Zama HS History
Opened: 1958
Closed: 2017
Zama American High School was located at Camp Zama, which is southwest of Tokyo. Zama High school was part of the Zama-Atsugi Schools complex with feeder elementary schools at Sagamihara housing area (Arnn Elementary) and Atsugi (Lanham Elementary).
A new, two-story building opened in 1980. There were twenty-two classrooms arranged around an open forum. The school had a teachers’ lounge in the main building and six teacher preparation areas. There was a counseling suite. The educational resource center was located on the second floor. The gymnasium and the auditorium were located adjacent to the main building. The music department was located in the auditorium building.
The staff had twenty-four educators for the 1981-82 school year for 280 students in grades nine through twelve. By the end of the decade, the enrollment had increased to 400 students.
For the 1990-91 school year, the middle and high school combined. The high school was now 7-12.
The high school is a two-story building with twenty-three classrooms surrounding the student Forum, a middle school with thirteen classrooms, a media center, and a cafeteria. The auditorium housed the music department, and there was a large gymnasium with seating for over 600. A Technical Education building housed home economics and industrial arts labs, and two smaller buildings supported the sports program. The school had a football and soccer field surrounded by a track.
An International Center for assemblies for up to 150 people opened in 1991.
A new construction project to replace the majority of the classrooms and the office areas was completed for the 1993-94 school year. The enrollment had increased to over 650 by the mid-nineties.
Information from internet sites, school yearbooks, DoDDS School Information Guides and DoDDS Pacific Region, 1946-1986