FAQs

What is SchoolQuest™?

SchoolQuest is an educational resource tool. Its three primary purposes are to:

• help transitioning families search for appropriate schools in their new home areas,
• provide a safe and secure "Profile" area where student information can be stored, and
• offer research–tested Military Child Education Coalition support to students in transition.

In addition, SchoolQuest includes a Library of timely resources and a blog for sharing ideas.

Who runs SchoolQuest™?

SchoolQuest™ is owned and operated by the Military Child Education Coalition™ (MCEC™). MCEC´s mission is to ensure quality educational experiences for all military children. Our vision is that MCEC will serve as a model of positive leadership and advocacy for ensuring quality educational opportunities for all military children affected by mobility, family separation and transition. To find out more, please visit our web site at www.militarychild.org.

Where does the school information come from?

The school information combines tested and verified data from greatschools.com with MCEC researched information that is pertinent to military students.

What if my new installation or school district isn´t listed?

Almost all schools in the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) are a part of the Great Schools database, so it is unlikely that your school is missing. Please go back to determine if you used an incorrect zipcode, city name or other. Private schools are listed only if they have given permission to Great Schools for listing. If you do find that a particular school or district is not available, please contact the SchoolQuest staff at schoolquest.org. For more contact information, click on the "Contact" tab.

What if I am moving overseas?

Since this site has been developed primarily for the use of military students, overseas schools are limited to the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)schools. If you are moving to an area that is not served by a DoDEA school, you can get information on other international schools from the DoDEA website.

This version of SchoolQuest is very different from the original version. What happened to my old profile?

In the process of updating and expanding the capabilities of SchoolQuest, we have moved to a different concept and look, while maintaining the uniquely military flavor of the site. Parents, students and professionals can still search for schools all over the country (and, to some degree, overseas), and the school database is more comprehensive and complete. Users should find the interface and operation of this site to be much more intuitive and speedy than before. Any data that you stored in the previous site was not able to be transferred, but the family/student Profile area of this new site is much more comprehensive and allows the user to store (very safely) student information that is often lost or scattered over the course of a 12–year academic career that could span as many as nine moves.

How do I find schools to explore?

The Find A School option allows you to find schools and districts within a specified mileage radius from any given:

• city,
• zip code or
• military installation

In addition, you can look for a specific school district (by name) and then look through the listing of all schools.

What is a Profile?

A SchoolQuest Profile is an individual or family´s secure storage space for academic, extra–curricular, volunteer and job experience information. Think of it as a neatly arranged file drawer that maintains all those bits of history that are often impossible to find when it´s time to fill out applications, make a move or find an address. Each family (or individual student, if he/she wishes to create a separate portfolio, independent of the family) creates a username and password that is uniquely theirs. Within the Portfolio, one or many students can be identified and history kept. In addition, the Profile offers each student wonderful advice about curriculum choices, college readiness, etc.

Does SchoolQuest™ give or sell any of my personal information to others?

No. Neither SchoolQuest™ nor MCEC™ uses or sells any personal information gathered on this site. Personal information is secured for you and your family´s use. Summarized, non–identifiable information may be used occasionally for site improvement. Please be assured that all identifying characteristics are removed during the summarization.