle and high school in Liberty County Schools. Fort Stewart's host Middle School is Midway Middle School. The host High Schools are Bradwell Institue High School and Liberty County High School.

Georgia’s Pre-K Program: Provides activities and learning experiences that help prepare young children for school. For a child to be school ready, it means they are socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively prepared for success in kindergarten. The program helps children become independent, self-confident, and enthusiastic learners. Participation in the program encourages children to develop good habits and daily routines early in their educational career. Parents please view/print the GA Pre-K program handbook here!

Georgia House Bill 224: Military Families living in Military Housing on Installation can choose an out of zone school within the Georgia school district in which housing is located. Fort Stewart is zoned Liberty County Schools. Hunter Army Airfield is zoned for Savannah Chatham County Public Schools.

Youth Ambassador Program: 

If you live on or near Hunter Army Airfield:  School Support Services for Hunter. 

If you live in the following counties:

• Liberty County
• Liberty County Military Newcomers
• Bryan County
• Long County

Private School options:

• Liberty County
• Bryan County
• Long County
• Chatham County

Pre-K:

• Liberty County Pre-K
• Bryan County Pre-K
• Long County Pre-K
• Fort Stewart CYS Pre-K

Does your child have 101 questions about your next duty station? Let a youth sponsor answer them!
 

Youth sponsors connect with children before arrival at a new duty station, provide them with information about their new communities and answer questions from a youth perspective – while being guided by adults in the CYS youth program and the schools.

Once you arrive, a youth sponsor will meet your child and can arrange community and school tours.

If you're preparing for a PCS move, contact your SLO today to sign up for a youth sponsor.

If you have a child with special needs, we can help you find the resources available in your school district. We can also connect you with your local installation’s Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) office.

EFMP is a comprehensive, multi-agency program ready to assist military Families with members who have special needs.

Liberty County Exceptional Learning

Highly mobile children are entitled to an expedited process, including: a) evaluations in 30 days instead of 60 days, b) removed delays due to school district schedules for Families moving during incomplete screenings, c) continued Extended School Year for students moving in the summer. The United State Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services outlines these requirements for State Directors of Special Education. 

The Center for Parent Information and Resources offers parent education, acronyms, tools, webinars and a directory of local Parent and Information Training Centers to appropriately advocate for their children, proactively supporting personal accountability. Funded by OSEP.

Military OneSource has a range of resources in caring for a family member with special needs: education, health care, legal, financial, points of contact (EFMP, School Liaisons, etc.)

Military Community & Family Policy-Office of Special Needs provides directory of age-specific resources and States at a Glance for state education special education resources and parent resources.

DirectSTEP provides no-cost, Army sponsored online training for educators and parents on a host of special education topics such as understanding federal requirements, best practices for behavior management, IDEA eligibility, IEPs and more. Through the eCourses parents and educators learn how to apply education laws in order to obtain positive outcomes associated with critical education issues. Access the course listing and registration page through the links below.

DirectSTEP course listing 

DirectSTEP registration

Home schooling has become mainstream and widely-used. We offer resources and information to help you provide quality home-based education.

Home School Legal Defense Association provides information on home school law, and general support and information about homeschooling.

Online Schools:

• Georgia Department of Education Virtual School
• Georgia Cyber Academy K-12

 Home Schools:

• Georgia Department of Education Home School

 Resources: 

• Homeschoolers of the Hinesville/ Fort Stewart Area

• The Independent Learning Network, Inc.  Home school resource in Savannah that offers varying resources to include testing and tutoring.

• Classical Conversations is a useful resource for local events as well as partnering with other home schoolers. 

 Activities:

• Savannah Children’s Museum.  An outdoor venue.  It is important for guests to be prepared by bringing water, sunscreen and any other items outdoor play may warrant.

• Coastal Heritage Society.  Serves more than 150,000 people annually at our three historic sites: Old Fort Jackson National Historic Landmark, the Savannah History Museum, and the Georgia State Railroad Museum.

• Telfair Jepson Center.  New home school art classes at Telfair’s Jepson Center.

• Oatland Island Wildlife Center of Savannah Starting in October, a new Home School program series aimed at providing supplemental educational experiences for homeschooled students, begins at Oatland Island. Less than 5 miles from Savannah’s historic district off of Islands Expressway.

• The University of Georgia Marine Extension Service conducts outreach, education and research to enhance coastal environmental, social and economic sustainability.

• National Parks Services/Fort Pulaski
   

• Tybee Marine Science Center Coastal Classroom programs.  You’ll choose from a variety of classroom and field modules, in half-hour and one-hour segments, to build your students’ program.  Floating Classrooms and Coastal Scientist programs can be stand alone or combine with the modules for a full day of programming. Call us toll-free at 866-557-9172, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and we’ll help you put your program together.

• New home school science program at Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens. 

• Savannah Music Festival’s Musical Explorers program

We understand that military transitions for children include much more than school plans and enrollment. We have a number of resources to help make your move as easy as possible for the kids, including:

Military Kids Connect provides online age-appropriate resources to help parents, teachers and children cope with the unique challenges of military life.

The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (MIC3) addresses key transition issues military Families experience, including enrollment, placement, attendance, eligibility and graduation. All 50 states have signed the compact and are in varying stages of implementation and/or compliance. The compact applies to children of Active Duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members on active duty orders and members or veterans who are medically discharged or retired within past year.

If you feel that you have an issue that the Compact can help address talk with your SLO.  The SLO is able to assist by connecting with both the sending and receiving school to assist in resolving the issue.  If it is not possible to resolve the issue locally, the SLO will help you work with the state commission, and if needed, the national office.

Our support doesn’t end with elementary education. If you have children preparing for academic life after high school, we can help you find information about testing opportunities, scholarships and military-specific resources that can help you plan.

The US Department of Veteran’s Affairs provides information about Military-Specific and Government Academic Support G.I. Bill

The Transferability of Educational Benefits for the Post 9/11 GI Bill are very specific. The Defense Manpower Data Center, through MilConnect will guide you through the transfer process and your eligibility to do so.  Speak with an Education Counselor prior to making this election in order to ensure you understand the benefit.

In-State Tuition Programs for Military: Service-members, active duty for a period of more than 30 days and their dependents are eligible to receive in-state tuition at many public colleges and universities in the state where they reside or are permanently stationed. An enrolled dependent may pay in-state tuition as long as he or she remains continuously enrolled at the institution, even if the service-member is reassigned outside of the state. Regulations outlined in the Higher Education Opportunity Act, 2008 (P.L 110 - 135) and the Higher Education Act of 1965 (pdf) apply.

Here are some additional web resources to assist you with your child’s education:

Academic Resources:

Tutor.com for U.S. Military Families makes live tutors available online 24/7 to help with more than 40 core subjects and standardized test preparation.

Homework Support: Army Child Youth & School Services provides Homework Labs in before/after school programs for elementary students at the School Age Center, and for middle and high school students at the Youth Center.

Khan Academy:

A personalized learning resource for all ages Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. We tackle math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, SAT and more.    

Support/Resilience Resources:

School Support Services include information about other programs you can use for support and resilience-related issues.

Military Family Life Counselors (MFLCs) are available to meet in-person on or off the military installation. The free nonmedical sessions are anonymous and may occur in individual, couple, family or group settings. Child Behavioral Specialists are located on the installation in Child, Youth and School Services programs, and in highly impacted schools located on and off the installation.

Military OneSource has access to free nonmedical counseling that’s anonymous and available online, on the phone or in person. Twelve free sessions may occur in individual, couple, family or group settings.

Ready and Resilient Workshops for youth and educators are offered through the SLO and Youth Center programs. These workshops provide educators and students with the same tools Soldiers receive through their Ready and Resilient training. As Master Resilience Trainers SLOs strive to develop a common language around resilience for educators, youth and their parents.

For information on how to attend a class contact your local SLO.

College and Career Readiness Resources:

College and career readiness includes the content knowledge, skills and habits that students must have to be successful in postsecondary education. It also includes training that leads to a sustaining career. A student who is ready for college and career can qualify for and succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing college courses without needing remedial or developmental coursework. These links have tools that will help you plan for your child’s college and career readiness:

Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) provides STEM opportunities for military connected youth. The website provides information about AEOP programs available to youth, scholarship opportunities, news, and ways to get involved.

Military.com Scholarship Finder Military.com provides a search engine to help you find money for your child’s higher education needs. Search over 1000 scholarships intended for military youth. They also have a Military Scholarship Handbook.

School Support Services Scholarship Database Listing of crowd sourced scholarships for military connected youth. Scholarships are listed in alphabetical order and provide information on deadlines and qualifications.

 Financial Aid
 

Provides a description of federal student aid programs from the U.S. Dept. of Education  and how to apply for them.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Apply for federally funded financial assistance for education beyond high school.

Get Ready for College - College Planning, Financial Aid

Feel free to browse through this list of military scholarships and find the right ones for you. 

• Georgia Teachers Certification
• Liberty County Schools
• Georgia Public Schools Job Openings
• Fort Stewart DoDEA Schools

What is a Unique Military Child Identifier? Numerous states have enacted a voluntary report-only self-identification of military children within their public school systems. This data collection would allow monitoring of critical elements such as academic progress and proficiency, special and advanced program participation, mobility and dropout rates. Requirements and method of collection vary from state to state.

Impact Aid

Many local school districts across the United States include within their boundaries parcels of land that are owned by the Federal Government.  They must provide a quality education to the children living on the Indian and other Federal lands while sometimes operating with less local revenue than is available to other school districts, because the Federal property is exempt from local property taxes. 

Congress has provided financial assistance to these local school districts through the Impact Aid Program. Each year Military members and Federal employees complete a Survey Form. The amount of Impact Aid – or federal assistance –received is determined by the number of eligible parents/guardians who complete the survey form. It partially compensates school districts affected by federal activity for local tax losses resulting from tax-free federal installations.

Impact Aid Fact Sheet (we will provide a hand out to link to)

Impact Aid Website

Non-DoD School Program (NDSP)

At overseas/international locations where there is not a Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school, NDSP supports a variety of options for your children, ranging from public or private schools to homeschool programs.  NDSP has a team of education specialists who are available to provide transition and educational support and coordination for all students, including those with special needs. Sponsors are encouraged contact the NDSP as soon as possible for specific school information. 

Email

Phone Number +1 (571)372-5863 or +1 (571)372-1897