Students at Pentagon-operated schools on or near military bases are facing disruptions due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The Department of Defense Education Activity, known as DoDEA, manages prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs for the Pentagon. It said Friday that its schools will remain open for normal instructional operations during the government shutdown.
DoDEA, which operates 161 schools worldwide for over 67,000 students, has paused all extracurricular activities, including sports, theater, and after-school tutoring.
NBC News reported that 17-year-old Dylan McDonald, a senior at Fort Campbell Army base in Kentucky, said the halt may have ended his high school soccer season early, threatening his chances for college recruitment.
“I put countless hours and blood, sweat, and tears into this, and to not be able to finish properly … is truly devastating,” he said.
Cassie Jarzabek, a junior at SHAPE High School in Belgium, said her cross-country practices have been canceled just weeks before championship meets.
“As a military kid, we already have to deal with the pressures of moving every couple years … so this is just another thing added on to the adversity we already have to overcome. It really hurts,” she said.
Parents, including Jennifer McDonald and Crystal Noga, emphasized the personal impact on families, noting that missed games also deny them the chance to support their children in significant moments. Many families are living on their last paycheck while waiting for congressional action, and frustration is widespread over the lack of a targeted solution to continue extracurricular activities.
Football teams at Fort Campbell and Fort Knox high schools were sidelined Friday by the federal government shutdown.
The schools on the historic Army posts remain open for normal instructional activities, but the congressional stalemate has left the students and their families in limbo when it comes to other school-related pursuits. Fort Knox is in central Kentucky while Fort Campbell straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
The shutdown has disrupted sports at other military post high schools, including Camp Lejeune’s high school football team in North Carolina. Camp Lejeune’s host this week, Northside High School, moved up its homecoming game to be played Tuesday, before the shutdown took effect Wednesday.
Mary Hughes, Fort Campbell’s volleyball coach, said her players, who had an 11-2 season, now face uncertainty.
“Life as a military child is hard enough. They deal with so much, and sports is one aspect … that gives them self-esteem, confidence, teamwork. And for that to be taken away … is incredibly unfair,” she said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is getting involved. On Friday, he wrote to War Secretary Pete Hegseth and asked that extracurricular and sports programs be resumed at military-operated schools for the long-term benefit of the young people.
“We should not force the children of our servicemembers to pay the price for Washington’s failure to appropriate funds on time, especially as many of these dependents will choose to serve in uniform themselves after graduation,” The senator posted on X Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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