POZNAN, Poland — When Eliza Cink learned her family was headed to Camp Kosciuszko, she began searching for something many U.S. military families at established overseas bases take for granted: a school where both her children could learn in English.
But as she researched schools, studied their programs and toured classrooms, it proved harder than expected to find an institution that could prepare her children to eventually return to classrooms in the United States.
“It seems like there’s more than one option,” Cink said. “It’s more complicated than that. You have to be able to have a guaranteed spot. You do not want to play the lottery with your kids’ future there.”
Cink’s dilemma is part of a broader challenge for families assigned to the Army’s newest garrison in Poland. With no Department of Defense schools, parents must navigate international schools, homeschooling and other options, along with questions about admission, transportation and funding.
A child familiarizes herself with letters in a Kindergarten classroom on April 22, 2026. Military parents stationed in Poland are navigating schooling options for their children in the absence of Defense Department schools in the country. (Ethan Swope/AP)
“Our parents have the option of children attending international schools, boarding schools, or providing home study, which could be online schooling or parent instruction homeschooling,” said Ruth Ploeger, a school liaison officer who supports families assigned to U.S. Army Garrison Poland. “There is no option that is best for all children.”
Families must actively research their options, weighing factors such as curriculum, language, commute, extracurricular opportunities and their children’s individual needs.
Whether families choose an international classroom or the kitchen table, selecting a school is only part of the process. They also must consider how that education will be funded.
Eligible dependents at Camp Kosciuszko may participate in DODEA’s Non-DoD Schools Program, which provides educational guidance and financial support while allowing families to choose the option that best meets their child’s needs.
“This support ranges from direct (tuition) payments to schools to consultations on academic support needs that a child may have,” Jessica Tackaberry, a DODEA spokesperson, said via email.
Before a permanent change of station move, Tackaberry recommends families review the NDSP website, contact their school liaison officer and consult an education specialist if their child has specific academic needs.
While every family begins with the same question of where their children will go to school, their answers often look different.
Ploeger, who is based in Wiesbaden, Germany, said her first conversations with parents typically begin by identifying their children’s particular needs and answering questions families may not know to ask.
Families accustomed to established overseas garrisons may need to “temper their expectations somewhat,” Ploeger said. Admission to international schools is not guaranteed, and the schools aren’t required to comply with the federal law governing special education services in U.S. public schools.
For Cink, the uncertainty surrounding admission became the central challenge.
The Cink family had already spent the previous year in Elk, Poland, where Cink’s husband served on an unaccompanied assignment.
Having immigrated from Poland to the United States as a child, Cink holds dual U.S.-Polish citizenship, giving her an opportunity many incoming families may not have: the chance to visit schools in person before deciding.
The family toured three schools in the area offering some form of English-language instruction.
First, they visited a Montessori school, then the International School of Poznan, where Cink found much of what she was looking for: strong academics, extracurricular activities and modern facilities.
But admission presented a problem.
Cink’s son, who is entering kindergarten, completed the school’s admissions process and was guaranteed a spot. Her daughter needed a third-grade opening, and the family didn’t know whether one would become available.
Waiting for an answer wasn’t simply a question of where the children would attend school. Where they enrolled would also help determine where in Poznan the family would live.
“If I lived near base, getting to that school would be an hour and a half by public transportation,” Cink said. “I really didn’t want the kids to go to two schools on opposite sides of the city. Having them at the same school was important to me.”
The search ultimately led the family to the Poznan British International School, where both children could receive English-language instruction and, importantly, were admitted.
“At the end of the day, we really had one option that could guarantee placement and that had English education that I thought would prepare my kids for coming back to the U.S.,” she said.
Having made that decision, the family then chose a home farther from Camp Kosciuszko but close enough to the children’s school that they can bike there in about 15 minutes.
But some families arriving in Poland don’t want to deal with the constraints of a fixed classroom or school schedule.
For Jessica Flagg’s family, changing duty stations has never meant changing classrooms. She and her husband have homeschooled their three children since the family was stationed in South Korea from 2014 to 2016.
What began as a practical decision when the children were preschoolers has since become a source of “stability and continuity” throughout their military moves, she said.
“How, when and where their school year takes place has never been a source of stress for them,” Flagg said.
Not being tied to the school calendar also lets the family explore and travel freely while living in Europe and allows Flagg to tailor the curriculum to each child’s interests and progress.
So, when the family learned it was moving to Poland, enrolling their children — now 12, 14 and 15 — in a local or international school was never under consideration.
But homeschooling in Poland also presents challenges. In the United States, the children participated in homeschool cooperatives, sports, church and community programs. Flagg said the lack of similar co-op opportunities is currently her biggest concern.
But for Flagg, one benefit outweighs what the family gives up by operating outside a traditional school.
“Homeschooling has offered us the one thing that every other educational system cannot: free time with their father,” she said. “We are able to vacation and enjoy family life together as my husband’s schedule allows. No amount of traditional school could ever entice us to sacrifice that.”
Families may receive an education allowance through the DODEA Non-DOD Schools Program for curriculum and instructional materials, but Tackaberry said they generally cannot receive funding until they arrive at their overseas duty station.
For families like the Cinks, the program provides tuition support in the form of a direct payment to the school.
“We did all this work in the beginning and now it’s done,” Cink said. “It’s off our minds. The kids just get to go to school.”
Attending the school still comes with costs. Cink said the family is responsible for expenses such as uniforms and extracurricular activities.
While the Cink and Flagg families ultimately chose very different classrooms for their children, both mothers see living in Poland itself as part of their education.
Cink encouraged incoming parents to “embrace Polish living,” whether that means children biking to school or families using their time overseas to explore the country’s museums, history and culture.
Flagg plans to do much the same from her family’s homeschool, turning trips around Poland into a living classroom.
The family recently began learning Polish together and practices basic greetings and phrases during visits to local shops. They plan to visit historical and cultural sites throughout Poland, turning some of those experiences into research projects and writing assignments.
“Their success will be rooted in the adventure and embracing the cultural experience,” Flagg said of her children’s education.
The fact that what works for one family may not work for the next is at the heart of helping parents navigate their options, Ploeger said.
“Parents are really the experts on their own children,” she said. “The more accurate information you provide them, the better equipped parents are to make the choice that will work best for their child.”