Working on an A+ - schools on military bases for children of personnel

Defense department schools aim to boost sagging grades

Devin Willis is a bright child, but he had problems in school. At times unruly and hard to manage, he fell behind his fellow third-graders. That worried his mom, Barbie.

She knew there was a reason for his conduct. At his elementary school at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, his teachers thought the same thing. But they didn't write him off as a problem child.

The assistant principal asked Barbie, then assistant lodging manager, to join a group of teachers to find a way to help Devin. Just the invite amazed Barbie, who'd never gotten help with Devin at other schools. The meeting was a surprise, too.

"No one jumped to conclusions," she said. "They listened to me -- really wanted to help." The group, with Barbie's OK, decided Devin should undergo a series of tests. They revealed he has attention deficit disorder, something Barbie didn't know. It scared her, of course.

"But I finally knew what troubled Devin," she said. "It was the first step to dealing with it."

To stay in school, Devin would need constant supervision. Barbie, a single mother, wondered how. The teachers had the solution: a support group to give Devin one-on-one attention at school. So, Devin got a dozen new volunteer "moms" and did well in school the rest of the year.

Barbie loved being part of the solution, but admits she didn't expect the help she received.

"They cared," she said. "I wouldn't have gotten that kind of help at a school back home."

Of course, Devin's story isn't the norm. Because not all the 117 Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Europe can give each of their 49,000 students the same individual help.

They would if it were up to Diana Ohman. The deputy director for DODDS-Europe, she said teachers and administrators have a clear mission: providing students the best education possible.

"But we must do more," she said. "We can't stay focused on the classroom. We have to connect with the people in our community." However, it's a two-way street.

Checking attendance

Parents and military leaders must also take a more active role in school affairs, she said. They must voice their opinions on what they want for their children. Help make decisions, volunteer and be mentors. And military leaders must join them.

"It takes all of us working together to educate these kids," she said. "Because if one of us isn't there, it's the kids who will fail."

Nobody wants that, of course. Especially Gen. Gregory Martin, who commands U.S. Air Forces in Europe. He leads 35,000 airmen and civilians with some 14,700 school-age children. He knows how important the education of their children is to his troops.

"If they become distracted or dissatisfied with [their children's education], then they won't be focused on the mission," Martin said.

Ohman, a private pilot herself, said, in that case ensuring children have a top-notch education becomes more than just a key quality of life issue. Pilots don't want to jump in their aircraft and think about whether their kids are OK in school.

"So we work hard to ensure they don't have that worry," she said.

The Air Force has taken a big interest in the schools in their communities, she said. Still, the military school system in Europe -- it reaches from Iceland to Turkey -- has problems that have been around a long time. It'll take a team effort to fix them, she said.

One problem being met head-on is communication, which some schools didn't have with local military officials. At most bases, school principals now attend commander staff meetings. That lets them understand the "military goings on" and be part of the community leadership.

"I'm not just invited to staff meetings because I have to be," said Doug McEnery, high school principal at Aviano Air Base, Italy. "Base leaders have kids in school, too. So they have a personal interest in seeing us do well. They genuinely want to know how they can help."

That's a change from the school-military relationship when he started working in military schools 20 years ago. He's never seen the "military so interested in schools" as they are now. That "makes a big difference in how we do business," which equates to more help, he said.

"And in the long run, it's our students who benefit," McEnery said.

Fran Austin, the elementary school principal at Incirlik, has been with DODDS 11 years. She's noticed the change, too. "It's like the military has adopted us," she said.

That's particularly true at Incirlik. Base units have adopted entire grades at the elementary school to mentor and help with the children. And the school has more than 300 volunteer helpers.

But not all schools get the support they need, Ohman said. And there are other problems. Some schools are overcrowded and some bases must lease schools. Plus, it's hard to keep good teachers. And some parents gripe that schools don't provide all the educational opportunities that'll help their children get into top colleges and universities.

Finding fixes

More money will fix most problems. And the more students a school has, the more funds it receives. "So what money we get must go a long way," Ohman said.

Military leaders know that, too. So, in Europe, the military services joined forces to ensure their schools receive the military dollars they need to repair or renovate schools.

The Air Force wants to do more. It's testing how school boards will work at six of its bases. Parents elect the board members, who have voting power in school decisions. Boards can help decide the fate of school programs, classes and other issues.

So, little by little, the fixes come. At Aviano, for example, the school was outdated and overcrowded. Elementary school children went to leased, off-base schools. Not anymore.

Though being built with NATO funds, the base will have a new multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art all-grades school. It'll be the "flagship" of Defense Department schools, McEnery said.

Lt. Col. Mark Correll, a former Aviano base civil engineer, had two teen-age sons at the old high school. His wife, Brandy, was a volunteer there, and they got involved in school activities.

Though the military school system in Europe was, in his opinion, "in the middle of the pack compared to those in the States," Correll said he saw good changes in his years at Aviano.

"They managed to provide a good, though basic, academics package," he said.

That, in a nutshell, is the story of the military schools in Europe, Ohman said. They provide a good and solid basic education, but few frills. And there's nothing wrong with that, she said.

Still she admits parents have valid concerns and issues directly related to their children's learning environments.

"And I'm not sure we're doing the best job we can to get folks involved in our school processes," she said. "But we're working on that."

Martin said he's committed to improving education for family members. He gives the school system high marks for its efforts to change and meet the needs of students and parents.

"Working with our education system is paying big dividends," he said. "It gives our people a sense of satisfaction knowing the leadership cares about more than just getting the job done."

Over the desk in Ohman's Weisbaden, Germany, office a sign reads: "Execution is Everything." She lived by that creed when she was a schoolteacher and Wyoming's secretary of state. She still lives by it. And when it feels like she's going nowhere, she remembers the sign and reminds herself, "Get it done Diana."

No matter how much Ohman pushes, she knows change doesn't happen overnight. And when it comes, it's often the result of a team effort. It's something she sees with each visit to a school. After a year and a half on the job -- most of it on the road -- she knows that building closer relations with parents and military leaders is what will make schools better.

But she praises the teachers in Europe for their work. And she said the sons and daughters of U.S. military members in Europe are getting a better education than before.

What grade does she give the military school system? For now, a solid "B" -- and that's up from the "C" and "D" grades it once had.

"And though we won't get there for a while," she said, "we're working on an 'A+.'"

A formula for success

A big heart + a caring attitude = a good mentor.

That's not a math equation to ponder. Not physics. It's Genorace Armstrong's formula to pinpoint what a person needs to be a good role model for young people. He lives by it.

"You don't have to be a psychologist," he said. "If you care about kids -- feel it in your heart -- you'll find the answers when you need to help them."

Armstrong is the mentor program coordinator at Aviano Air Base, Italy. It's the perfect program for the base, with its key mission and hectic pace. People and airplanes come and go from there each day. There's no base housing. It's in the midst of a huge transformation that'll make it the Air Force's "newest" base in Europe. And it's in the middle of a construction boom that disrupts services.

Caught in the midst of the hustle and bustle are some 1,450 school-age children. It's not so bad for the young ones, who have more structured family activities, Armstrong said.

But it can be a tough place for teens. They can't drive until they're 18 in Italy, making them dependent on parents for rides to and from the base. So the base exchange becomes their "mall." And they have few hangouts besides the movies, gym, pool and bowling alley.

"And you can only go shopping or to an amusement park just so many times before that becomes boring," said Gwendolyn Neff, a 2000 graduate of Aviano High School.

Off base, teens face other challenges. Few speak Italian, so they hang out with classmates. But they can buy alcohol and cigarettes at 16 and get into clubs with few hassles. The new freedoms get some into jams, Armstrong said. But most stay out of trouble.

"How they overcome these problems is a testament to their character," he said. And when they think they might stray, some students turn to their mentors for help.

Mentors are having a positive effect on students at Aviano, said Doug McEnery, Aviano High School principal. Since the program started in 1997, school truancy rates have dropped. There are fewer student behavior problems. And those in the program are doing better in school.

The secret to its success? Total support from the community and base leaders. "It's a true partnership between the military and the schools." Hence, Aviano's program is the model for Defense Department's dependent schools, McEnery said.

It's a voluntary program for students. But mentors aren't substitute parents, just more adults youths can turn to for guidance. Most form strong bonds and mentors soon become friends and confidants, said John Janice, also a 2000 Aviano high grad.

"You just don't feel comfortable talking about some things to your parents," Janice said. "And friends don't always keep things in confidence. But what I tell my mentor is between us."

Confidentiality is a key rule Aviano's more than 120 mentors must abide by, Armstrong said. Applicants go through a screening program and receive training. Students' needs guide the program. But it's similar interests that usually determine what mentor and student to pair up.

John's sister, Tonya, a junior, wants to be a pediatrician. Her mentor is Senior Airman Tiffany Orimoloye, a pediatrics records technician. Orimoloye has taught Tonya much about her prospective career. "Plus she listens to me and doesn't preach." she said.

Students meet with their mentor once a week, sometimes more than that. And whenever they want to, they can drop by to chat with "Mr. Armstrong." His door is always open.

Armstrong cherishes those moments. He has a knack -- he says a gift from God -- for reaching children. So his office is usually flooded with "his kids." And if he has to work "24-7" to help them, that's OK, too. Because it troubles him when he can't help them.

Simple communications are a crucial part of helping young people. So are leniency, understanding and compassion, Armstrong said. So helping young people overcome obstacles isn't an easy task, for parents or mentors.

Adults can't run away from the challenge, he said. Because it's up to them to ensure young people become successful adults.

"Kids are growing up and finding out who they are fast," Armstrong said. "It's up to the adults in their lives to give them the guidance they need to make the right choices. That's what mentors help do."

COPYRIGHT 2001 U.S. Air Force, Air Force News Agency
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group