Bahrain ES/HS (formerly Bahrain International School) History
Opened: 1968
Closed: 2011
Bahrain School began in Awali, Bahrain, in August 1968, as the Bahrain American Elementary School, a Department of Defense School, with a staff of one teaching principal and three teachers. The original school had forty students in grades one through eight. By 1970, the school began accepting English-speaking Bahraini students and non–Department of Defense sponsored students. The addition of these students brought rapid growth and by January 1972, the enrollment was approximately 200 elementary students and secondary students who took correspondence courses. In January 1972, due to the expectation of further expansion, the school was moved from Awali to a twenty-four-acre campus in Juffair. The Bahrain School was established as a K-12 school in September 1972. By the 1976-77 school year, the school had students from twenty-nine nationalities. The dormitory had both five-day and seven-day students. Beginning the 1977-78 school year, the school’s name was the Bahrain School. For the 1979-80 school year, there were 680 students enrolled with over half of the students in grades seven through twelve. (In most DoDDS schools there were more students in the elementary grades.)
The school provided education primarily to citizens of the children of the United States Navy stationed in Bahrain, but historically, about half of the student body has been from local enrollment, usually dependents of diplomatic personnel and American businesses and military contractors as well as dependents of Bahraini citizens.
Bahrain School was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, which enabled it to offer an American diploma. The College Board authorized Bahrain School to offer Advanced Placement courses such as Calculus AB, Microeconomics, chemistry, physics, and Spanish. On March 1, 1982, the school became the first in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the second in the Middle East to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma under the accreditation of the International Baccalaureate Organization.
The Bahrain School had several organizations that assisted the leadership of the school and coordinate the school’s operations. These included the Parent Teacher Student Association, the School Advisory Board, and the Bahrain International School Association (BISA). BISA was officially formed under the laws of the Kingdom of Bahrain on February 2, 1978 and assumed the responsibility for the Bahrain International School and its operations. Previously, the Bahrain School Trust had the responsibility for the joint coordination of the school with DoDDS. The objectives of BISA are educational and charitable.
In the 1990 yearbook, the first K–12 principal, Dr. Frithjof (Rod) Wannebo, who was the principal for over eighteen years, wrote:
During the past eighteen years through the hard work and dedication of educators, students, parents and community leaders, this institution has put into place numerous educational programs to meet the needs of its varied clientele. Some of these programs include - the American Curriculum, the British Curriculum, the Arabic as a 1st language program and the International Baccalaureate program.
Throughout these years students of many nationalities have found academic and extra curricular experiences to challenge them and to prepare them for their future wherever that may have taken them. Most of our students have been academically prepared to go on to institutions of higher learning.
The Bahrain School has been fortunate to have had throughout the last eighteen years outstanding educators to guide and encourage young people in their quest for learning. Because of its strong student body and faculty the Bahrain School enjoys an excellent reputation as an outstanding educational institution.
Bahrain School won the U. S. Department of Education Award of “Excellence in Education” in the 1984-85 school year.
Other school administrators in the seventies and eighties included deputy/assistant principals Dick Skinner, Lowell Kraft, Jim O’Neil, Sally DeJarnatt, Debbie Keitz, Jack Peterson, John Bunch, Carl Hacker, Charles Callahan, Joe Davis, Joan Porter, and Nancy Dulin. British Curriculum Heads included Phillipa Ellis, Mary Jackson and Edwin Goodwin.
From the beginning of the high school, American and international diplomas were offered. The school had an American administrative team that included an individual in charge of the British Curriculum.
The school colors were purple and gold, and the mascot was the Falcons. The original yearbook was Al-Kitab and was later named Dilman.
The school’s sports program was different from most DoD schools due to the school’s location. Most sports were played against other schools in the Islands League or as an intramural program. The unique sports at the school included sailing and scuba. In the early seventies, there was an eight-man football team as well as a school soccer team. By the late seventies, the school had four varsity tennis teams that competed with twenty-four teams on the island of Bahrain. Other sports at the school included netball, basketball, wrestling, softball, and baseball.
Extracurricular activities at the school in the seventies included National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, science club, Project Bold, a saltwater activities club, and gourmet club. The elementary students had an intermural sports program that included kickball and basketball. From its beginnings the school had a robust fine arts program that included band, chorus, art, and drama.
The school began a house system to provide a variety of activities and opportunities for students in grades seven through twelve. The original four houses were Catfish, Saluki, Cougar, and Panther. The house system continued to develop and according to the 1988 yearbook:
The house system consists of four houses, imaginatively titled Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green. Each house is divided into two parts. The Junior House consists of Middle Levels I, II and III. The Senior House consists of Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12, and Forums IV and V. Every secondary student and staff member (educator, counselor, and administrator) is assigned to a house.
During the school year 1983-84, the Senior Senate developed a constitution which explains the organization and function of the Senate, The Activity Councils, the officers duties, and the means of election. However, the Junior Senate has not adopted a constitution. The constitution lists the four goals of the House system: to unite the students and the faculty and create a sense of belonging, to foster individual leadership among students, to resolve student apathy and disinterest, and to offer a wider variety of activities to appeal to as many people as possible.
Houses generally meet once a month as a whole house from 9:15am to break time, although the houses are free to call other special meetings when necessary. At the meetings, general house business is conducted and coming events are organized.
The Student Council provides students at the Bahrain School with many leadership opportunities. The Executive Board consists of five elected officers: senate president, senate vice-president, senate secretary, activities vice-president, and activities secretary. In addition, three senate representatives and a House Leader & Deputy are chosen from each house. These students join the Senate Board members to provide input to the administration on matters of student concern. They assist in the dissemination of information back to the student body and provide student representative on the PTSA Board and the Local School Advisory Council. Three activities representatives are also selected from each house. They form the Activities Council with the Senate President and The Activities Board members. This body coordinates the student activities calendar, evaluates existing activities, and makes recommendations on new activities to be considered for the coming school year.
In the 1980s, Bahrain School offered the British, American, and an integrated curriculum. The school began publication of its first literary magazine, Orient Express, during the 1980-81 school year. Additions to the fine arts programs included the Fancy Dancers and a guitar club. The first marching band and the intermediate band were started for the 1981-82 school year. The school began presenting a yearly musical. The sports program now included cricket, soccer, mud football, squash, tennis, basketball, beach volleyball, swimming bowling, and track and field. New extracurricular clubs included chess, computers, lifesaving, weightlifting, and aerobics. The 1987 yearbook stated that the first school newspaper, Bahrain Currents had seven issues. (The 1974 yearbook had pictures of the staff of a school newspaper called Potpourri Post.) During the eighties, the junior high and elementary students had their own newspapers, Jazzmasters Jrs and Newsmania respectively.
The school’s enrollment was over 950 students for the 1983-84 school year and down to approximately 650 by the end of the decade. The sixth grade was added to the high school for the 1986-87 school year, and the school now included a middle/high and elementary configuration. In addition to a middle school program, the school also started a primary center for grades one through three during the 1995-96 school year.
Mr. Gilbert Fernandes became the school’s principal in the early nineties, followed by Carl Albrecht for the 1993-94 school year and Sandy Daniels for the 1999-2001 year. Deputy/Assistant Principals during this decade included Kathy Cummings, Gary Gerstner, Kathryn Forystek, Jennifer Halley, Susan Pope, and Bob Schoff. Geoff Darlison, ’92, and Trevor Burt, ’99, served as the British curriculum administrators. The school’s enrollment increased to almost 950 students for the 1995-96 school year and then declined to approximately 830 students by the last year of the decade.
A new school wing, Hepburn Hall, was opened for the 1994-95 school year. The wing was named after the longtime president of the Bahrain International School Association. A new gym was opened for the 1995-96 school year. Tony Guico, a student, painted the mural for the new gymnasium.
New extracurricular activities included Future Business Leaders of America, an engineering club, an ecology club, Young Scientists club (elementary), and Future Scientists club for high school. The fine arts program added a Stage Band that included community members. High school students participated in DoDDS district and regional programs such as Math Counts, Brain Bowl, Odyssey of the Mind, and Model United Nations. A Little League Baseball program that was sponsored by the American Women’s Association was held at the school. Another new activity for the high school was Trade Quest. This was a pilot program for trading stocks. For the 1998-99 school year, the school produced its first Arabic publication for students.
Sandy Daniels was recognized as the 2001 Principal of the Year.
For the 2000-01 school year, Bahrain sports had their first cheerleading squad.
The administrators for the 2000s included principals Sandy Daniels, Dr. Jennifer Beckwith, Alice Berard, and Gail Anderson and assistant principals Susan Pope, Jay Gibbs, Laura Bleck, and Dr. Eldridge Groomes.
The Navy dependent population declined in July 2004 when dependents were sent home due to security concerns. As a result, the enrollment in the high school fell to between 300 and 350 students from 2005 to 2009. In July 2009, the Navy dependents were again authorized to return to Bahrain and the student enrollment for the 2009-10 school year was 525 students. The next year, 2010-11, the enrollment increased so much that new teachers were still being hired as late as the second semester.
Even with the decrease in enrollment, several new programs were added and most Fine Arts programs were maintained. Advancement Via Individual Determination or AVID was added for the 2002-03 school year and a Forensics (Speech, Drama, and Debate) Group was started in 2006-07. During the 2008-09 school year, the Bahrain sports teams who now competed in European Championships won several tournaments. The girls’ basketball team took first place in the DoDDS European Championships, and the boys team placed third. The tennis team took second place in the Division III European Tennis Championships and the girls’ basketball team earned first place in the Island League and first place in their tournament. Other new extracurricular activities during the 2000s included separate foreign languages clubs, Math Olympiads, Model US Senate, and three Model United Nations teams that participated in different countries.
At the end of the 2010-11 school year, the K–12 school was separated into Bahrain Elementary School and Bahrain Middle/High School.
Information from DoDDS School Information Guides, official DoDDS website and school yearbooks