Bechtel ES History

Opened: 1987
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William C. Bechtel Elementary School was a new building on Camp McTureous, eight miles northwest of Kadena Air Base. The two-story facility opened in November 1987, and was designed to accommodate 700 students. The school drew its enrollment from Camps Courtney and McTureous, as well as surrounding off base areas.

The school’s namesake, William C. Bechtel, was a Marine stationed on Okinawa during World War II. He returned to the island as a DODEA administrator and school principal.

The school mascot is the Bulldog, and the school colors are blue and white.

The school originally had twenty-five general purpose classrooms, three kindergarten classrooms, two learning-impaired resource rooms, a host nation room with a kitchenette, rooms for English as a Second Language, art, speech, music, a cafeteria/kitchen, administrative offices, media area, gymnasium, swimming pool, lighted ball courts, baseball field, and football/soccer field.

In the fall of 1989, three new kindergarten classrooms and a gymnasium were added to the new facility. There were thirty-three educators on the staff, including several specialists for special education, a reading improvement specialist, a media specialist, a physical education teacher, a talented/gifted teacher, a nurse, a counselor, and a Japanese culture teacher. There were also half-time positions for art, music, and compensatory education.

By the 1994-95 school year, the elementary school had almost 800 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The staff of forty-five educators included specialists for learning-impaired, communications-impaired, reading improvement, media, physical education, art, guidance, health, art, music, and compensatory education. Bechtel shared a school psychologist with another school. Student activities included chorus, dance club, math club, computer graphics, video club, Young Astronauts and Pilots, puppet making, newspaper, safety patrol, and student council. Special events or presentations at the school included Young Authors, D.A.R.E., Geography Bee, Guest Readers, Read-a-thon, Story Book Character Day, and Science Fair. The Eisa Dancers Parade and Ishikawan-American Exchange were cultural events. The administrators were Tim Kilkenny, principal, and Ruth Leslie, assistant principal.

The school currently has an early release program on Tuesdays in order to provide teachers with training and collaboration opportunities. Several after school programs are available to students including a running club for grades two through five.

The administrators for the 2023-24 school year are Mr. Scott Tefft, principal, and Mr. Kerwin Jones, assistant principal. The current enrollment is about 500 students.

 

Information from a dissertation by Harold Clifford Brown, 1981; DoDDS School Information guides; yearbooks and the school website

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