Nelson C. Brown American School (formerly Nouasseur American School) History
Opened: 1951
Closed: 1963
Nouasseur American School opened on October 1, 1951, at Nouasseur Air Force Base, a U. S. military installation which was located eighteen miles south of Casablanca, Morocco. Originally, classes were held in a collection of leaky, four-sided, wooden prefabricated buildings called “dallas huts” in a remote corner of the base through the first semester of 1953. In January 1954 the school moved to larger quarters in an area originally built to house Corps of Engineers and Atlas Construction personnel. Dormitory facilities were available for students who came from other nearby cities and bases like Rabat and Sidi Slimane. In June of 1953, eight students participated in the first American high school graduation in Morocco. On May 30, 1956 (graduation day), the school was officially renamed the Nelson C. Brown School in honor of the school officer who was killed that year during the Moroccan revolt for freedom. The school shut its doors in 1963 with the closing of the base and with a graduating class of twenty-seven.
The school mascot was the Hellcats and the school colors were blue and white. The school newspaper was originally Nou Notes and later The Camel Caravan and Nomad. Publications in late 1956 and early 1957 show the newspaper as Safari.
The school building is no longer standing. What was Nouasseur Air Base is now the site of Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport.