DOD Opportunities

Where can I find information about teaching overseas for the Department of Defense or for American-sponsored schools?

Published: 03/06/19 | Updated: 03/18/19

The Department of Defense operates a school system for the benefit of dependents of U.S. military personnel stationed overseas. Recruitment of teachers for schools at military bases overseas is handled by the Department of Defense Education Activity.

For information on teaching overseas on U.S. military bases: 
Department of Defense Education Activity 
4800 Mark Center Drive 
Alexandria, VA 22350-1400 
Recruitment: (571) 372-0576 
Website: http://www.dodea.edu/home/

The international schools affiliated with the Department of State are independent, nongovernment schools sponsored by Americans or in which American citizens have considerable interest. Since they are not controlled by the U.S. government nor do they operate under any official administrative jurisdictional umbrella, they hire teachers and staff directly, establishing their own qualification standards and application procedures. Salary levels and benefit packages vary from school to school. Many of the American-sponsored schools overseas contract with private organizations in the United States to assist them in the recruitment process. The schools also frequently send representatives to stateside teacher recruiting fairs to locate qualified staff for anticipated vacancies.

Included below is information on some of the organizations that assist in recruiting staff for overseas teaching, as well as addresses of organizations with teacher exchange programs. In addition to communicating with these organizations, you may want to check the schools' websites, as many now list recruiting information and their vacancies. Addresses for schools overseas can be obtained from the fact sheets on individual schools.

Office of Overseas Schools:
U.S. Department of State 
Room H328, SA-1 
Washington, D.C. 20522-0132 
Tel: 202-261-8200
Fax: 202-261-8224
Email: overseasschools@state.gov
Website: http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/index.html

For more details on teaching opportunities overseas:
http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/index.htm
http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/c1684.htm