If PCS orders are on the horizon, your first step should be finding housing, but the criteria for the perfect home has less to do with the number of bedrooms and more to do with the proximity to the perfect school.

Military families that relocate with school-age children are likely to agree that this aspect of moving poses the greatest challenge. Parents want to give their children the best educational opportunities possible, and constant relocation can pose enormous obstacles to this end state.

“As a Marine Corps family with two children, the first step I take when faced with another PCS move, is to do what I call ‘school shop,’” explains Michele Young. “Where we choose to live is based upon which school we believe is the right fit for our family, so we always make that important decision first and let the rest fall into place.”

Many families make the difficult decision to turn down military orders or choose to separate the family due to the educational challenges a particular move may have on their kids.

It is promising to see that there are a number of resources that can help military families make informed choices for their children.

1. Military Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity 

“To help overcome educational transition issues faced by children of military families, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, working through its Defense-State Liaison Office (DSLO), collaborated with the Council of State Governments to develop the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (the Compact).” — Interstate Compact Overview, 2011

While the Compact does not address the variance in the quality of education from one state to another, its focus is to create consistency on the issues military students faces, such as eligibility, enrollment, placement, attendance, and graduation requirements.

For details on the Military Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, or to see what states have adopted the Compact, please click here.

2. School Liaison Officers

The School Liaison program was put into place to provide military families with a point of contact for information on the various educational opportunities, as well as to develop relationships between educators and military families. School Liaison Officers (SLO) are in place to help families in the Army, Army Reserve, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.

A call to the appropriate School Liaison Officer can provide you with information on the educational opportunities that are available near your next duty station. Your SLO can answer your specific questions and concerns and assist you in determining which educational opportunity is best suited for the individual needs of your student(s).

3. Internet Research

There are several online school review sites that provide parent reviews on teacher quality, principal leadership, and parent involvement as well as test scores, ethnic breakdown, programs, and culture. Test scores are based on the most recent standardized test scores, which factor into the rating system, but parent reviews also have an effect on the overall rating. Parent reviews can shed insight into the overall culture or specific teachers, but it is important to remember that these reviews are based on individual experiences, which may differ from that of yours and your children.

Check out Greatschools.org and Schooldigger.com for free information.

4. Direct Contact

Parents are equipped with gut instinct, and this is one of the most powerful tools you can employ. Only you will know what feels right for you and your family, and it should be based not only on solid research but also on your own intuition. While a visit to the school and a face-to-face meeting with administrators would be ideal, this is not always feasible for military families. Therefore, picking up the phone and speaking directly with the principal or other top administrators will afford you the opportunity to ask pointed questions and receive information that specifically addresses your concerns. Even through a phone call you can get a good sense of whether or not this particular school is going to be a fit for you and your student.

Decisions made on behalf of your school-age children are never easy, but with new and accessible resources, hopefully each transition you make will enhance your child’s educational experience and provide you with piece of mind that they are receiving the best education available.

If you have additional resources that you have used, we would love to hear about them so that we can share them with other military families.