DoDDS Pacific Area Advisory Council to meet. The next DoDDS Pacific Area Advisory Council (AAC) meeting is planned for May 16, 2003. The Council is comprised of military command, parent, civic organization, education and student representatives, and advises the DoDDS Pacific Director about dependents’ education in the Pacific area. Agenda items will include the high school POM initiative, the budget, military and Japanese funded construction, full day kindergarten, reduced pupil to teacher ratio, and the teacher transfer program.

Pacific Theater Education Council to visit Korea schools. During the week of May 7-15, 2003, the Pacific Theater Education Council (PTEC) will visit all eight Korea District schools prior to their annual meeting with the DoDDS Pacific Director. PTEC is the advisory council for USPACOM in DoDDS Pacific. Its primary function is to review and act on recommendations from component commands, and from the Area Advisory Council and/or District Advisory Councils.

Music festival provides unique opportunity for student collaboration. The DoDDS Pacific Far East Honor Music Festival took place April 22-26, 2003, hosted by Kadena High School on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Over 150 of the best musicians in DoDDS Pacific spent four days practicing together for the first time to deliver a combined choral and band concert for the school community on April 26th. DoDDS Pacific band and choral teachers directed musical selections. Students auditioned for the opportunity to be a part of the honor music festival by submitting audiotapes to a group of adjudicators. This year, the vocal audiotapes were judged by a group of DoDDS music teachers; the instrumental audiotapes were judged by the U.S. 8th Army Band, Seoul, Korea.

DoDDS Pacific budget reductions will be absorbed above school level. In an April 2003 memorandum to military commanders and school leaders, Dr. Nancy Bresell, Director, DoDDS Pacific, announced that this year’s cuts to the budget were over $15 million, the highest in our history. DoDDS Pacific leaders closely examined every function to determine the best way to absorb the reduction and, at the same time, have the least impact on school programs. The strategy calls for a slowing of technology procurements, deferring facility projects above the sustainment floor, restricting training and development, and reducing above school level administrative support costs. These actions are intended to minimize the impact on educational services and programs delivered in the classrooms.

Military police collaborated with DoDDS to provide drug awareness training. Military police from base installations throughout the Pacific recently received Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) training from a cadre of DARE instructor trainers who work for city police departments in the United States. The newly certified DARE officers will be teaching the DARE curriculum in elementary and middle school classrooms during school year 2003-2004. Last year, 13,517 students in grades K-5 and 1,889 eighth graders received DARE training in Korea, Japan and Okinawa districts. DARE has been widely supported by military communities throughout DoDDS Pacific.

Space available eligibility for DoDDS communicated during spring registration. The guidance for space available students was clarified and communicated to space available families during spring registration. DoDDS has the authority to enroll each space available student only if the school has the staff, physical space, and other resources already in place to serve them. Because of this and the possibility of an increase of space required students, or of staffing decreases due to resource constraints, the present enrollment of a child on a space available basis does not guarantee enrollment for the following school year. The district superintendent is the approving official for the enrollment of a child on a space available basis. Eligibility requirements are governed by DoD Directive 1342.13 and DoDEA Policy Memorandum 02-OD-001.

Schools boost capacity for ongoing learning. In an effort to build capacity in instructional best practices, each school will identify a teacher who will serve as a Curriculum Implementation Facilitator (CIF). CIF’s will work with educators to implement best instructional practices that lead to highest student achievement. Some of the areas of focus that support standards-based curriculum and instruction include literacy, reading in the content area, science inquiry and technology infusion.