For the past several years, Air University's K-12 Working Group has worked to improve public education options for military-affiliated children across the River Region. Back in June 2021, in partnership with DoDEA, they launched an expanded enrollment as a pilot program. The application is available at https://www.dodea.edu/americas/southeast/maxwell-afb/pilot-program.
This pilot program is the first of its kind in the continental United States, and it allows parents to send their students to school on base.
To be eligible for the pilot program, students selected to participate in the program must be a dependent of a full-time, active-duty service member with orders to Maxwell Air Force Base or Gunter Annex
By law, DoDEA must prioritize children residing on Maxwell or Gunter before any applications from this pilot program are reviewed. Then, based on space available at the grade level, DoDEA will select applicants for this program. If space is available at the required grade level, priority will be given to students enrolled at MEMS the previous school year; then siblings of enrolled students; and finally, any new pilot applicant. Where two or more students qualify in the same category and grade, the student who submitted the first application will be accepted.
Transportation to and from the school is not provided to children who live off the installation as part of this pilot program, and an application does not automatically guarantee enrollment, so please ensure that your child is enrolled in the local school of your choice as well.
The application for off-base, active duty military dependents is available here and can only be opened on a personal computer or non-NIPR device. A separate application will need to be filled out for each student the family wishes to enroll.
Parents can learn more about Maxwell Elementary Middle School and the pilot program at https://www.dodea.edu/americas/southeast/maxwell-afb/pilot-program
For information on local school programs and how to contact the School Liaison Office, visit https://www.maxwell.af.mil/K-12-Schools/School-Liaison-Office/