Yokota MS History
Opened: 1970
Closed: 1974
Re-Opened: 2000
OPEN
Yokota Middle School is one of twenty schools in DoDEA’s Japan district. DoDEA’s schools serve the children of military service members and Department of Defense civilian employees by providing a comprehensive curriculum that is dedicated to attaining the highest student achievement for all students.
Yokota Middle School is the newest school on Yokota Air Base. The newly constructed school opened in the Fall of 2000 with 300 students in grades seven and eight. The dedication for the new building was held June 13, 2000. The school administrators were principal Ms. Kathryn Forystek and assistant principal Mr. Darrell Mood. The first yearbook for the school was published for the 2000-01 school year and was called the White Tiger. The school colors are blue and white, and the mascot is the White Tiger. In 2001, the sixth grade was added. The first school newspaper was Tiger Tribune, and the name was changed to On the Rise in the mid-2010s.
The first year in the new school, students were able to participate in activities such as music, with two band levels and a chorus, team sports (wrestling and track), clubs (chess, books, and remote car racing), and student council. Students also participated in regional programs such as Brain Bowl and Peer Mediation.
For the 2001–2004 school years the principal was Steve Sanchez with Darell Mood as the assistant principal. The school newspaper was the Tiger Tribune. The school’s curriculum was enhanced with field trips on base and to cultural sites in the surrounding area. New extracurricular opportunities included science, strategy games, photography, girl empowerment, Q-Basic programming, model building, aquarium, cartooning, strength and conditioning, web design, step dance, and crafts. Volleyball and basketball teams were added to the sports choices. With the addition of the sixth grade, the enrollment was over 450 students. The JROTC program, which was begun in the first year, was ended after the 2003-04 school year. The program was reinstated in the 2020s.
Mr. Don Christensen was the principal and Joy Jaramillo the assistant principal for the 2006–2009 school years. Golf and cross country were added as sports teams.
According to the school website, “Yokota Middle School is a small, friendly, and caring school located within miles of the Tokyo metropolis. We have a dedicated and highly trained staff that consist of one administrator, twenty-six teachers, and nine support staff who all work collaboratively to advocate for each of our students and maintain a rigorous and friendly learning environment.”
The next principal for the school was Mary Leinard with assistant principal Michelle Moore. They were the school administrators for two years. Dr. George Sheldon became the principal in the fall of 2011 followed by Dr. Tonya Laliberte (2014–2017). From 2017 to 2020 the principal was Angela Butler. Dr. Villagomez was principal for the 2020-21 school year. Ms. Hillary Simmons was the principal for the 2021–2025 school years. Dr. Quiana Obeng was appointed principal for the 2025-26 school year. The enrollment fluctuated from about 400 students for the 2008-09 school year to 265 for the 2025-26 school year.
By the mid-2000s the middle school had a variety of extracurricular clubs for students including Math Counts, Fly Tie/Fishing Club, Chess Club, Art Club, National Junior Honor Society, Soroban, Book Club, Roots & Shoots, Disney Club, White Tiger Video Production Club, Scrapbook/Card Making Club, Odyssey of the Mind, and White Tiger Council. The Roots and Shoots Club was an environmental group. Other clubs added in the 2010s included coding, robotics, gaming, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Rockets Makers Club and language clubs. By the 2020s basketball and softball clubs were added. The 2014 yearbook stated that
At YMS, we have Homework Club, Art Club, Genre Initiative, White Tiger Council, Soroban Club, Brain Bowl, White Tiger Video Production, Morning Mile, Bayblade, and Peer Mediation. Whether the students are looking for a quiet place to do homework and get help, read a new book genre just want to do something enjoyable or talk something out, they can join one of these clubs. Students can be creative in Art Club and White Tiger Video Production, do math in Soroban Club, do trivia questions in Brain Bowl and have an early run during Morning Mile. You can have fun in Bayblade and talk things out in Peer Mediation. Students in White Tiger Council raise money for the school, schedule the school dances, donate food to orphanages yearly, and take care of Red Ribbon Week and many other events.
The school held several annual events such as the Geography Bee, Spelling Bee, Red Ribbon Week, multicultural celebrations, Twin Day, Dr. Seuss Day, Bus Safety, and dances. The local military community and family members participated in Career Days and family nights. The school also sponsors a yearly 10-mile run, the Big O. From its opening, the school’s arts program has included several band levels including a Jazz Band and annual musical and drama productions. For the 2018-19 school year the school had a marching band. Yokota Middle School hosted authors and dignitaries such as Jane Goodall (2010-11). Academic programs include AVID (Advancement Via Individual Achievement) starting in 2013; two foreign languages, Japanese and Spanish; STEM; and culinary classes beginning in 2022.
Students interacted with the local Japanese community through student exchanges and visitations and a wide variety of school study trips to local museums, parks, and other places of interest.
Information from school yearbooks and the school website