Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), which provide each school with an independent evaluation. Schools submit annual reports of data, and every five years they host an on-site validation visit led by education experts from the United States. Following the on-site visits, the experts send a report that includes recommendations for improvements to each of the schools visited. DoDEA conducts internal monitoring of educational programs to ensure high-quality implementation of new programs and overall effectiveness of existing programs. Monitoring activities may include, but are not limited to the following activities: surveys, interviews, focus groups, classroom observations and the analysis of achievement and training data. Currently 100% of DoDEA schools are accredited and in good standing. Operations In 2008 the U.S. Congress published a study stating that decreased military budgets resulted in 70% of the DoDEA schools having campuses in less than ideal physical condition, with their conditions specifically noted as either "poor" or "failing". A 2015 editorial of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune noted that schools in the DoDEA, were well funded, partly due to post-September 11 attacks security concerns and partly because of the size of the DOD itself, as well as the leadership of Robert Gates, who served as the Secretary of Defense. The Star-Tribune contrasted this with the lesser-funded Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) network, also federal and serving Native American students. Academic achievement In 2001 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote "The academic achievement of DOD students, as measured by their performance on standardized tests and their plans for enrolling in college, generally exceeds that of elementary and secondary students nationwide. On college admission tests, DOD students score at or near national averages." DoDEA Americas Region Headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area, DoDEA Americas is divided into 2 school districts (Americas Mid-Atlantic and Americas Southeast) and operates 51 schools at 16 military communities on the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. As of May 2019, it educates approximately 22,000 students of U.S. military and eligible DoD civilian personnel families. DoDEA Americas' Mid-Atlantic District Camp Lejeune, NC Bitz IS Brewster MS Heroes ES Johnson PS Lejeune HS Tarawa Terrace ES (note DeLalio ES is at MCAS New River) Fort Bragg, NC Albritton MS Bowley ES Devers ES Gary Ivan Gordon ES - In the Linden Oaks area Hampton PS Irwin IS Poole ES Randall David Shughart ES - In Linden Oaks Shughart MS