[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 127 (Wednesday, August 2, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11220-S11222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______


                    STAFFING OF DOD OVERSEAS SCHOOLS

 Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President I call the attention of my 
colleagues to an educational matter that requires continued attention. 
Americans serving in the armed services who are stationed overseas 
usually depend on Department of Defense Dependents Schools to educate 
their children. It has been a matter of concern that these overseas 
schools do not provide the same level of educational services as 
schools on military installations in the United States. I ask to have 
printed in the Record the executive summary of a recent study providing 
hard numbers substantiating this concern. I hope Senators will consider 
the findings of this study as we draw down forces in Europe and as we 
provide for an appropriate quality of life for members of our Armed 
Forces stationed overseas.

[[Page S11221]]

  The Executive summary follows:

                       DoDDS--A Staffing Dilemma


                           executive summary

       The process of staffing the Department of Defense 
     Dependents Schools has reached a point where it needs to be 
     reviewed.
       The schools are staffed in the classical, enrollment-based 
     manner which serves as a model for the larger school 
     districts. Applying this method to DoDDS, while giving a 
     favorable appearance on a system-wide basis, does not address 
     the demographics of DoDDS with its many small and medium-
     sized schools located far apart and in isolated locations.
       This briefing document describes and compares the 
     configuration of the schools in the United States and in 
     DoDDS-Europe. It shows how the sizes of the schools in the 
     United States vary in enrollment patterns from those in 
     DoDDS-E. A sampling of programs and services found in Section 
     6 schools is included. These schools are for military 
     dependents located on military installations in the United 
     States, and are supervised by the Department of Defense 
     Education Activity (DoDEA), the same Activity which 
     supervises DoDDS. The Section 6 schools provide a full range 
     of educational programs.
       DoDDS, because of its staffing model is enrollment-ratio-
     driven, will not be able to provide the same programs or 
     services to the students attending its schools as those 
     attending the Section 6 schools. This staffing model needs to 
     be altered to accommodate the unique character of DoDDS. 
     DoDDS must staff its schools in a manner guaranteed to 
     maintain its current level of excellence.
       This paper recommends that a staffing freeze be put in 
     place, retaining the current staff, except for those 
     locations where the schools are closing or enrollment is 
     projected to drop sharply based upon next school year's 
     enrollment data. The retention of this level of staffing is 
     estimated to require 400 positions DoDDS-E wide. Since there 
     will be a cut in staffing, this means that 400 fewer 
     positions would be cut. At a work-year rate of $60,000 each, 
     this would amount to a dollar cost of $24,000,000.
       For the staffing in the coming years, DoDDS has stated that 
     a Staffing Task Force has been established to develop new 
     staffing criteria. Until this Task Force reports its findings 
     and recommendations, all staffing actions should be frozen at 
     present levels, then modified using the guidance developed by 
     the Task Force. Assuming that this Task Force will develop a 
     staffing model based upon program needs, this action is 
     strongly recommended.
       The educational services delivered by DoDDS are an integral 
     part of the Quality of Life Program as well as of Force 
     Readiness. It is essential that what needs to be done to 
     maintain the current high standard be done.
       Until the end of the current school year, SY 94-95, the 
     Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) has provided 
     the educational services and programs of a premier school 
     system.
       DoDDS has the potential and resources to be a truly world-
     class school system--the standard bearer of the United States 
     in the arena of global education. As evidenced by the DoDDS 
     Strategic Plan promulgated by Dr. Lillian Gonzalez, Director 
     of DoDDS, DoDDS has made a determined commitment in this 
     direction. However, will the current proposed staffing 
     reductions allow DoDDS to reach this serious goal?
       As part of its ``rightsizing'' goal, DoDDS-Europe is 
     eliminating over 900 positions. Most of these positions will 
     be at the school level. The core of DoDDS' staffing planning 
     is its concept of the ``super teacher,'' a concept based on 
     the belief that the classroom teachers can absorb program 
     cuts back into their basic classroom instruction. In other 
     words, DoDDS is relying on the ``super teacher'' to cover or 
     provide all the services and programs which have been 
     eliminated by the cuts in staffing. DoDDS teachers are 
     arguably a cut above their stateside counterparts, but to 
     demand that they fulfill these expectations on a regular 
     basis is unrealistic--the average teacher doesn't have the 
     skills to: maintain a full-scale modern computerized media 
     center (library); provide quality curricular offerings in 
     physical education, music, and art; conduct all remedial 
     assistance for students who would ordinarily be provided with 
     special help through Reading Improvement Specialists (RIS) 
     and Compensatory Education Specialists (Comp Ed); mainstream 
     and assist students in need of English as a Second Language 
     (ESL); be ready to apply first aid and administer medication 
     or diagnostic assistance for students with health needs 
     (school nurse); and, assess and administer help to students 
     who qualify for learning impairment assistance (Special 
     Education for the Learning Impaired, teachers--SPED) or for 
     school-wide enrichment (SWEP, a.k.a. TAG--talented and 
     gifted, teachers).
       While most classroom teachers have some skill in these 
     areas, they are not specialists in these areas--to assume or 
     assert that they are simply will not create the skills. 
     Saying it doesn't make it so--no matter how often it is said.
       Next year DoDDS schools will have fewer specialists, a 
     higher Pupil Teacher Ration (PTR), and fewer options for 
     students, if the cuts now proposed and currently being 
     implemented are allowed to stand. This briefing paper will 
     present statistics on the DoDDS Mediterranean (Med) district 
     and DoDDS-Europe (DoDDS-E) as a whole. We have the necessary 
     documentation on the schools in this district because the 
     Overseas Federation of Teachers is the exclusive bargaining 
     agent for the teachers in these schools. DoDDS Med District 
     represents approximately 1/6 of the enrollment of the odds-E 
     student enrollment. Our proposal, therefore, is based on 
     projecting our data on a 1:6 ratio, so that we can reach a 
     conclusion on what is needed for all of DoDDS-Europe
       We point out that even though the Med district is unique in 
     geographic terms (most of the schools are located on islands 
     and peninsulas), it can still be used a ``bellwether'' for 
     the other schools and DoDDS-E Districts. As the drawdown in 
     northern Europe continues the school distributions in 
     England, the Benelux, and Germany are going to look more and 
     more like those in the Med District in terms of size and 
     isolation by geographic distance.
       What programs do American schools commonly have now? To 
     obtain pertinent information, we looked at a random sampling 
     of three school systems servicing American military 
     dependents in the United States--the Section 6 Schools--which 
     are managed by the Department of Defense Education Activity 
     (DoDEA). DoDEA is also the supervisory activity of the DoDDS 
     schools and is also directed by Dr. Lillian Gonzalez. These 
     schools range in size from 262 students to 768 students. From 
     a telephonic survey conducted on May 16-18, 1995, the 
     information (enrollment data) gleaned is presented on Table 
     2, see Appendix no. 7.
       In the Section 6 Schools surveyed, full services and 
     programs are available to students in the elementary schools. 
     Table 3, Appendix no. 8, shows the comparison of services 
     available to students in schools of various sizes in DoDDS-E 
     and to students in Section 6 Schools. Here it is quite 
     evident that the majority (61.5%) of the DoDDS-E elementary 
     schools do not enjoy the same program benefits as the 
     students attending the Section 6 Schools. This condition is 
     unacceptable.
       DoDDS has attempted to retain some services and/or programs 
     that fall below its staffing criteria by staffing ``half-
     teachers,'' Combining ``halves'' does not benefit any 
     program--it simply assumes that one teacher will do two full 
     jobs in half the time and does not recognize the implied 
     reduction in quality that must result. In the Med District, 
     six full-time librarian positions were cut to half-time 
     positions; three full-time art positions were cut to half-
     time.
       An example of this is the situation at Vicenza Elementary 
     School. This school has an enrollment and projected 
     enrollment of slightly under 50 students in grades 1-6. The 
     total enrollment tops 500 with the inclusion of pre-school 
     and kindergarten but those students are not included when 
     applying the DoDDS staffing standards for most of the DoDDS 
     specialists.
       At Vicenza, the high school media specialist--highly 
     trained in the new computer-run library / media center--is 
     cut for next year to a half-teacher. The elementary art 
     teacher-who runs an outstanding DoDDS art program, recognized 
     this year by the Advisory Council on Dependents Education 
     (ACDE)-is also cut for next year to a half teacher.
       The principals of the high school and elementary school are 
     pooling their work year slots to create a full teacher, who 
     will have to spend half a day in the high school media center 
     and half a day teaching elementary school art classes. Will 
     services be equal to current levels? No. Without a doubt next 
     year both programs will not have the same quality of 
     education that is now provided.
       The National Profile (Table 94), Appendix no. 3. shows for 
     elementary schools in the United States that the majority or 
     53% are in the range of 400+ student enrollment; for the unit 
     schools (K-12) in the United States, the majority or 58% are 
     in the range of 200+ student enrollment; and for high schools 
     in the United States the majority or 53.5% are in the range 
     of 500+ student enrollment.
       The current practice in the United States is to keep 
     elementary schools to a medium size, but to consolidate them 
     if they get too small. For high schools, the standard 
     practice is to consolidate. Consolidation of secondary 
     schools (high schools) allows for larger staff and more 
     electives and advanced course options for students--a depth 
     and breadth of offerings not available in smaller secondary 
     schools.
       The Section 6 Schools generally follow the same stafing 
     pattern as that in the United States. See Appendix No. 7. 
     Table of school enrollments for the sampled Section 6 
     Schools. See below:

                                                     TABLE 3. COMPARISON OF SERVICES/PROGRAMS AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS--SECTION 6 VS. DODDS-E                                                     
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                                                       K-6--Camp Lejeune     1-6--Dodds-E       K-6--Fort Bragg      1-6--Dodds-E     K-6--Fort Campbell     1-6--Dodds-E        1-6--Dodds-E   
               Full services provided                     (aver. 398)       Schools (1-400)       (aver. 496)      Schools (400-499)      (aver. 720)      Schools (500-749)  Schools (over 750)
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Pre-school MNCP.....................................  Yes                 ?                   Yes                 ?                   Yes                 ?                   ?                 
Kindergarten........................................  Yes                 .5/25 kids          Yes                 .5/25 kids          Yes                 .5/25 kids          .5/25 kids        

[[Page S11222]]
                                                                                                                                                                                                
Art.................................................  Yes                 No                  Yes                 No                  Yes                 No                  Yes               
Music...............................................  Yes                 No                  Yes                 No                  Yes                 Yes                 Yes               
Physical Ed. (P.E.).................................  Yes                 No                  Yes                 No                  Yes                 Yes                 Yes               
Guidance counselor..................................  Yes                 No                  Yes                 No                  Yes                 1/600 kids          Yes               
Reading improvement specialist......................  Yes                 No                  Yes                 No                  No                  Yes                 Yes               
Talented and gifted teacher.........................  Yes                 Yes                 Yes                 Yes                 Yes                 Yes                 Yes               
English as a second language........................  No                  1/40 kids           Yes                 1/40 kids           Yes                 1/40 kids           1/40 kids         
                                                                           (weighted)                              (weighted)                              (weighted)          (weighted)       
Compensatory Ed. (Comp. Ed.)........................  Yes                 1/70 kids in        No                  1/70 kids in        No                  1/70 kids in        1/70 kids in      
                                                                           program                                 program                                 program             program          
Librarian...........................................  Yes                 .5/126-348 in 1/    Yes                 Yes                 Yes                 Yes                 Yes               
                                                                           349-999 kids                                                                                                         
School nurse........................................  Yes                 .5/350-499 kids     Yes                 .5/350-498 kids     Yes                 Yes                 Yes               
Special education services (learned impaired, etc.).  Full range          Authorized only in  Full range          Authorized only in  Full range          (\1\)               (\1\)             
                                                       available           weighted numbers    available           weighted numbers    available                                                
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*Refer to Dodds-E MPWR Branch Staffing Standards, SY 95/96 for fuller explanations. Section 6 Schools surveyed: Camp Lejeune, NC; Fort Bragg, NC; Fort Campbell, KY. 61.5% of DODDS-E Schools   
  have under 400 students enrolled. 11% of DODDS-E Schools have between 400-500 students enrolled. 17% of DODDS-E Schools have between 500-800 students enrolled. 10% of DODDS-E Schools have   
  over 800 students enrolled.                                                                                                                                                                   
\1\Authorized only in weighted numbers.                                                                                                                                                         


       Overseas, in DoDDS schools, the opposite occurs. This is 
     shown in Table 1. Type and Size of DoDDS-E Schools, found in 
     Appendix No. 4, Tables 4, 5, and 6 in conjunction with Table 
     1, show that:
       for DoDDS elementary schools, a majority or 61.5% are in 
     the range of under 400 student enrollment; for DoDDS unit 
     schools (K-12), the majority or 58% are in the range of under 
     200 student enrollment; and,
       for DoDDS high schools, the majority or 81% are in the 
     range of under 500 student enrollment.
       In particular, it should be noted that there are NO DoDDS 
     high schools with more than 700 students, while U.S.-wide, 
     over half of all American high schools have MORE than 1000 
     students.
       The explanation for this phenomenon is quite simple. The 
     bulk of the DoDDS-E schools are spread too far apart to allow 
     for the consolidation that occurs in the United States. For 
     example, in Turkey if the DoDDS schools there could be 
     consolidated, it would make staffing easier. The distances of 
     hundreds of miles which separate these schools prevent this. 
     This is the rule in DoDDS, not the exception.
       In effect, stateside schools can be visualized as an 
     inverse pyramid, with the largest schools being the 
     consolidated high schools, the smallest ones being the 
     neighborhood elementary schools. It is clear that the sizes 
     of the elementary schools in the United States are generally 
     considerably larger than those in DoDDS. In the overseas 
     schools however, the pyramid is bottom-heavy, positioned in 
     its normal fashion, with most of the enrollment in elementary 
     schools and a paucity of students in the age groups for upper 
     grades (grades 7-12).
       Overseas schools are often located at distances of 200 to 
     300 miles away from each other with no way to consolidate, 
     which results in decreasing student populations as students 
     move up through the grades.
       If these smaller schools are staffed based purely and 
     strictly upon enrollment requirements set forth in the 
     Staffing Documents found in Appendix no. 1, can they offer 
     the programs that are available in the sampled Section 6 
     Schools? Just because students are required to go to schools 
     with smaller enrollments, is it appropriate that they have 
     fewer educational opportunities than their stateside peers?
       Certainly not. Parents, driven by perception and reality, 
     who are required to bring dependents overseas to schools in 
     these isolated areas will not be satisfied: They will refuse 
     to enroll their children in schools that are not offering at 
     least the same programs that are offered in the United 
     States--in fact, the programs would have to be better to be a 
     real inducement; word will spread that DoDDS is not providing 
     quality education; the Quality of Life available will be 
     degraded; military recruitment will suffer; and, there will 
     be a resistance to overseas assignments.
     

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