Schools & Education
School Liaison Specialists - McGuire 
Military and Family Support Center
3435 Broidy Road
McGuire AFB, NJ 08641
Phone 609-754-2820/3880
Phone (DSN) 312-650-2820/3880
Mon - Fri 7:45 am - 4:30 pm
Sat and Sun - closed
Holidays - Closed
Education
Public Schools
There are no DODDS schools on Joint Base McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst. School age children living on McGuire and Dix housing attend North Hanover, Northern Burlington Regional and Pemberton Township school districts. While school age children living on Lakehurst attend Lakehurst and Manchester Regional school Districts.
General Registration Requirements
- Birth certificate of child
- Social Security card, if available
- Proof of residency (rental lease, real estate contract, mortgage agreement or deed)
- Immunization records
- Physical exam
Bus Service
Free school bus transportation is provided to all students. For more information about bus routes and bus stops please call your school district’s transportation office. See below:
- Pemberton Township Schools -- 609-893-1963
- North Hanover Township Schools -- 609-738-2600
- Northern Burlington County Regional School District -- 609-298-3900
- Lakehurst School District -- 732-657-5741
- Manchester Township School District -- 732-350-5900
Meals
Every school in the state of New Jersey serves lunch to students. Most schools also offer a breakfast program. Prices vary and many low income students qualify for a free or reduced price meal. For more information, call your district’s food service office.
School of Choice
New families living on the McGuire-Dix housing are able to choose the school district they would like their children to attend. The school choice includes Pemberton Township, North Hanover and Northern Burlington school districts.
Pemberton Township School District
The Pemberton school district is comprised of several schools. The Fort Dix Elementary School houses pre-k (4 year old) through 5th programs. There are 6 elementary schools in the Pemberton Township housing Kindergarten through 5th grades. There is a middle school complex for 6th grade through 8th grade. There is one high school housing 9thgrade through 12th grade.
Registration
The Central Registration office, 20 Egbert Street, Pemberton, NJ 08068 is located at the Brotherhood Elementary School in Pemberton Borough. The office is open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information, call 609-893-8141.
Pre-School Programs
Pemberton Township School District provides FREE preschool programs for children ages three to five. Once the program is full, children are place on a waiting list for next available slot.
Before/After School Program
The Pemberton Township Board of Education sponsors a School Age Child Care Program for children who attend grades pre-first through sixth. The program is available during an AM session beginning at 6:30 am in the morning and a PM session after school until 6 pm. A variety of activities are offered. The minimum requirement is two days per week. If you wish before/after school program, especially for pre-school children, please contact central registration as soon as possible – the program fills up quickly then there is a space available list.
Gifted and Talented Program
The school system has a gifted and talented program as well as special needs program. Gifted students attend enrichment classes, where they work closely with teachers to enhance their special skills. The same is true for special needs students, who receive education in the least restrictive environment and get extra help through resource centers. Children go to the resource centers as many periods a day as needed depending on their individual needs. Teachers work on communications skills, math skills, and a variety of other areas. The philosophy behind the program is to help the children succeed in a non-threatening environment.
Special Education
Special education students are registered at the Central Registration Office with the same registration requirements listed above. The registration office will assign a case manager who will meet the parent and arrange the student's class placement and transportation to/from school.
Extra Curricular Activities
Students attending Helen A. Fort Middle/Newcomb School and Pemberton Township High School are offered many after school activities. Late buses provide transportation to all students participating in these activities.
The North Hanover school district is comprised of 4 schools. The Discovery School houses pre-k (4 year old) and Kindergarten programs, Atlantis School houses the 1st and 2ndgrades, CB Lamb houses the 1st grade through 4th grade, and UES (Upper Elementary School) houses the 5th and 6th grades.
Registration
The North Hanover’s Superintendents office is located at 331 Monmouth Road, Wrightstown, NJ 08562. Hours are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday thru Friday. For information call 609-738-2600 or visit their website.
Pre-School Programs
The goal of our Early Childhood program is to provide your children with a stimulating environment that promotes social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth. In order to achieve this goal, it is essential for parents and teachers to work together in collaborative efforts. Both the Young Kindergarten and Kindergarten Curricula recognize children as active learners, eager and curious scholars filled with a spontaneous interest in learning, creating and experimenting. The 4 year old program is either morning or afternoon. There is no full day program at North Hanover.
Before/After School Program
North Hanover uses a program titled Learning Step for their aftercare program. There is a school staff member available at 7:30am for any early drop offs. This is located in the CB Lamb School only and children are bused to the CB Lamb School from the other schools for this program. Please contact the CB Lamb School for registration and details at 609-738-2630.
Gifted and Talented Program
An academic gifted and talented program is offered to fourth through sixth grade students who meet established criteria. These students, who have a high overall intellectual ability, are provided with activities designed to increase their critical and creative thinking skills. They are given work that develops their curiosity, imagination, willingness to take risks and tolerance to complexity. There is a close monitoring of students in the program between the classroom teacher and the gifted and talented teacher. A gifted and talented program is also offered in the areas of art and music.
Special Education Classes
Individualized and small group instruction is provided for the special needs students in classes staffed by specially trained teachers. Their training enables these teachers to work with students' specific learning disabilities and/or emotional problems which are interfering with the acquisition of academic skills and their successful reintegration into the regular classroom program.
Northern Burlington Regional School District
The Northern Burlington County Regional School District is comprised of a middle school (7 & 8 grades) and a high school (9 – 12 grades).
Registration
In an effort to ensure a smooth registration process and the availability of a counselor, registration for new incoming students is done by appointment. To schedule an appointment, please call the registrar, at 609-298-3900 extension 4020. You willl be sent a registration packet or one can be downloaded.
Special Education
The Special Services Department is comprised of 6 Child Study Team members, 1 Speech/Language Therapist, 1 Behavioral Therapist, 2 Related Services personnel, 14 High School Special Education teachers, 11 Middle School Special Education teachers and 15 Instructional Assistants. The Special Services Department is committed to providing individual educational programs and support services to students whose unique needs extend beyond regular education programming.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Many high school activities begin at 2:30 p.m. and end at 5:30 p.m. In some cases activity will only meet for one fifty (50) minute period (2:30 ? 3:20) and it will be necessary for you to have an activity bus pass. Students needing to utilize the bus opportunities at 5:30 p.m. will need to secure an activity pass as well. These passes will be distributed to you by your activity sponsor or coach. Parents and students should make arrangements for the student to get home from any activity. Students must be picked up within fifteen minutes after the conclusion of the activity. Any student who is not picked up within this time frame may be excluded from future activities.
The Lakehurst school district is comprised of the Lakehurst Elementary school housing Pre-school through 8th grade. All grades are in the same facility. This school system services those living on the Lakehurst side of Joint Base MDL and the Lakehurst community. Lakehurst is a walking district. Those that live on the base, bus transportation is available.
Before/After School Program
Students attending Lakehurst Elementary School may enroll in the School Age Child Care Program, located on Lakehurst Navy Base, for children who attend grades pre-first through eighth grade. The program is available during an AM session beginning at 6:45 a.m. in the morning and a PM session after school until 5:30 p.m. Transportation is provided to the school. A variety of activities are offered. If you wish before/after school program, especially for pre-school children, please contact central registration as soon as possible - the program fills up quickly then there is a space available list. Please call 732-323-4043 for more information.
Gifted and Talented Program
The school system has a gifted and talented program as well as special needs program. Gifted students attend enrichment classes, where they work closely with teachers to enhance their special skills. The same is true for special needs students, who receive education in the least restrictive environment and get extra help through resource centers. Children go to the resource centers as many periods a day as needed depending on their individual needs. Teachers work on communications skills, math skills, and a variety of other areas. The philosophy behind the program is to help the children succeed in a non-threatening environment.
Special Education
Special education students are registered at the Central Registration Office with the same registration requirements listed above. The registration office will assign the Child Study team who will meet the parent and arrange the student's class placement and transportation to/from school.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Lakehurst Elementary has a variety of sports and extra-curricular activities. Please contact the school for a current list.
Registration
You may reach the Lakehurst School District through their website or by calling 732-657-5741.
Student Teacher Ratio
The Lakehurst Elementary School District student to teacher ratio is 6:1 and the state average is 11:1.
Lakehurst Grading System
A = 90 - 100
B = 80 -89
C = 70 - 79
D = 60 - 69
F = 00 - 59
Manchester Township School District
The Manchester Township School District is a Kindergarten through 12th grade district. There are various schools that service the Manchester area for kindergarten through 8th grade. If military live in these communities they will attend the schools in their local districts. These are the Ridgeway Elementary which houses pre-K through 5th grade, Whiting Elementary School which houses pre-K through 5th grade, Manchester Township Elementary School which houses Kindergarten through 5th grade. These schools feed into the Manchester Township Middle School for 6th grade and 7th grade. The Manchester high school, 9th grade through 12th grade also houses our Lakehurst 8th grade graduates.
Registration
You may reach the Manchester Township School district through their website or by calling 732-350-5900.
Student Teacher Ratio
The information listed below is the 2009-2010 school year student to teacher ratio for school districts attached to the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
| Student Ratio | State Average Ratio | |
| School District – North Hanover | ||
| Upper Elementary School | 6.8 | 10.6 |
| Discovery | 14.3 | 10.6 |
| CB Lamb | 6.4 | 10.6 |
| Atlantis | 7.5 | 10.7 |
| School District – Northern Burlington | ||
| Middle School | 11.1 | 10.6 |
| High School | 9.7 | 10.8 |
| School District – Pemberton | ||
| Crighton | 9.8 | 10.6 |
| Denbo | 10.6 | 10.6 |
| Ft. Dix Elementary | 9.7 | 10.6 |
| Harker Wylie | 9.1 | 10.6 |
| Helen Fort Middle School | 7.4 | 10.6 |
| Emmons | 8.9 | 10.6 |
| Haines | 6.9 | 10.6 |
| Stackhouse | 8.8 | 10.6 |
| Newcomb Middle School | 9.5 | 10.6 |
| High School | 7.9 | 10.8 |
| Busansky | 7.4 | 10.6 |
|
North Hanover/Northern BurlingtonGrading System |
Pemberton Grading system |
| A = 90-100 | A = 92-100 |
| B = 80-89 | B = 83-91 |
| C = 70-79 | C = 74-82 |
| D = 60-69 | D = 65-73 |
| F = 0-64 | F = below 64 |
Private Schools
There are 68 private schools within a 20 - 40 minute drive of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst; to include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Christian, Quaker (Friends) Lutheran, 7-Day Adventist, etc. There are 35 Elementary Schools, 25 Middle Schools and 8 High Schools. All schools are accredited by the State of New Jersey. Contact the School Liaison Officer for a list of these schools 609-562-6271 or 609-562-3160.
Alternative Education
The General Education Development (GED) program is designed for persons who were once enrolled in school, but for various reasons, did not complete the requirements for high school graduation. Please call Burlington County College at 609-877-4520 X 3000 for additional information.
Home Schooling in New Jersey
Parents/Guardians are not required by law to notify their public school district of their intention to educate the child elsewhere than at school. For further information on home schooling please call the SLO at 609-754-3154.
Challenge Youth Program
New Jersey National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy is located at building 5910 W, 16 Street, Fort Dix, NJ 08640-5004.
The mission of this program is to provide quality leadership and education by improving the life skills, commitment and enhancement of the employment and career potential of New Jersey youth.
It is a five month residential program located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for youth who are high school dropouts 16 to 18 years of age. Housed in a military atmosphere, the program offers the following services: GED preparation and testing, career development, job training, health education, community service, citizenship, leadership, and physical fitness training.
At the end of the year, youths are assigned a mentor from their community for one year. For more information call 1-800-997-5587 or 609-562-0580.
Adult Education
The installation houses over five colleges on base designed to support our military and civilian community. Each college offers accelerated degree programs daily and on weekends. The Education Center provides academic advisement and counseling to students. Tuition assistance is available for eligible students. Some financial assistance may me sponsored by various installation clubs and organizations. Contact the Education Office upon arrival for more detailed educational assistance on base and within the community.
McGuire Education Services Program provides extensive counseling and off-duty education programs. All major testing programs, non-resident PME, AFIT supplements, and standard AF education services and programs are available. Testing is available for the following: Typing, ACT, SAT, AFRAT, CLEP and DANTES. TESTING HOURS are Monday and Tuesday, at 9:30a.m., or Wednesday and Thursday, at 12:30 p.m. There is NO TESTING on Fridays. Please contact the Education for information on times, fees and procedures.
McGuire AFB is located within commuting distance of many 2-year, 4-year colleges and universities, and, many vocational, technical, and trade schools.
Homes Near Base
