THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 87 Returning to U.S. Schools A Guide to Transcripts and Smooth Transitions Rebecca McPherson has been a Foreign Service family member for 10 years, serving both overseas and domestically. She joined the Global Community Liaison Office in January 2020, first as the support services specialist and, in September 2021, as the education and youth program specialist. Prior to that, she was a biometrics facilitator in Manila and a community liaison office coordinator in Lusaka. She is currently on a domestic employees teleworking overseas (DETO) assignment while posted to Angola. Transitions are familiar territory for Foreign Service families: packing up household items, attending farewell gatherings, and preparing for new assignments. These transitions come with a range of challenges such as choosing the right school for your children or trying to register without a permanent address. One major concern can be aligning international school transcripts with the requirements of a U.S. public school, particularly for high school students. The Global Community Liaison Office (GCLO) education and youth team understands the importance of facilitating a smooth academic transition and the complexities of placing students in the appropriate courses and grade levels upon their return to the United States. The team took the opportunity to talk with administrators in Northern Virginia school districts as well as international guidance counselor Ryan Haynes and Regional Education Officer (REO) Andrew Hoover in the Office of Overseas Schools to provide guidance and tips to maneuver the transcript and transfer process successfully. Understanding Transcripts Academic transcripts serve as the official record of a student’s academic journey and include course titles, Here’s what’s involved in aligning international school transcripts with the requirements of a U.S. public school. BY REBECCA MCPHERSON grades, credits earned, verification of course completion, standardized test scores, cumulative grade point average (GPA), and honors and award distinctions. They provide a chronological academic history of a student. “It is important to note that transcripts don’t necessarily tell the whole story of a student,” notes Katie Server, family partnerships specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools. Server recommends that students share additional information that can help a school understand the larger picture of who they are as a student, such as asking teachers to write recommendation letters and providing details of extracurricular interests. Creating a portfolio of the topics covered during a semester shows what was covered beyond the test scores; even submitting a sample of completed work can be helpful. Being proactive by collecting and providing this information even before the international school sends the official EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT
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