Fort Story, VA Installation Guide

Fort Story is 1,451 acres of sandy trails, cypress swamps, grassy dunes and soft and hard sand beaches. Our beaches are wide, gently sloped and washed by the waters of the Chesapeake Bay on one side and get pounded by the surf of the Atlantic Ocean on the other. It is the Army's only training base for logistics-over-the-shore operations. It is the site of three historical landmarks; the Cape Henry Lighthouse built by the Federal Government in 1791; the First Landing Cross which memorializes the landing of English settlers in 1607 before they proceeded to Jamestown; and the Admiral de Grasse statue honoring the French Fleet which prevented the British from reaching Yorktown during our War for Independence. (It's one of the Army's best kept secrets!)

The Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard all have units on Fort Story and call it home.

Fort Story is a sub-installation of Fort Eustis, Virginia. Fort Eustis is located about 50 miles away. All persons assigned to Fort Story must first process in at Fort Eustis. There is no guarantee that your assignment will be Fort Story. When you inprocess in at Fort Eustis, your assignment may change. The Military Personnel Office will assign you based on the needs of the command at that time. You may be assigned to Fort Eustis or Fort Story. Military Personnel Office: Fort Eustis - BLDG 670, (757) 878-2125 Fort Story - BLDG 300, (757) 422-7101.

Students attending the Army Transportation School at Fort Eustis and the School of Music at Little Creek are not authorized to bring their dependents. Dependents may join you after you have completed your training and are assigned to a permanent duty station.

If you are married and intend to bring your family to this area with you, it would be best for them to stay with other family members or some other safe place until you have come here, processed in, and found a place to live. This is a high cost area and no temporary quarters are available. Also, if your orders assign you to either Fort Eustis or Fort Story and you get off-post housing at either location and your assignment is changed when you process in, it will create a hardship for you because of the 50 miles commuting distance. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO CONTACT THE HOUSING OFFICE ON-POST BEFORE YOU RENT OFF-POST HOUSING. Housing offices: Fort Eustis - BLDG 601, (757) 878-5683, Fort Story - BLDG 727, (757) 422-7321.

SCHOOL INFORMATION:
Virginia Beach City Public Schools
2512 George Mason Drive, P.O. Box 6038
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23456-0038
Telephone (757)263-1949
For more information the web link is available in the Education Overview.
The half-day kindergarten operates in moring or afternoon sessions. Childern must reach their fifth birthday on or before September 30 to be enrolled. The program is child-centered and activity-oriented, incorporating instructional experiences suitable for each child's maturity and readiness to learn. If you are enrolling your child into Virginia Beach Public schools for the first time, call (757)263-1949 for more information.

Parents should bring the following information to the school the child will be attending: child's social security card, a certified birth certificate, a physical examination for entry into elementary school (not required for secondary school), an updated, current immunization record for entry at all levels; a report card or transfer form from school of last attendance, if appropriate; proof of residence/address and two emergency contact numbers. Further information on immunizations is available from each school or from the Office of Student Health Services/School Nurses at (757)437-7578.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools calendar for 2004-2005:
School Starts...07 Sept 04
Winter Break....24 Dec 04 - 31 Dec 04
Spring Break....28 Mar 05 - 01 Apr 05
School Ends.....16 June 05

Before/After School Programs: The Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation offers before and after school care for elementary and middle school students. Kid Quest and Middle School Mania are well organized, fun filled and offer a variety of satisfying recreational opportunities for the youth. Each before/after school program is a licensed child day care center held at various elementary and middle schools through out the Virginia Beach school district. Registration is conducted on a first come first serve basis. Parents may call the Community Recreation Services office at (757) 471-5884 to inquire about available space.

Graduation requirements:
Students must earn the required number of units of credit in effect when that student first entered the ninth grade. There are two types of units of credit that a student may earn: * Successfully completing 22 credits of instruction and passing the course * A verified unit of credit is earned by passing a course and its related Standards of Learning (SOL) test or approved substitute test.

In the Standard Program; a minimum of six (6) of the 22 credits must be verified credits in specified areas. Students in the Advanced Studies Program must take a foreign language and the higher levels of science and mathematics. Elective options are also provided in both programs to allow students to prepare them for career and further education. the Modified Standard Diploma is intended for certain students at the secondary level who have a disability and are unlikely to meet the credit requirements for a Standard Diploma. The student must earn 20 units of credit and pass the literacy and mathmatical competency assessments to be concidered for a Modified Standard Diploma.

Special Education/Exceptional Family Member (EFM):
Special education services support instructional programs for students with disabilities in the division. It is the goal of specail education to ensure that each student with a disability has the opportunity to aquire the knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with his/her potential to achieve. The term "disability" includes autism, mental retardation, hearing impairment and deafness, developmental delay, speech and language impairment, emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, deaf and blindness, multiple disabilities, severe and profound disability, specific learning disability, visual impairment and trumatic brain injury. Children indentified as having any of these disabilities may be eligible to receive special education and related services tailored to their needs through an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Information on schools with Special Education/Exceptional Family Member programs:

* Virginia Beach City Public School Dept of Special Education
P.O. Box 6038
Virginia Beach VA 23456
(757)437-4842

* Chesapeake Department of Special Education
2107 W. Liberty St.
Chesapeake VA 23324
(757)494-7600

* Portsmouth Department of Special Education
3651 Hartford Street
Portsmouth VA 23439
(757)393-8658

* Suffolk Department of Special Education
PO Box 1549
Suffolk VA 23439
(757)925-5500

For further information please call Army Community Service at (757)422-7311.