No, not to Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, where I earned my degree in special education, but right here on Fort Meade, where we have some of the most outstanding schools you'll find anywhere.

I had the honor of being led on my trip by Dr. Kevin Maxwell, superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

For those of you who do not know, the schools of the "Meade cluster" -- Meade High School, and the post's middle and elementary schools that feed into it -- are not Department of Defense schools, but rather come under Anne Arundel County and Dr. Maxwell.

Dr. Maxwell is strongly committed to supporting Fort Meade and its military and civilian families, and graciously agreed to go with me for the tour. I also brought Sarah Bonise, our schools liaison for Fort Meade, who works out of our Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

Sarah has established great relationships with our schools and is my "go-to" staff member on school issues. It was nice to see a member of Team Meade greeted by administrators and teachers as warmly as Sarah was.

I also brought Lt. Col. Ed Barrett, my Headquarters Battalion commander, who I have charged with building better partnerships between our tenant units on Fort Meade and the area schools -- especially our Meade cluster schools.

I have to tell you that what I saw out there really impressed me. My first stop was Meade High School. Meade has the distinction of having two different special programs. It is one of three schools in the county to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program course of instruction, or IB.

As Dr. Maxwell explained, the IB course is set to an international curriculum, with academically challenging international standards. The curriculum is not any different than would be taught in a top-flight school in a European system. It is a very popular program that draws from all over the county.

At Meade, we are very lucky to also have the middle years IB program at MacArthur Middle School and new this year, the primary years IB program at Manor View Elementary School.

Another highlight at Meade High is the Homeland Security Signature program, which features a course of study aimed at preparing students for careers in intelligence, security and emergency preparedness. A team of business and community members volunteer to support this program with strategic planning, resources and field trips.

MacArthur Middle and Meade Middle schools are developing pipeline programming to support this Homeland Security initiative.

While we were at Meade Middle School, Principal Bill Goodman and Beth Shakan, the Adequate Yearly Progress School Performance coach and the school's health and wellness coordinator, were presented with the Anne Arundel County Wellness Schools of Distinction Award, one of only three presented in the county. This award recognizes the school's efforts in helping students be healthy and fit.

Manor View Elementary and I are old friends as I participated in the Read Across America program by reading a book to a third grade class in my pajamas. Mrs. O'Shea gave a tour, which ended in the recently renovated media center completed by Heart of America and Target stores.

The new Pershing Hill Elementary is just as grand as it was at the opening ceremony on Aug. 23, 2011 -- though not as shaky. Mrs. Green and I shared our earthquake memories of that day. We saw children engaged in creating power point stories and visited the Robotics Club.

The newly configured West Meade Early Education Center showed off the classrooms for our youngest children, complete with SMART Boards, rocking chairs and a new playground.

At Meade Heights Elementary School, just outside the gate, Lt. Col. Barrett and Sarah were able to watch young students working with Lego Robotics create soccer kickers and goalies and scoring with a touch of a key on their laptops.

Each school has much to brag about with computer labs, iPads, SMART Boards, Lego Robotics clubs, media centers, Signature Program and wellness initiatives, and especially teams of dedicated leadership in our principals and administrators, along with engaged teachers and school staff.

In all, the schools we visited each has a component to support and mentor students who are struggling to meet educational goals.

In the near future, I will meet with all the principals of the Meade feeder system to further explore our partnership both inside and outside our fence line.

So what can we do to help our students, to help our neighborhood schools? That was the question I asked at each visit.

Can we be part of the mentoring efforts to assist struggling students? Can we provide support for the many service projects each school undertakes each year such as mitten-, coat- and food drives? Can we support the student and staff efforts to redesign school websites? Can we provide tutoring help? Can we share Fort Meade as an extension of each school campus? Can we support the schools with guest speakers, field trips and resources to support STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) initiatives?

Each school principal enthusiastically welcomed my offer to partner. My charge to all of you is to actively participate in your own children's education and extend a hand of service in support of our schools and volunteer. I know you will be welcomed in our schools.