Shirley Lanham ES History
Opened: 1969
OPEN
Shirley Lanham Elementary School provides services to the military dependent children of the men and women stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi and Marine Base Camp Fuji. It also hosts dependent children of Department of Defense civilian employees as well as children of foreign nationals. Currently, the enrollment stands at about 530 kindergarten through sixth-grade students. Dependent children in grades seven through twelve are bused to Camp Zama Army Base to attend either Zama American Middle School or Zama High School. John O. Arnn Elementary School, located on the Sagamihara Housing Area (SHA), services the children of families stationed at Camp Zama Army Base.
The elementary school is located in the housing area of Naval Air Facility Atsugi, which is thirty-five minutes by train from Yokohama and sixty minutes from Tokyo.
In 1981-82, the facility consisted of four buildings: one for kindergarten, one for levels one through three, one for levels four through six, and a gymnasium. There were fourteen classrooms, a Media Center, a specialist room, counselor’s room, nurse and office area, and large multipurpose room. At that time, the school had a staff of twenty for the 400 students in grades kindergarten through six.
By the 1987-88 school year, the school consisted of five buildings: one for kindergarten, one for levels one and two, one for levels three and four, one for five and six, and a gymnasium. There were sixteen classrooms and a new cafeteria and multipurpose room which had been completed during the 1982-83 school year. The school enrollment had grown to almost 500.
The enrollment continued to grow through the mid-nineties, when there were over 750 students with a staff of sixty-one. The school had forty classrooms.
The school was fully re-accredited during the 2011-12 academic year.
In the 1960s, Harvey Lanham was a Rear Admiral; and the family lived on NAF Atsugi. During this time, all children of military families were bused to Camp Zama and the Sagamihara Housing Area (SHA) to attend school. His wife, Shirley, devoted her time to working to ensure a school for Atsugi children was built on the base.
Shirley was an extraordinary person who enjoyed helping others and happily served in her community. In the fall of 1969, shortly before the school opened its doors to its first students, Shirley Lanham died unexpectedly of a heart attack and was never able to see the school that bears her name.
Lanham Elementary became a Sure Start through fifth grade school for the 2021-22 school year.
Information from internet sites, school yearbooks, DoDDS School Information Guides and DoDDS Pacific Region, 1946-1986