Sollars ES (formerly Misawa ES) History
Opened: 1960
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Misawa Elementary School began as part of Misawa Dependents School, which opened in 1948. The Dependents School was separated into an elementary school, Misawa Elementary, and a high school, Misawa High School, in 1960. In May 1962, Misawa Elementary School was renamed Sollars Elementary School.
Sollars Elementary School was dedicated to Lt. Col. John A. Sollars. Lt. Col. Sollars was a pilot who died in a crash on December 19, 1961, after ejecting from his crippled F-100 Super Sabre. He avoided crashing in a populated area and waited to clear the town before ejecting.
The school is located on Misawa Air Base, Misawa, Japan, in northeastern Honshu. The original main building of the elementary school was located on 7.2 acres and was formerly a Japanese Air Defense Headquarters building at the end of World War II. The building was converted to a school in October 1948. The building consisted of forty-five classrooms. Twenty of these classrooms and the media center were of relatively new modern construction. The other areas were of an older design but had extensive repairs and maintenance.
School staff for the 1981-82 school year was twenty-six classroom teachers, two administrators, a media specialist, physical education teacher, reading improvement specialist, speech therapist, English as a Second Language (ESL) specialist, compensatory education teacher, two special education specialists, two Japanese culture teachers, a school nurse, and an art teacher. There was a total of thirty-one educators for 725 students in grades kindergarten through six.
New construction, which consisted of three separate buildings, was added to the facility and occupied in August 1986. A new, eight-classroom building was added to the facility, with four of the rooms for the kindergarten program. This new primary area was connected to the primary wing. Additionally, a new administrative wing and a large combination gymnasium/auditorium/cafeteria were built.
By the 1987-88 school year, the enrollment had reached 950 and by the end of the eighties the enrollment was 1,370.
The administrators for the 1989-90 school year were principal Mr. McAdams and assistant principals Dr. Phillips and Ms. DiQuinzio. The school had a new cafeteria, and the enrollment was about 830.
Three new buildings were added in 1990. The professional staff of the school consisted of thirty-nine classroom teachers, three administrators, a media specialist, two physical education teachers, two music teachers, 1.5 reading specialists, a speech therapist, two learning disabilities teachers, 1.5 guidance counselors, an ESL specialist, three compensatory education teachers, Japanese language teacher, school health nurse, art teacher, and a part-time school psychologist for the 1993-94 school year. Scarlett Rehrig was the principal for the 1992-93 school year, and her assistants were Dean Brown and Jeanne Geddes-Key.
Student activities in the nineties included clubs for art, cooking, drama, writing and the school newspaper. Earthnest was an environmental club. The school participated in Math Olympiads, Geography Bee, and held several holiday and cultural activities including martial arts and Japanese Dance.
Sollars Elementary School was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School during the 1994-95 school year. The school enrollment was over 1,100 students in PreK through sixth grade. The following is the school song.
SOLLARS SCHOOL SONG
On the north of Honshu island, in the country of Japan,
there's an air force base in Misawa, and a school I think is grand!
It's a place that values learning, where I learned to write and read,
but more than that it's the friends I've made
and the values to succeed!
Refrain: Sollars Elementary School, you mean so much to me!
Sollars Elementary School, we stand in harmony!
Though my years here will go swiftly,
there's a lot I’ll take along- the love and joy of
learning and a character that's strong!
Sollars Elementary School’s current school building was completed in 1998. Jim Bowers was the principal during construction (’95–’98), and Randall Ekanger was the principal when the new school opened. There were fifty classroom teachers and art, music, physical education, and host nation classes. The school had a cafeteria, gym, information center, administrative offices, a large play area with basketball courts, a baseball diamond, and a separate playground for kindergarten and PreK use. The enrollment continued to be between 1,000 and 1,150 students. The principal’s comments in the 1999-2000 yearbook stated that “This year students have been involved in a wide range of activities including visits with Japanese schools, helping the environment by planting trees in Misawa, traveling to different sites in the Tohoku area and learning about Japanese history and culture.
From 2001 to 2005 Tom LaRue was the school principal, and his assistants included Ms. Wilson (2000–2001), Ms. Jaramillo (2000–2005), Mr. John Fletcher (2001–2002), Mr. Finley (2003–2005). Full day kindergarten began during the 2001-02 school year. During the 2002-03 school year, Sollars was visited by Dr. Joseph Tafoya, the director of DoDEA. The school selected a new mascot, the Dragon, for the 2005-06 school year and the school colors were red and gold. The Dragon was named “L.J.”. Previously the school mascot had been a whale. That same year Mr. Jim Journey became the principal with Mr. Finley continuing as the assistant principal. Ms. Diana Underwood was the assistant principal beginning in 2008-09. The school enrollment for the 2000s ranged from 750 to 970 students.
According to principal Jim Journey’s introductory letter in the 2006-07 yearbook, several long-term goals for the school were met— “The boys and girls of Sollars have collectively met the goal of jogging around the world. It took approximately 3 quarters of the year, but in January we finally logged mile 7,890. The school was also able to start an after school cross country ski program. This program was funded by the Misawa spouses group and the Sollars PTO.”
The 2010-11 yearbook reported a local event that impacted the students at Sollars and their response to the disaster:
March 11th, 2011 an earthquake [occurred] off the coast of Japan. At 9.0 it was one of the five most powerful earthquakes since 1990. The resulting tsunami caused hardship across 18 prefectures to include 13,000 deaths, 5,000 injuries, 15,000 missing, a dam collapse, fires, rail and road destruction. Most memorable was the nuclear power plant crisis. Three nuclear power plants were crippled leaving 4.4 million homes without electricity and 1.5 million without water. With our neighbor Sendai hardest hit the question on everyone’s lips were (sic) “What can I do?”
During the week of April 4th, 2011 Susan Blake spearheaded Operation Crane. For each origami crane our students folded Students Rebuild donated $2.00 to rebuild schools in Sendai. Together with our community, the students folded 20,000 cranes astounding the staff at Students Rebuild. The week was a time of rebuilding and healing for our students, as many or the volunteer opportunities were too dangerous for them to participate in. The crane project was shortlived (sic) within the school, but will have lasting effects for both the students who participated and the students who will enter the new schools in Sendai.
Dana Chandler became the principal for 2010-11 school year and was principal for two years. Sollars Elementary celebrated its 50th anniversary during the 2011-12 school year. The school now had a jazz band in addition to the band and chorus; a club called Go Girls Go for girls’ sports, Kota Club to learn how to play this Japanese musical instrument, a ski club, and a Spanish club to supplement Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) program. Dragon TV was operational for the 2013-14 school year and a club for coding was added in 2014-15 followed by Robotics in 2016-17. For the 2012-13 school year, the newly implemented Dragon Academy, a volunteer-tutor partnership with the 35th Fighter Wing Command, supported students in the classroom, cafeteria, library, and just being a buddy on a regular basis.
From 2012–2016, Ms. LaVerve Outen was the principal with assistants Lindsey Vaughn (2012-13), Ars Rose (2013-14), Kim Smaw (2014–2016) and Martha Enyeart (2015–2020).
Cummings Elementary merged with Sollars Elementary School, which increased Sollars’s school population to approximately 900 students with over 100 staff members.
For the 2016-17 school year, Dr. Ronald Knight, Jr. was the principal, and the school added white and black to the school colors of red and gold. Later, the school returned to its original colors. Mr. Patrick Buckley became the principal for the next three years and was the Pacific Principal of the Year for 2019-20. The principals after him included Mrs. Magrath, Mrs. Hahn, and Mr. Henry LeFebre.
The elementary school became a Sure Start through fifth grade school for the 2021-22 school year. The enrollment was under 600 by 2024-25.
The school is still open.
Information from internet sites, school yearbooks, DoDDS School Information Guides and DoDDS Pacific Region, 1946-1986